?? A Sense of Delight...??

????????????? I could hardly believe my eyes, on a recent visit to west-end Toronto's Brit/Irish specialty food-and-treats store From There to Here...

?? Three of the items I debated buying were: Sour cream-and-shamrock(!) chips/crisps, Yorkshire tea with toast-and-jam flavour – and a sugar-free carbonated drink made from dandelion and burdock.

Close runners-up were rhubarb-and-custard sweets, and a nice round tin of cheese-and-onion pie.

?? These are all somewhat-exotic, quirky delights to my North American sensibilities (though I did write for UK magazines decades ago). These offerings were different and...that big D, delightful ~ invoking a sense of delight! ('From There to Here' specialty shop: https://lnkd.in/gtwBFWDT)

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What does all this have to do with books, my favourite subject?? Because a book – inside and out – should be distinctive, and invoke a sense of...well, 'delight' may not always fit, esp. if the book is serious and disturbing – but 'discovery' is a good word, too.

The feeling of finding treasure, something unique, something that appeals...more important than ever today, in such a crowded world. It may also be part of the USP (unique selling proposition or point) that distinguishes your book from others.

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?? A case in point: a memoir I recently helped a client with had a couple of things adding real interest to a book by an unknown author: inner dialogue with both his 'inner child,' and a critical-adult viewpoint.

This might not readily be considered a source of delight. But the way he presented it, and wove it throughout his life story, I could picture other readers adopting it, and finding it might help them.

Author Ray also had reminiscences of a lot of 1960s/70s music, TV and pop culture throughout – vivid, quirky stuff, and something a lot of readers could identify with, with smiles and reminiscences.

It all added a retro/vintage charm...and these were things that people easily could look up, and enjoy, on YouTube. ("Ah, yes! I remember that...wow...it really got me, and made me burst out in smiles...!")

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?? Another case (and I can't identify this project): a book about certain information, technology and a process/system. So, of necessity, much of it had to be quite informative and technical. Yet there was also a human story in there, sprinkled throughout like fairy dust.

And one or two full chapters were very human-oriented, with simple anecdotes, small-beer stuff, shining little examples of goodness. Unexpected, perhaps, and, well...special. It was these chapters that were mentioned in online reviews, as the ones that especially 'resonated.' The chapters really confirmed that even, and perhaps especially, it was human beings and the little things they do that made the day go round.

And it all brought, I think, a certain sense of delight to the story of this major project.

?? Yet another book, The Road to Mental Wellness, I helped client/ colleague Jonathan Arenburg with, had to do with mental illness – PTSD and depression. It was a serious and at times disturbing memoir. Yet it had glimmers of humour, and some great copy on how and why fresh air, Nature and exercise are great anti-depressants too...and it had thoughtful quotes opening each chapter.

What was unique and especially delightful about that, was that these quotes were the author's original ones! Rather than draw on the 'usual' celebrity/ philosopher ones, he had created his own, and used them in a way that added a kind of gentle power and distinctiveness to his book – and gave it a special-ness that other, similar books didn't have.

The enhancement was a bit like those crisps/chips I mentioned – the ones with tiny green bits of shamrock throughout!

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?? Delight. Discovery. Uniqueness. That special touch. Are these things you're hoping, longing, your book can have??

No matter what the subject matter, I can help you with that book interior, the manuscript, your story, your message...and if you're self-publishing, I can help connect you with that crucial design/visual aspect.

(If you manage to get a traditional publishing contract – and I can assist with a strong proposal package – their professionals will take care of that.)

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?? Distinctive, delightful, discovery...envision those concepts as applied to your book! And even if it's a serious, disturbing book, it can have, and may really benefit from, a sprinkle of 'delight.' It can be bit of a saving grace, to illuminate the darkness.

Like to talk about how to ensure these d-words can be part of what you're doing? Please DM/connect with me. And may your day be filled with d-goodness!

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#writeabook #publishabook #delight #senseofdiscovery #beunique#ghostwriter #editor