I was getting caught up on reading blogs today, and about halfway through reading a random post I had a ridiculous idea for a book trailer. At first I thought, “No, that’s just silly. You can’t make a book trailer like that.” And then I thought, “But there are so many bad book trailers out there — how can this idea possibly be worse?” And then I thought, “Screw it, I’m making it.”
Thus without further ado, I present to you the first (more to come) official book trailer for Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It:
Hahahaha. Oh man. I crack up every time I watch that. What a ridiculous trailer, especially with the super cheesy music.
*wipes tears from eyes*
Anyway, let me know what you think! And if you want to steal my awesome trailer idea and make one of your own, make sure you credit meeeeeee! (Or not. Whatever floats your virtual boat.)
Before we get to the super awesome news, I want you to do two things for me:
Find the latest version of your current WIP.
Email it to yourself.
I ask this because I just read this post, in which my blogger friend explains that she lost her manuscript. Lost, as in, her computer crashed, the files have mysteriously disappeared from her flash drive, and the only hard copy she has is about ten revisions back from where she is now. That SUCKS. Seriously. Drop by her blog and wish her luck, because as you can imagine, she’s not exactly thrilled at the moment.
And now … the SUPER AWESOME NEWS!
Well, I think it’s super awesome — and it’s my blog, my rules, so get on the excitement train or get left behind in the dusty wastelands of … not excitement …
Anyway. Remember how I was all psyched and stuff because Imminent Danger won the Editor’s Choice award? Remember how I mentioned that the next award up for grabs is Rising Star? Well …
I WON IT! WOOOOOO!
But Michelle, you ask, what is Rising Star? To which I reply: beats the potatoes out of me. Let me look it up.
Basically, I get a swanky cover design, they give me some sort of marketing direction, I get to stick the Rising Star award sticker on the back of my book, and — here’s the best part — the iUniverse reps will present my books to major retailers. Now, I’m not sure what this entails. I imagine the reps go to book fairs, shove my book into various people’s hands, and say “Look! Book!”. Presumably they will be more eloquent than that (although points to them for rhyming).
So this means they can finally get the book cover design going. I got my friend Paul to do up a cover for me back in May, which I sent to iUniverse. According to my “Publishing Services Associate (PSA)”, they really like the design, but will be basically re-making it with stock photography and something something something I don’t remember.
Anyway, I’m really psyched. So close to publication! Ahhh!
So yesterday afternoon I submitted my Rising Star Marketing Evaluation to iUniverse. Assuming they like my marketing plan, they’ll approve me for the Rising Star Award, which nets me a variety of benefits.
In the evaluation, they basically ask you how you plan to market your book. Easy enough, right? WRONG! I trawled the internet for hours, coming up with a list of marketing ideas that I’m now going to share with my awesome readers because that’s how much I love you guys.
Thus, my list of marketing ideas, in no particular order:
Create a book trailer
Hold a blog tour
Press release for local newspapers
Enter book into literary contests
Include link to your website on every article you post, every email you send, etc.
Connect with fellow self-published authors and ask for a book review exchange
Donate books to the library, accompanied by a book reading and a press release
Donate books to local middle and high schools, accompanied by a book reading or lecture on writing/self-publishing and a press release
Free book giveaways hosted through blog/Facebook/Twitter
Free bookplates (signed labels that you can paste into a book in lieu of an in-person author signature) for fans who’ve bought the book
Sell themed merchandise (bags, mugs, t-shirts, etc.) on Zazzle.com
Leave bookmarks and posters in key strategic locations – library, cafes, local stores, etc.
Connect with other local self-published authors and set up an author’s panel/publicity event
Set up an online newsletter to keep subscribers informed on upcoming events, special promotions, new releases, etc.
Write guest posts on other blogs to build your following
Create a “freebie” available exclusively on your website – e.g., a short story based on the book
Release excerpts and snippets of upcoming works to build interest on blog/Facebook/Twitter
Record an audio book version of the novel
Got more ideas? Tell me in the comments. We self-published types have to stick together!
One of my favourite WordPress Authors, Tania L Ramos (and yes, when I say her name, I do say the entire thing and roll the R), has been sweet enough to plug my as-of-yet unpublished book on her blog! I thought it was only fair to plug her book back on mine.
So first of all, go check out her blog. Secondly, listen to me ramble about her book for a second.
I read Be Still (her book) over the summer, and I really enjoyed it. I had some trouble getting into it at first, because it’s a romantic drama, and my usual genre is, well, hardcore fantasy. But I fell in love with the characters, the ending was heart-warming and fantastic, and I was even able to overlook the fact that there weren’t any dragons. So props to Tania L Ramos for that. (I even roll the R in my head! I need to stop doing that.)
Be Still also holds the distinction of being the first (and thus far, only) book I’ve reviewed where the author actually sent me a physical, signed copy of the book. That was a really cool feeling — that someone is so invested in getting my opinion that they’re willing to send me one of their books that they’ve bought and paid for themselves. It was like Christmas in July. It was awesome.
If you’re interested in reading Be Still in the next little while, I’m given to understand that you might even be able to get it for free! The ebook version, that is, not the print version. Only I am special enough for this honour! Muahahahaha. Anyway, here’s a quote on the subject from Tania L Ramos’s blog:
And to ring in this holiday season, please visit my website www.BeStillNovel.com to receive a free Kindle download of Be Still. Or contact me to receive a signed paperback copy of my book for $10 plus $3.95 shipping, or buy two books and get one free. Don’t forget, books make great holiday gifts.
And that’s about all the time I have for cross-promotion, as I have a project due today and I’ve already spent the last hour blogging instead of working. Bad Michelle!
Oh yeah, and since I’m talking about other bloggers and how awesome they are, I should mention Andrew Toynbee, who invented an award — The Most Helpful Blogger Award — and nominated me for it. Woo!
So Vistaprint recently ran a promotion where you could buy 250 business cards for $10, with free shipping. Score! I immediately broke out my mad graphic design skillz, chose a cool space template, and went nuts.
The result:
Ain’t it purdy? Of course, that’s just the online preview of what the card looks like. Since the cards are so cheap, I was worried that they would have flimsy paper or poor print quality. Not so!
The result:
That’s one of the printed cards. It looks yellow due to the appalling lighting, but in normal lighting it looks pretty much identical to the online preview. It’s shiny, the cardstock is decently thick, and it’s so pretty! Squeeeeee!
Now I just have to figure out what to do with them.
Here’s my question for you guys: do I start spreading the word of my upcoming book right now via business cards, or do I wait until the book is actually published?
Option #1: DO IT NOW!
Various experts claim that marketing for your book should begin 3-6 months before the book is released. That being said, I think it’s kind of silly to hand someone a card, say “Buy my book!”, and then when they ask where they can buy it, I say, “Well, it hasn’t actually been published yet, so just hang onto that card and check back in three months.”
I know if some unknown author pulled that on me, I would probably lose their card within the week. Not on purpose, obviously, but because I lose track of everything I possess, especially little pieces of paper advertising a book with an unknown release date.
Option #2: WAIT, YOU SILLY GIRL!
The other option, obviously, is to save my cards for when the book actually comes out. That way I can actually say “Buy my book today!” when I hand out cards. I think that would be pretty darn cool.
My polling mood is still going strong from yesterday, so here’s another poll:
I’m in a polling mood, so let’s discuss book promotion on blogs, and throw in a couple of polls for my intrepid readers to have fun clicking away at. Am I allowed to vote as well? Seems like a conflict of interests. Pah! Conflicts of interest are for the weak. Onwards!
Promotion Technique #1 — Posting book excerpts
To be honest, I rarely read book excerpts. I will look at the cover and the synopsis, and base my purchasing decision off of that. However, many people, I’m given to understand, like to actually see what’s inside the book, and not just fork over their hard earned money and pray. Hence, book excerpts.
So what are your thoughts on book excerpts? What part of a book do you most want to read before you choose to buy? Is it the first chapter, or perhaps a scene further into the novel? Or do you prefer just reading a selection of random words taken from the book and artfully arranged by the graphic design site Wordle?
Wordle of “Imminent Danger and How to Fly Straight into It” Source: Wordle.net
Poll time!
Promotion Technique #2 — Include a link to the book at the bottom of each post
I’m talking about something like this:
I’ve seen other authors do this, and I don’t have any particular problem with it. They’re always located at the end of blog posts, and they’re usually kept small and tasteful, so you only really notice it if you’re specifically looking for it.
I finished going over my copy-edit this evening. All the changes are made, the manuscript has been sent back to iUniverse so they can do God knows what with it (hopefully publish it, lol), and I officially have nothing more to do with the book until they send me cover proofs and final print proofs. Woo! Talk about a weight off your chest. Now I can focus on other things, like my job, and not living in a forest of cardboard boxes.
But you don’t care about that. You came here for the list!
9 Things I Learned From My Copy-Edit
1. The first paragraph at the start of a chapter is not indented. The same goes for the first paragraph after a scene break.
2. According to American publishing standard, when indicating possession, this — Chris’ — is not correct. This — Chris’s — is correct.
3. A list of adjectives do not require as many commas as you might think. This — fluffy, white hair — is not correct. This — fluffy white hair — is correct.
4. Once you’ve defined a foreign word in italics, you don’t have to italicize it any more. I’m given to understand that you can still italicize it if you want to, but it’s not necessary.
5. Instead of using italics to put emphasis on a certain word, try to let the sentence structure emphasize for you.
6. Ship names are italicized, but a class/type of ship is not italicized. E.g. The Enterprise v.s. Boeing 747.
7. The following dialogue tags — “she panicked”, “she laughed”, “she sighed”, “she smiled” — are not actually dialogue tags. They are verbs that should not be applied to dialogue.
8. Percentage should be written as XX percent — e.g., 97 percent.
9. The correct phrasing is “Far be it from me to say”, not “Far be it for me to say”.
Also, having finished reviewing the copy-edit, I can now officially pass judgement on my copy-editor. Ready?
Was the copy-edit worth $1900?
No. I definitely did not get $1900 worth of editing done to that manuscript. Not by a long shot. On the plus side, I did learn several things (see the above list), so it certainly wasn’t a complete waste of money.
How was the quality of the copy-editor?
He seemed fairly competent. I caught five mistakes overall — four typos, and one word that was randomly bolded. He had a weird obsession with semicolons that I didn’t agree with, and he also seemed to have a vendetta against commas, so I had to add a handful back in. He also failed to notice that some of the chapter titles were misaligned. To be fair, I didn’t notice that either, but still!
Overall judgement?
Not worth the money, but I did learn many new things, so we’ll call it a draw and move on.
You may have noticed that I’ve been suspiciously absent from WordPress for the last fortnight. You may not have noticed. Either way, I’m back, and I’m psyched to be here. Specifically, I’m psyched not to be sitting in a freezing cold office highlighting endless paperwork. Anyhoo …
I spent the last three hours trying to catch up on all the blog posts I’ve missed over the last two weeks. Do you people have any idea how much you write? Good grief. I had to restrict myself to reading 1 out of every 6 posts, or I would still be scrolling through my Blogs I Follow list tomorrow morning. So if I missed a major update in anyone’s life due to my extreme skippery, I apologize.
My temp job is officially over, and I have about $1600 and no life to show for it. Still, an interesting experience was had, and I extracted several promises from my co-workers that they would buy my book when it comes out. So … call it a win?
Speaking of my book … nah, just messing with you. The Michelle Proulx Official Life Update isn’t over yet. Patience, my young padawans.
This month I also moved apartments, which I think I may have mentioned, and we’re officially settled into our new place. It’s smaller and cheaper than the last place, but the location is way better (right beside the mall), plus the heating is centrally controlled, so my mother can’t turn down the heat whenever she gets too hot. Muahahahahahaha.
Okay, now we’re actually going to speak about my book. The major news is that I got my Copy-Edit back! As I expected, the edits are all minor things — commas moved around, dashes added, etc. The editor seems to have some sort of weird addiction to semicolons, because he’s added about a dozen. Interesting. Right now I’m going through the edited manuscript — basically re-reading the book – to make sure the editor didn’t do anything crazy. He seems fairly sane thus far (Chapter 18, baby!), so I have high hopes.
Once I finish my review, the manuscript goes back to the editorial folks at iUniverse, and the design process begins. Woo! I’m really excited. I sent them cover design ideas a few weeks ago, but I haven’t heard anything back yet, so I have no idea what the design team has done with them. Hopefully something epic.
I really need to get dressed and unpack/review my book, so I think that’s all for now. I have great plans to make another vlog episode, which may or may not succeed depending on how my showering/unpacking/book reviewing goes.
Hope you’ve all had a great two weeks, and I look forward to reading about your lives/accomplishments on a more regular basis.
Oh yeah, and before I forget — I gave up on NaNo. No time + no energy + packing/moving/job/other job/copy-edit review = no NaNo. Le sigh.
Unrelated media of the day:
What if Aladdin always looked like that?
Hehehe. And here’s another ridiculous K-Pop video to brighten your day:
My friend Matthew Cook contacted me this morning with what he termed a “huge favour”. Now, I’m inclined to give this gentleman whatever he wants, because he is one of my best beta readers/editors/copy-editors/proof-readers. Not to mention he’s just a genuinely good guy. Plus, we used to play D&D in high school, so we go way back to the days of trolls and imps and THAC0 (major cool points if you got that reference).
Anyway, he’s still in university, and he’s taking a journalism course that requires him to make a blog and acquire followers. In a strange twist of academics, his grade depends not on the contents or quality of his blog, but on how many followers he acquires. Weird, right? Anyway, here’s the situation in his words:
Hi, my name’s Matt! I’m a journalism student developing a blog about cartoons – webcomics, political cartoons, and daily comic strips. I also have my own cartoons posted, about whatever seems funny to me at the time. My blog is a part of a big journalism project and I need to get more followers if I want a good grade. So if you’re interested in cartoons, come visit the site and comment if you have the time; either positive or negative comments help (the negative comments let me know what I’m doing wrong!)
Here’s a sample of his cartoons:
I figure we bloggers must stick together, and Matt’s grade depends on how many followers he can get, so let’s give him a hand, shall we?Here’s a link to his blog.
Update on my novel:
So I got my Return Evaluation back. Surprise surprise, they recommended a Copy-Edit. Siiiiiiiigh. Well, at least it’s an appropriate length now. So there’s that.
My plans to chat with my Editorial Consultant about booking the Copy-Edit have thus far failed, in that I emailed her and she hasn’t responded. And now I’m working 9-5 (at least, for the next few weeks), which also happen to be her office hours, so hopefully she’ll be flexible about setting up a meeting with me. Once I actually get into contact with her, I will hypothetically purchase a Copy-Edit, get that done in a few weeks, and then FINALLY get the darn thing published.
Michelle Proulx - Author 