78–Writer’s Digest Conference Open for Registration!

At Last! The Next Iteration of the Writer’s Conference that Changed Everything for Me! (http://www.writersdigestconference.com/)

If this is the first time you’ve stopped by this blog, I invite you to check out the November 4, 2009 blog launch posting (https://cherilaser.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/hello-world/). That original post (and the decision to start a blog in the first place) was a direct byproduct of my attending the first annual Writer’s Digest Conference held in New York City in September of last year (2009).

When I checked into the hotel on the first day of the conference, I had not yet finished my second novel (Separation of Faith, released last month, September 2010), nor did I have a clue about the realities of the publishing business/world today–a reality that changes almost moment-by-moment. Like so many other writers I’ve met over the years, I still believed that continuing to write and send out those “carefully crafted” query letters would eventually get me where I wanted to go on my publishing Journey.

But since I didn’t understand the new realities of the world I was trying to enter with my novels, I also didn’t understand what would be the best way for me to proceed with my second novel, given my personal goals and my stage in life. Well, the blog post on November 4, 2009 outlines the revelations and shifts in my Journey’s direction after I’d spent three days at that conference.

In a nutshell: 1) Everything I’d been thinking/planning changed, and 2) I was shot out of a cannon when I left the conference, with a clearer direction about what I wanted and needed to do than I’d had in decades. I reordered absolutely everything I was doing the day after I returned home.

This blog has followed every single step of those changes and the subsequent unfolding of the Plan, including the things that went smoothly and those that didn’t. In short, though, the second novel is not only finished and released, but there’s already been recognition for editorial excellence, which emerged  in the process of that conference as one of the keys–if not the key–to a successful book. Getting to that level of editorial quality took almost a year, but there wasn’t an option, as far as I was concerned. You can read all about that whole editing struggle, if you feel like perusing the posts in this blog since last November.

You’ll also read about how I started blogging in the first place, a process about which I knew absolutely nothing, but something else that wasn’t optional for me after that conference. The same was true for my entire approach to the whole social media thing in general. (Again, the November 4, 2009 post will lay everything out for you—https://cherilaser.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/hello-world/.)

The New Conference–January 21-23, 2011  

Writer’s Digest did not have their second annual conference this year due to scheduling issues, much to my disappointment, but delayed the event until January 2011. I’ve been watching for registration to open for the last month–and needless to say, I’m already confirmed. (Not packed yet, but soon … 🙂 …)

After more than fifteen years of trying to find my way through the publishing morass, and after attending dozens of conferences, I can honestly tell you that this one is different! If you’re a writer going after the same Dream we’re all chasing–and if you’re ready to hear/learn what it really takes to even have a shot (with an open mind to the realities that will quickly open your ears and eyes as wel)–this conference will leave you a changed person/writer at the end. And by this time next year, perhaps your own Journey will be a lot further along as a result.

If I had not attended the Writer’s Digest Conference in September 2009, none of this would be a reality for me right now:

• This blog–www.cherilaser.wordpress.com
• All of my social media connections (see the right hand column of the blog).
• www.Amazon.com (Separation of Faith under Books)
• Video Book Trailer for Separation of Faith: www.YouTube.com/cherilaser
• By the end of October, we’ll also be releasing a Second Edition of my first novel, The Truth About Cinnamon (on Amazon.com too), because of what I learned about the importance of quality editing (as important, if not more so, than the quality of the writing) at the WD 2009 conference.  

If you want the conference experience of your writing life, check out the January 2011 Writer’s Digest Conference at: http://www.writersdigestconference.com/. If you decide to attend, please let me know! I’d really love to meet you there and have some great conversations in person!

Have a Great Weekend!

Read Full Post »

77–For Writers Just Starting to Think about Publishing

A Great Place to Start Organizing Your Thoughts

This will be a quick note to share a post published by Jane Friedman (Writer’s Digest) this morning. If you’re just beginning to consider publishing options for your work, her piece is extremely helpful in organizing thoughts and direction.

There are several “sidebar” links that take you to sub-categories, and I highly recommend that you read each of those as well, in order to get the full picture of what she’s presenting. The link on self-publishing is of particular interest and really points out the realities quite succinctly.

If you’re trying to figure out which way to go on your Journey, or if you’ve already gone one way and would like to consider going another, spend a few minutes exploring Jane’s post in depth: “I Want to Publish My Book. Now what?” http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/2010/10/05/IWantToPublishMyBookNowWhat.aspx

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Read Full Post »

70–Promotional Craziness

“It Was All So Different Before Everything Changed.”

Last night I was scanning through the posts written last spring and in the early summer. At that point, I was deeply focused on edits–doing them myself, waiting for the results of someone else doing them, blogging about the importance of submitting our work to professional editors, reviewing the edited proofs, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera–for both Separation of Faith and the re-edited version of The Truth About Cinnamon (which is still in the final proofing stage, by the way). And my words were directed a few times to the fact that I was growing tired of that part of the writing process and feeling anxious to move on to the next stage.

Well, here I am, in that next stage. And with my book launch party less than a week away (Thursday, September 23), this is what I’ve been doing this week:

• On Monday, I met with the printer about the T-shirts and shopping bags I’m having made for the book launch party and subsequent book events currently being scheduled in the area. The shopping/book bags (canvas) will have Separation of Faith‘s cover printed on one side. The T-shirts will have the cover on the front and the following excerpt on the back (except the paragraphs will be properly formatted, single spaced, indents on first line, no extra line space between paragraphs, none of which can be done in this blog format): 

… “Chronological order, huh? Well, that might not be as easy as you’d think. But I guess the front end musta been on Saturday, October 23, 1948.”

Isaiah put his fork down on his plate and studied Zeke’s face. “You remember the date and the day of the week?”

“That’s what I said. You got a hearing problem?”

“Is that when you met Abby?”

“Yup. Everybody’s got a fork-in-the-road story, you know. And that was mine. Got up that morning, just like always. Ate breakfast just like always too. Didn’t wear my overalls, though, ‘cause we was going into Charlotte. Put on my go-to-meeting jeans and a clean shirt that I even ironed. Guess I should a seen it coming, but I didn’t. All I know is that nothing ‘bout my life—and I mean nothing, not even the color of the damn sky—was ever the same after that day.”

• The T-shirts and bags will be for sale at a very nominal fee, but I’ll also be giving a number of them away in raffles at the book launch party. And anyone who buys three or more books will automatically get a book bag. (I’ll also be giving away a lunch with me, so we’ll have to see whether or not that’s a particularly exciting prospect for anyone. 🙂 …)
• At the local Party City store, I bought rolls of raffle/50-50 tickets. In addition to the T-shirt/book bag/lunch giveaways, I’ll also be holding a special 50-50 at my book launch party to benefit my Rotary club’s scholarship fund.
• While at Party City, I picked up a helium canister to fill the 50 balloons that will be anchored at each table. So, of course, I also had to buy the balloons and balloon anchors. The anchors are sort of a sea blue, shiny with ribbon fringe on top. The balloons are powder blue, cobalt blue, and white, all of which coordinate with the book’s cover. Three balloons (one of each color and secured with white ribbon) will be tied to the anchors on the eleven round tables plus the reception table, the book sales table, the T-shirt/bag table, and the table where I’ll sign autographs. (There will also be a podium where I’ll do a couple of quick readings at some point.)
• I picked up a big container of glitter too, to sprinkle over the white tablecloths. At the book launch party, which will be from 4:00-7:00 on the 23rd, we’ll be serving cocktail appetizers. There will be a cash bar, but every book purchase will get a free drink. The video book trailer (www.YouTube.com/cherilaser) will be playing in a loop on a huge laptop screen at the book sales table. There will be other music as well throughout the room. My current music phase is doo wop, but we’ll see how I’m feeling on the 23rd. 🙂 Pictures and videos of the event will be posted on this blog by the 25th or 26th.
• About seven hours this week were spent sending out announcement emails containing links to the video trailer and this blog. Because I’ve lived and worked all over the country and have only been here in the New York Metro area of New Jersey for ten years, the majority of people that I know personally all live somewhere else. And they’re all getting their own announcement emails, because that’s what the “experts” suggest is the best and most appropriate approach (versus a blanket email that goes out to everyone at once). Guess we’ll learn eventually if that approach turns out to be the most effective. But I must admit that it’s been giving me an opportunity to say hi to lots of folks I don’t get to talk with very often.
• Today I have to meet with a new client about an editing job (oh yeah, that make-a-living thing too) that I’ll be doing for her, and then I’ll come back to my home office to do more emails. I also need to make several signs and posters for the book launch party–and I want to make them generic enough to use at other book events. Then there will be a few phone calls to managers/proprietors of various local establishments where I want to hold events over the next month. And, finally, I’ll need to start booking my travel arrangements for the trip to San Francisco and Kettle Falls, Washington that I’ll be making in October (the first stop for an IBM reunion, and the second tied in for a book event, because Kettle Falls is a key locale in Separation of Faith).

So, last spring I’d grown itchy about moving on into the promotional elements of publishing a book, impatient with the seemingly endless process of shepherding a book through production and into print. But you know what? I haven’t even held my first event yet, and my next book is clamoring to get out of me.

True, as writers in this new age of publishing, we are all responsible for promoting our own books whether we publish traditionally or not. But, in the end, the process of writing–the nuts and bolts of our craft where we pull ideas from our imaginations and weave them into stories that bring hours of reading pleasure (hopefully) to those who take a chance on us–simply will not accept second billing beneath promotion for very long.

The next challenge will be figuring out how to create a balance than enables me to create a brand new book from scratch while selling another (actually, while selling two others) at the same time. And you’ll be in the front row while we see how all of that works out. 🙂

Have a terrific weekend!  

 

Read Full Post »

54–Marketing & Promotion Elements of the Journey Kick In

Separation of Faith Is Almost Here!

Last week Separation of Faith, the novel that’s been tracked through this blog since the launch posting last November 4 (https://cherilaser.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/, went into post-production where all the formatting is finalized and the printer files are established. By the end of this week, I should have in my hands the “printer copy” for the hard cover and the soft cover for one final review. These will be actual copies of the book, covers and all, and their receipt will be a hugely monumental moment! I’ll take pictures and post them for all to see!

Once I approve everything, the book will “go live,” marking the official publishing date, and the title will begin feeding into all of the online and brick-and-mortar retail outlets. That process will take another couple of weeks, and I’m not going to do any promotion until I know that the book is available everywhere. Needless to say, the next two or three weeks will be unbelievably busy as I pull what feels like millions of marketing pieces together.

The one date that I do have confirmed is my book launch party, which will be at the Hilton in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, on Thursday, September 23, from 4-7 pm. That’s when all stops will be pulled out and the Journey’s next phase will officially begin. A Calendar of Events will be added to the Web site very shortly (www.SeparationOfFaith.com), and the last quarter of the year promises to be extremely full of stuff (much of which I probably can’t even imagine yet). My second surgery (search my blog for “breast cancer” to find relevant headings in posts) will be on September 2, and that operation (part of the reconstruction process) is supposed to make me a lot more comfortable than I’ve been since the big surgery on May 4. So I should be in great shape and kicking at the gate by September 23. A high energy level will definitely be crucial.

As we’ve discussed, one of the key elements in this plan is the video book trailer, which is going to be an amazing little thriller running 90 seconds. On Tuesday July 27, I’ll be spending the better part of the day with the fellow who’s putting the thing together for me. We are very close to having a finished product, and I absolutely cannot wait to share the end result with you! In preparation, I’ve been doing a lot of reading about using video book trailers effectively, and I’ve learned that there are at least 14 different sites, in addition to YouTube, where our masterpiece will need to be loaded. As I’ve said many times since I started trying to get my arms around this octopus–Yikes!

The Focus of My Reading Lately 

Now that there is really nothing left to do to the internals of Separation of Faith, my editing focus has been on the reduction of The Truth About Cinnamon (which seems to have been going on for a millenium at this point). Right now I’m entering the changes from the last edit. When finished with that, I’ll do one more read-through on the computer–and then–YAY!–the updated manuscript will go to the publisher–hopefully by the end of July!

Since this will be a re-do agreed to by the publisher when I elected to publish Separation of Faith with them, the book will basically go directly into production. At that point, the original version (which will then become an official 1st Edition) will no longer be available for purchase anywhere. The new 2nd Edition will probably take about six weeks to go live. So, by the time I’m launching the promotion for Separation of Faith, the new Cinnamon should be available. At least, that’s the plan.

Meanwhile, in addition to thoughts about my third novel, which are beginning to gel in the spare recesses of my mind, my attention has been drawn to every blog and article I can find relative to book promotion. I thought my list of avenues to attack was fairly comprehensive as a result of the Rising Star Application (https://cherilaser.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/48-journey-update-whew/). But there is actually a seemingly endless list, I’m discovering, of things I need to try. Looking at the whole picture is always a little overwhelming for me, so I’ll take a topic or two at a time, as they develop, and share them here like I’ve been doing with the video book trailer. The concentration on the promotional elements will begin in earnest the moment the Cinnamon edit is complete.

Some Additional Information for You

Along with things I need to learn and do for my own Journey, I continue to be on the lookout for information that I think will be helpful to you on your Journeys as well. This week I found several articles that touch on topics we’ve addressed before, but that I continue to believe are extremely important for all of us:

• Alan Rinzler, Consulting Editor at Jossey-Bass Publishing in San Francisco, wrote a post titled The Author Background Check: Cautionary Notes (http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/). This subject was one of the huge revelations that launched my blog and Journey last fall after attending the Writer’s Digest Conference in September in Manhattan. The fact that our queries of agents or editors in traditional publishing houses immediately triggers a Google search of us blew me away. Well, there are apparently lots of other checks performed as well, and since everything ever posted online about any of us remains there forever, that could be highly problematic. Decisions that affect our Journeys are frequently made based on what’s being discovered. Rinzler’s article could be very sobering for some of us who are trying to break into the traditional publishing arena. (In March, I referenced another of Rinzler’s posts on his view of self-publishing, which you might find of interest if you missed it the first time: https://cherilaser.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/30-journey-from-publishing-obscurity/.)
• We’ve talked a whole lot about the importance of having our work edited by professionals (something I did not do, much to my regret, with my first novel). Here are three more perspectives on that subject, which has become a major hot button for me: 1) The Myth of the Evil Editor by Victoria Strauss (http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2010/07/myth-of-evil-editor.html); 2) A Fourth of July Lesson in the Value of Editors by writingfordigital (http://writingfordigital.com/2010/07/04/a-fourth-of-july-lesson-in-the-value-of-editors/); 3) A Good Edit Would’ve Fixed That by April L. Hamilton (http://aprillhamilton.blogspot.com/2010/06/good-edit-wouldve-fixed-that.html). The point abundantly made by all three of these is that the quality of editing in our work is as important, if not more so, than our writing, our stories, and our characters combined. And this is true whether we’re pursuing our Journeys via a mainstream route or an alternate path.
• Since I’m beginning my focus on the development of my third novel, I was drawn to Janet Fitch’s 10 Rules for Writers (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/07/janet-fitchs-10-rules-for-writers.html), which I found very useful and thought you might as well. I especially enjoyed her point #10: “Torture Your Protagonist. The writer is both a sadist and a masochist. We create people we love, and then we torture them. The more we love them, and the more cleverly we torture them along the lines of their greatest vulnerablity and fear, the better the story. Sometimes we try to protect them from getting booboos that are too big. Don’t. This is your protagonist, not your kid.” After reading wonderful pieces like this, I begin to think that I should have my head examined for trying to compete in this business … 🙂
• Here’s another interesting take on self-publishing–My Novel: There’s An App for That! by David Carnoy (http://publishingperspectives.com/?p=17935).
• Jane Friedman of Writer’s Digest posted about “New Tools for Entrepreneurial Writers” that consolidate social media input into a daily newspaper: (http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/CommentView.aspx?guid=f0aa3c49-14df-4391-82a7-a77bc90d93d4).
• And finally–and probably my favorite–Victoria Mixon, Editor, posted 6 Personality Types Who Will Succeed as Writers (http://victoriamixon.com/2010/07/13/6-personality-types-who-will-succeed-as-writers/). I encourage you to read the entire post. But I was particularly struck by her “#5. THE PATIENT: those who take their time, realizing life is long and a career in the arts takes the whole of it and even the greats never lived long enough to learn it all.”  What she goes on to write is so beautiful and so applicable to all of us that I want to end this post with her words:

“Somerset Maughm lamented it. Flannery O’Connor lamented it. You can lament it too: you will never live long enough. You can devote all the decades of your life to the craft you love and be ecstatic you did, but you will still die, like Albert Einstein, leaning out of bed with the last frail ounce of strength, grasping for a reproducable theorum of the divine.

“And you will know, as you lean, that you gave it your all, every day of your life: your passion and curiosity and love and devotion to this craft that means so much to so many but, especially, to you. And you will die grateful you had the chance, thanking heaven you stumbled on it while there was all that time to luxuriate in it … even if you became a writer only days before you died.

“It came to you–this extraordinary craft–as a free and unfettered gift, and you got to own it, for just a little while.”

Have A Great Week, Everybody!

Read Full Post »

52–Publishing Journey Update Plus Other News

First …

Please forgive the distance between this post and my last one. I have been popping in through comments and tag surfing. But otherwise I’ve been so consumed with everything that’s going on, and with everything I’ve been learning, that the time hasn’t been available until this Saturday morning to sit down and write a post about what’s been going on and what I’ve been learning. I’m uncomfortable with this much space in between posts, and I’ll do my best not to go this long in the future.

So …

What’s Been Going on with Separation of Faith?

We’re still in the final proofing/revision stage, which is where we’ve been for about a month and a half now. The other editing stages moved along at a nice clip, but things have really slowed down to a frustrating pace at the moment. The change in momentum started when the proofreader at the publisher took a month instead of the quoted 2-3 weeks. I then had to review the proofreader’s recommendations and then accept or decline each one. In a book that will print at 300 pages, there were only 39 notations, almost half of which were formatting errors that happened when the manuscript was changed from a Word document into the publishing design. I declined five of the remaining issues, which were all semi-colon situations.

After completing that process, I had to go through the entire manuscript again because I was allowed up to 50 additional revisions/corrections, which could be as small as a punctuation mark or as large as adding a paragraph. I ended up with 48 changes, 99% of which were tiny-to-small issues, and there was only one big change where I added a paragraph to the Acknowledgments. In three cases, I added clarifying words to a sentence or reworked the wording. That entire process ate up several days.

Then I returned to the publisher the proofreader’s changes, my changes, and the required changes to the cover all in one email on June 28. The cover changes were done almost immediately, except for one error that’s currently being fixed. Yesterday (July 9, almost two weeks later) I was notified that the proofreader’s revisions had been implemented. But my 48 changes haven’t even been started yet.

There’s a big promotion through the publisher that lasts until July 30, which will enable me to purchase a large supply of my books (for submission to reviewers, contests, etc) with free shipping, a free extra 10% copies, plus substantial author discounts. But in order to take advantage of that promotion, Separation of Faith has to be live.

The editorial staff and everyone else at iUniverse as well has been unbelievably fabulous to this point, and I have every expectation that this little log jam will be unplugged come Monday. But I do admit to some frustration. This is amplified, I’m sure, by the fact that I’m going through breast reconstruction at the same time, so my patience is somewhat altered by the cement bowling balls currently attached to my chest wall … 🙂 … At least I’m getting a shape back, though. The only problem at the moment is that “they” don’t move, and if someone hugs me too hard, they get broken ribs. This situation will be rectified by my next surgery, hopefully in early September.

This sort of production issue (I’m referring to the novel again now … 🙂 …) happens all the time when a book is coming out, regardless of the publishing method. So no matter which path you’re considering (or that you’ve already selected) for your own publishing Journey, be prepared to be patient. Setting expectations levels in advance for a long gestation period is a good idea.

That said, my cover is absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait for you to see the gem. And reading through the beautiful proofed PDF, which is already in the book design format, does turn on the light at the end of the tunnel, even if the train has temporarily slowed to a crawl.

If all goes well this coming Monday and things get back on track, I could be holding my first copies of Separation of Faith in my hands by the end of this month. Considering how long we’ve been talking about that event in this blog, that is going to be one heck of a day! I will take pictures and post them here. 🙂

Once Again, Let Me Emphasize the Importance of Editing!

This sounds like a broken record, I know, but seeing the quality of my novel now, as compared to six months ago, I can’t believe I even entertained the idea that I was good enough to edit the book myself (or that any of my relatives were good enough). Professional editing makes more difference than you can imagine!

Separation of Faith has been through two editorial reviews, a copyedit, and a proofreading, each of those followed by at least one and usually two revisions cycles in which I incorporated recommendations from those edits. Yes, the steps have added months to the publishing process. And yes there was a financial investment involved along with the additional time. But when the novel is released, I will challenge any person in the traditional publishing world to tell me that this book would have been more beautifully edited coming out of a traditional house.

And because the do-it-yourself/self-publishing/print-on-demand world is so flooded with every level of book imaginable, a major key to rising about the pack and having a shot at getting noticed resides in the quality of both the writing and the editing. And some will say that the latter is more critical than the former. So even if you’re still pursuing the traditional route on your Journey, invest in having your manuscript edited before you ever start querying. The odds of getting anyone’s serious attention become slimmer by the minute without that investment.  

The Video Book Trailer for Separation of Faith

The more I study the importance of video book trailers, the more I wonder how anyone could consider publishing a book these days without a video as part of the promotion. If you’re at the stage where you’re trying to decide if one is necessary, the answer is yes. Again, this business is so competitive that trying to get attention for the book you’ve slaved over for months/years/decades is a batlle under the best of circumstances. So we all need to be automatically adding a video book trailer to our plans.

The video for Separation of Faith is about half finished. The fellow who’s helping me is a technical/video genius–but he also has a real job plus a wife and three children (ages 5, 3, and six months). So even though the video is only going to be 60-90 seconds long, we’re still only halfway there after three multiple hour sessions together and I-have-no-idea-how-many hours of individual time for both of us. I know I spent about six hours hunting down appropriate royalty free pictures to use along with others I’d already taken and collected during my initial research for the book.

The music on my video will be an original song by my tech genius, and the “script” (words across the screen) is something we’ve designed together (and is very much a work in progress still). But as this thing comes together, I literally get goosebumps on my arms thinking about this film promoting Separation of Faith being on YouTube and every other conceivable site.

There is a ton of information online to help you if you’re at the point where you need to start thinking about a video book trailer. Everyone seems to have a different formula, and the best one for you will undoubtedly be a combination of what you read, who you know, and what you can contribute yourself. But here are a few links to get you going:

• http://www.writersdigest.com/article/4-simple-steps-to-creating-a-book-trailer/
• http://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/make-a-book-trailer-in-10-easy-steps/
• http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/book_marketing_maven/2009/10/book-trailers-11-steps-to-make-your-own.html

Yes, there’s a lot of work involved–but boy is this part fun!

The Press Release Preparation

The actual publishing date of Separation of Faith will be the day my author copies are ready to send to me. But I will need to wait several weeks after that before officially launching my promotional campaign. That’s because of the time required for the novel to go live on all the online and traditional distribution sites.

Sending out press releases to get people excited about the book would not be a good idea if the book isn’t yet available for ordering everywhere. Even though this novel won’t actually be stocked on the shelves of book stores yet, once the title is live you’ll be able to go into any Barnes & Noble, and any other brick-and-mortar bookseller, and order a copy. And, of course, the title will be available on the major as well as minor online sites as well (not to mention my own book store on my Web site: www.SeparationOfFaith.com).

So I have some time to get all of my ducks in a row. And I’ve been studying up on press releases. Over and over again I’ve been reading that sending out a blanket press release–something identical that goes to bazillions of people–is a bad idea. Press releases need to be tailored and individualized. And since I do have a lot of categories of people/organizations to contact (see my blog post on June 18 https://cherilaser.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/48-journey-update-whew/), I’ve begun the process of creating different versions. There are core pieces that will remain the same from one to another, but I really do see the importance of tailoring.

The press release that will go to my little local county newspapers, where I can be billed as a “local author” and already have some publicity history through my community service work, will be vastly different from a press release I’ll send to a potential reviewer. I’m not sure how many versions I’ll end up with. As many as it takes, I suppose.

Update on the Rising Star Application (also discussed in my June 18 post: https://cherilaser.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/48-journey-update-whew/)

When I launched this blog last November 4, I promised to share the good, the bad, and the ugly involved with this Journey. Well, I was not accepted into the Rising Star Program–yet. I’ve asked for more detail regarding what was missing from my marketing and promotion plans, and hopefully that information will be forthcoming. But the important point to note is that I will automatically be reconsidered for the program as soon as 250 retail copies of Separation of Faith have been sold.

I know that doesn’t sound like very many copies, if you haven’t been “out there” trying to sell your book yet. But keep this statistic in mind: More than 90% of all books published (whether they’re published via traditional or alternate paths) sell fewer than 1000 copies total throughout the life of the book!

So, as we all hear all the time, if we’re writing because we want to make money, we’re probably in the wrong business. A tiny group of us amidst the tens of millions reaching for the dream will end up earning a few dollars–and a handful of those will eventually earn enough to make a modest living–and a handful of those will do very well–and a couple of those will become celebrities.

Now, as I say to myself almost every day, after hours of all the stuff I’m summarizing in this post, I absolutely cannot believe I’m doing this voluntarily!

At any rate, once I sell 250 copies of the new novel through retail outlets, the Rising Star option will again become available. Getting into that group would raise the realm of possibilities up a bit within the tens of millions of other dreamers on the Journey.

What’s Been Going on with the Reduction Edit for The Truth About Cinnamon?

Substantial progress is finally being made on this element of the Journey’s Plan. For those who are here for the first time, The Truth About Cinnamon was my first novel. And in preparation for the release of Separation of Faith, I’m re-editing Cinnamon, cleaning things up a bit (because I didn’t have someone hammering the editing advice into my head seven years ago) and shortening the length (all without my many Cinnamon fans knowing that anything is missiing … 🙂 …).

But this is a long novel (as first novels often are), and the effort has been huge. Plus, this part of the Plan has been secondary to getting Separation of Faith as perfect as possible. (And things were set back even further through April and May after my breast cancer diagnosis … I’m doing great, by the way). However, I’m now in the midst of a hard copy edit, and as soon as I’m finished with that effort, I’ll key in the changes, do another proofreading, and then I’ll be finished at last! Yay!

The hope is that the 2nd Edition printing of Cinnamon will somewhat coiincide with the launch of Separation of Faith’s promotion.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to check out a free serialization of Cinnamon‘s original (1st Edition) ten chapters, you’ll find them at: http://www.filedby.com/author/cheri_laser/2721580/documents/24081497/

What’s Been Going on with My Other Writing (Articles, Short Stories …)

A new book is taking shape that chronicles my surgery and reconstruction. Obviously, until the physical process is complete, the book won’t be either. But I think this one might be a new slant on what’s become an epidemic event among women in this country. I’ll keep you posted.

If you’d like to check out the free reads on my other stuff, I recommend that you start with the short story Life at Bat, which is hundreds of times more popular than any of the other pieces, for some reason. You’ll find the story and all my other offerings at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/32280899/Life-at-Bat.

Interesting Reading Links that I’ve Been Collecting to Share with You

• http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/favorite-tweets-for-writers-june-21-june-27-2010/
• http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/06/top-8-cover-design-tips-for-self-publishers/
• http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/5+Lies+Unpublished+Writers+Tell+Themselves+And+The+Truths+That+Can+Get+Them+Published.aspx
• http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2010/06/21/do-you-have-a-marketing-plan-or-do-you-have-a-business-plan/

Stats

• This blog: 2809 (last posting 2669)
• My Web site (www.cherilaser.com): 38,515 (last posting 38,017
• Scribd: 1291 (This is the first time I’ve posted this stat, but it’s been a lot of fun to watch, so I’ll start tracking it here now.) Click on this link to get to my page–http://www.scribd.com/claser–and then click on Documents up at the top.)

Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! I’ll look forward to hearing from you, as always.

All the best–Cheri

Read Full Post »

51–Kickstarter.com

A Huge Exciting Discovery for Self-Promoters!

Hi and good morning! One of the key blogs that I follow is by Jane Friedman, strategic director of Writer’s Digest (http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/). She published a post this morning about a site called Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com), where anyone–writers, artists, you-name-it–can try to get backing on a project they’ve developed/are developing/are thinking about developing.

People pledge money (doesn’t have to be much) to back a project, but no one actually pays unless the project reaches its pledge goal within the prescribed time frame. Project creators seem to offer give-aways for backers that are appropriate/relevant to the project, and you can see how the pledges are doing and how much time is left. The whole thing is really fascinating and really caught my attention.

And this isn’t just for writers but for anyone who’s trying to get a dream off the ground.

Perhaps this will be another avenue of promotion for Separation of Faith …?

I did pledge to back one project–a woman in Boston who’s trying to start her own publishing business (http://kck.st/9NwlvH). We’ll see if she meets her goal.

Just thought some of you out there might find this of as much interest as I did.

Later …

Read Full Post »

50–Novel’s Release in Sight!

Journey Update–Production Just Around the Corner for Separation of Faith

Considering the length of the road traveled since this blog was launched last November 4 (https://cherilaser.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/), not to mention all the curves navigated in the process, this is a very exciting point! The proofreader at the publisher has completed his/her task, and the list (not very long) of recommended changes has been returned to me. My job now is to review those recommendations and either accept or reject them. They’re all pretty minor issues (a punctuation mark missing, or one on the wrong side of a parenthesis or quotation mark, etc.). I’ve already been through the list and accepted all but five. Each of those five addressed sentences with semi-colons–and I went with my interpretation rather than the recommendation.

Some of the issues highlighted by the proofreader were created by the design process itself, wherein the transfer of the manuscript into the publishing world’s book format resulted in some weird symbol showing up or some weird line spacing. But I have to tell you that there were several places where inadvertent errors were found that would have absolutely driven me nuts if they had ended up in the printed book. For example, in one of the revision cycles I changed a sentence, and somehow an extra verb was inserted:

• The way the sentence is supposed to read–“I waited a long time before taking the plunge, until I was almost forty-four …”
• The way the sentence appeared to the proofreader–“I waited a long time before taking the plunge, until I was almost was forty-four …”

Throughout the dozens of times I read the manuscript, my eyes went right over the extra “was.” And there were several other situations like this one that the proofreader found. So I cannot stress enough (as I’ve done so often before) the importance of submitting our manuscripts to rigorous, professional editing. After working as hard as we do to create these books, we need to ensure that what we’re putting out there is absolutely the highest quality possible. I know the precise “Oh $&$#!” reaction I would have had if those errors would have shown up in the printed book.

Even with all of this editorial diligence, though, I’m sure there will still be something that slips through, as we’ve all seen in books by even the most famous, prolific mainstream authors. But I’m now confident that the editorial quality of my novel will be on par with the best coming out of mainstream houses–and, for me, that sure beats the option of reading through my long-awaited book and finding errors that would have easily been caught by another pair of trained eyes.

In today’s ever-changing publishing climate, the editorial quality of a book can be as important, if not more so, than the writing. So please don’t shortcut (or overlook) the editorial process for your own creations, after you’ve already invested so much of your time and sweat equity.

Now that the proofreading is complete, I have one more opportunity to go through the manuscript and make any last-minute changes. That process should be wrapped up by the end of the week (and so far there aren’t many new things I want to add/change). Once I return everything to the publisher, signaling the end of this round, the proofed changes and any new things I add will be implemented, and I will then have a last sign-off review. Hopefully that turnaround won’t take more than a week. And then–at long last–the book will go into production. That means I’ll have my first copies of Separation of Faith in hand by the middle of July.

At that point, I’ll need to wait until the title has gone live on Amazon and all the other online retailers (a week or ten days after I receive my copies) before I start sending out the press release, posting the video book trailer, and othewise launching the promotional plan. But I can now see that launch point from where I’m standing, and the view is spectacular!

Domain Connections

This is a part of the Plan that I mentioned in an earlier post, but it’s one that will ultimately prove to be very important. I’m talking about domain names. You can secure domains very inexpensively now (like under $20 a year!), and you don’t need to have a product or a Web site in order to get a domain name. So I encourage you, if you haven’t done so already, to get the domain for your own name (and/or your pen name), and for the title of your book(s), no matter what stage of your writing you’re in. (I’m using www.GoDaddy.com as my domain registry.)

And you don’t need to create a separate Web site for each domain name. You can link the domains to any existing site (Web site, blog, etc.) that you already have out there. Social media Neanderthal that I was until last fall, I created a separate Web site for www.TheTruthAboutCinnamon.com. But now that I know what I’m doing (sort of), I’m going to let the separate Cinnamon Web site expire and then link the domain to my primary site. That’s what I’ve done with the following domains, connecting them to the appropriate pages of my primary Web site (www.eWritersRUs.com).

I did have to ask the fellow who’s doing my video book trailer to show me how to do the linking–and it’s so easy that I did all the rest on my own. (I felt sort of stupid for asking, actually, once he showed me.) If you click on these links, you’ll see what I mean:

• www.CheriLaser.com
• www.SeparationOfFaith.com
• www.ReinventingYourPossibilities.com
• www.MakingYourWordsWork.com
• www.ReinventingYourselfAtAnyAge.com

The minimal expense for domains is deductible, if you’re making your book(s) a business enterprise (which is what our books do become, if we want anyone to actually buy them … 🙂 …)

Life at Bat

As I’ve mentioned in a couple of earlier posts, part of the Plan/Journey involves publishing other examples of my writing online (free publishing/free downloads). Several of my short stories and articles are currently available at www.FiledBy.com, www.Scribd.com, and www.RedRoom.com. But universally, the short story titled “Life at Bat” ( http://www.scribd.com/doc/32280899/Life-at-Bat) has been getting the most traffic, which has been extremely interesting for me to observe.

The story is a humorous approach to a life message, and is universally applicable. But if you’re someone who attended Catholic school in the 1950’s and ’60’s, you might find an extra level of enjoyment through reading this story–in case you find yourself with a few free minutes where you have nothing else to do.

Stats

• This blog–2669 (last update–2591)
• Web site–38,017 (last update–37,689)

Speaking of www.TheTruthAboutCinnamon.com (which I was doing earlier), the stats at that Web site this morning show 3511. I haven’t really been focusing on that one, but the number is up by a couple of thousand since I last looked. So something is going on there.

Maybe people are checking in to see how the seemingly never-ending reduction edit for the 2nd Edition is coming along … 🙂 …  Answer: I’m finally making great progress. “This summer” is what I’m thinking now for the re-release. I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks, as always, for checking in and for following along with this Journey. I love hearing and learning from you! 

Read Full Post »

48–Journey Update (Whew!)

Video Book Trailer

After finishing a draft of this post, I decided to put this part first because it’s so much fun!

This past Tuesday evening, I had my first meeting with the fellow who’s going to be developing my video book trailer for me. He’s incredibly talented–not only a computer whiz but also an accomplished musician/singer/songwriter. So, in addition to his skill with assembling the graphics, photos, etc., for the one-minute film, one of his original songs (which is absolutely amazing) will become the soundtrack. And I can’t wait for you to hear it!

That video will, of course, be a huge part of the book’s promotion, and I’ll post the trailer on this blog first (right before YouTube … 🙂 …) As we make progress with the production, I’ll keep you posted.

I think I’m more excited about this part of the plan than anything else except the book itself.

Rising Star Application

Earlier this afternoon, I emailed (finally) the completed Rising Star application that I’ve been working on for the past several weeks. As a refresher regarding what that’s all about: Because Separation of Faith earned the Editor’s Choice designation, I became eligible for the Rising Star program. Reaching that level would be incredibly important since, among other things, a commissioned sales force would then begin presenting my novel to booksellers through privileged publishing avenues that writers (especially unknown writers) can’t get to.

This is the type of support that mainstream authors receive from traditional publishing houses. But such assistance in the self-publishing world is difficult, if not impossible, to find. I’m not sure what other POD (print on demand) organizations offer, but iUniverse has varying levels of marketing assistance available for books that have met their quality criteria (writing as well as editing) and that have been written by authors who are already motivated and organized with a marketing and promotion plan.

Well … the novel did earn Editor’s Choice … and I’m certainly motivated. Also, as I’ve indicated in previous posts, I’ve had plenty of marketing and promotion ideas and directions in mind for a long time. But I hadn’t pulled everything into one place, which is what the Rising Star application forced me to do.

Then, once I was immersed in the process, I started to get a little overwhelmed. The undertaking that will begin in a few weeks when the novel comes out is huge—and as I’ve said to a few friends recently, I must be nuts to be doing this voluntarily. But onward we march.

In an earlier post, I shared a few of the questions in the application, the majority of which required narrative answers. Here are a few more of those:

• While marketing your book, what will be the challenging areas where you might want to seek professonal help?
• What kind of research did you conduct when writing your book?
• Who is your target audience?
• Specifically, how do you plan to market to your target audience?
• What is the one unique thing about your book?
• Who are you planning to approach for endorsement quotes, a foreword, or other testimonials?

Sort of thought-provoking, right? How about this one: What things do you not want to do while marketing your book?

I answered, “Other than dancing with a stripper pole, I’m guessing not much.” 🙂

But here’s where the answers started to become overwhelming when all of things I want to do were pulled into a single place:

Question–What publicity do you have planned?

Answer:

1. Publish electronic press release, with testimonials and link to video book trailer to all of my social media sites:

• www.SeparationOfFaith.com and www.CheriLaser.com, both of which directly link to my primary Web site, www.eWritersRUs.com
• my blog—www.cherilaser.wordpress.com
• my author page on Amazon’s Author Central
• my sites on Facebook, Twitter, FiledBy, Scribd, LinkedIn, Red Room, and Writer’s Digest Community.

2. Send electronic press release, with testimonials and link to video book trailer to:

• My email list (1000)
• Distribution lists of three of my contacts (another 2500-3000)
• Rotary District Newsletter
• Hackensack Rotary Club
• Felician College “Older Is Better” Group (where I’ve been a speaker)
• Cresskill-Demarest Rotary Club (where I’ve been a speaker)
• New Jersey state and regional newspapers and magazines (where I’ve lived for ten years): The Record, The Chronicle, The County Seat, 201 Magazine—Northern New Jersey, two regional newspapers
• Newspapers in areas germane to Separation of Faith and places where I lived for extended periods of time: Kettle Falls Focus (Kettle Falls, WA), The Statesman-Examiner (Colville, WA), The Seattle Times, Bellevue Reporter (Bellevue, WA where I graduated from high school), San Francisco Chronicle (I lived and worked in the Bay Area for 14 years), San Mateo County Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution (I lived and worked in the Atlanta area for 18 years), Cartersville Daily Tribune (Cartersville, GA), Bartow Neighbor (Cartersville, GA)
• Chambers of Commerce: Kettle Falls, WA, Bellevue, WA, Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA, San Mateo, CA, Charlotte, NC—All locations are significant to the novel.
• Libraries: Alpine, NJ (where I live), Bogota, NJ (where I used to live and where there are six copies of my first novel, The Truth About Cinnamon), Cresskill, NJ (my local area), Hackensack, NJ (where I used to live and where there are three copies of my first novel, The Truth About Cinnamon), Teaneck, NJ (local area). Personal calls will also be made at each library, with particular emphasis on those where I have contacts on their boards of trustees.

3. Upload Video Book Trailer to:

• YouTube
• My Web site (www.eWritersRUs.com.  The following domains also link directly into my Web Site: www.CheriLaser.com, www.SeparationOfFaith.com, www.ReinventingYourPossibilities.com, www.MakingYourWordsWork.com, www.ReinventingYourselfAtAnyAge.com. Several of these domains relate to my freelance editing and speaking businesses.)
• My blog (www.cherilaser.wordpress.com)
• My author page on Amazon (www.authorcentral.Amazon.com) where I already have information loaded on my first novel, The Truth About Cinnamon.
• My author page on Red Room (www.redroom.com) where I’m posted on the Hall of Fame board in the site’s self-published section for The Truth About Cinnamon.
• My Facebook site.
• My author site on www.filedby.com.
• My author site on www.scribd.com.
• My author site on www.writersdigestcommunity.com.
• My site on www.linkedin.com.  
• My Twitter site via tweets.

And then …

Question–Please include any marketing plans, suggestions, ideas that you would like to use to market/sell your book:

Answer:

In addition to everything listed in both this document as well as the Title Information Sheet:

a)      Every element of the marketing process will be tracked and discussed through my blog: A Real Journey from Publishing Obscurity to Somewhere Else (www.cherilaser.wordpress.com). The mission of the blog, launched in the fall of 2009, is to share the entire process surrounding Separation of Faith (writing, editing, revising, publishing, marketing) with other writers. Also included are postings of information and links to lots of writing/publishing-related issues, so any writers following me can learn along with me. The launch of this novel will be a very big deal on this blog and one that a lot of people will be anticipating.

b)      I will enter Separation of Faith in the following contests, all of which are distinctly open to self-published books:

1. Readers Favorite Award–June 30, 2010 (Doubt I’ll make this deadline now.)
2. ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year–Opens Summer 2010
3. 7^th Annual National Best Book Awards–September 30, 2010
4. The Eric Hoffer Award–January 2011
5. DIY Book Festival–January 25, 2011
6. The IPPY Awards (Indep. Publ. Book Awards)–March 2011
7. 2011 Writers-Editors Int’l Writing Competition–March 15, 2011
8. National Indie Excellence Awards–March 31, 2011
9. Writer’s Digest Self-Published Competition–May 2011
10. 2011 Hollywood Book Festival (just missed 2010)–June 2011
11. The Independent Novel Award (by Podler)–Chosen from books reviewed

 c)      I will seek reviews from the following:

• ForeWord Clarion Book Reviews
• Twitter Reviewers
• The New Podler Review
• Readers Favorite Reviews
• Top Reviewers at Amazon
• Kirkus Discoveries
• Publisher’s Weekly
• Library Journal
• Booklist

d)     I will promote Separation of Faith on Kindle, Sony Reader, and the Barnes & Noble Nook.

e)      Once my marketing plans develop legs, I will pursue guest posts on strategic blogs, beginning with “There Are No Rules,” the blog of Jane Friedman, strategic director of Writer’s Digest.

f)       I’m going to create and distribute a podcast of Separation of Faith. (Will attend a webinar on June 24 to learn the specifics of how best to accomplish this line item.)

g)      Using the results from the first six months of marketing and promotional activity, I will approach the following sites for coverage, which are not typically receptive to self-published books unless there’s some sort of buzz:

• Bookslut
• Beatrice.com
• Chicklit.com
• Bookreporter.com
• Curledup.com

Stop. Breathe.

I also had to list all of the specific events I plan to hold. Of course, since I don’t know yet the precise date when the book will be live on Amazon and all the other online bookseller sites, I couldn’t list the event dates. (Mid-July is looking possible.) But I do have commitments from the different venues–and there will be twelve events in the first 6-8 weeks, the largest of which will be the Book Launch Party, which I’ll be holding at the Hilton in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, where my Rotary club meets every week.

The answers I’ve shared with you in this post represent three of the thirty questions asked in this application. And even though I’ve been grumbling a lot as I put the thing together, the end product has actually given me a very well organized plan to follow. So, even though I’m praying that I’ll be accepted into the Rising Star program, I’ll be very clearly directed if I’m not.

And reminding myself about the mission of this blog (see Blog Launch Posting on November 4, 2009), I should have a shot of getting there on my own with this new, comprehensive map I’ve managed to develop as a result of the application process.

Guess we’ll start finding out soon enough.

Quotes and Testimonials

This is a really important part of credible promotional materials. I’ve approached several people who I admire very much and who are respected in the world of publishing/journalism/entertainment. Four have said they’d be willing to read the book, and three of those are already doing so. Of course, there’s always the chance that one/some/all of those folks won’t like what I’ve written. (Yikes!)

But that’s a chance we have to take, if we want to get some of those great quotes we see on other authors’ books. Right? Right. Scary, though, to be sure!

As soon as I actually have the/any/some quotes/testimonials in hand, I’ll let you know who’s given them to me and what they’ve written. (Did I say yikes yet?)

Authors as Entrepreneurs–Interview

Regardless of whether you’re a writer determined to exclusively pursue the traditional Journey to publishing, or an author who’s looking at the different (and viable) options now available to us, I strongly recommend your taking a look at this seven-part interview: http://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/07/10/opportunity-within-the-long-tail-of-book-authors-iuniverse-ceo-kevin-weiss-part-1/. Kevin Weiss is the CEO of iUniverse, and even though the interview was done two years ago, his comments are still hugely relevant today (a good indication of his insight).

Hopefully, you’ll find something enlightening (or at least somewhat interesting) in what he contributes to the conversation.

Time for a Nap

Don’t I wish. Now that the Rising Star application is finished, I need to focus (again … more … still …) on the reduction edit of The Truth about Cinnamon. Who knew six or seven months ago that all this other stuff was going to take so long. (Of course, my surgery thing got in the way a little. But I’m really doing well now, thank heavens.) At any rate, I need to get that edit finished pronto, because the 2nd Edition of Cinnamon is very important to the Journey in the long run.

Short Stories and Essays/Articles

If you’d like to check out a little free reading, I’m mentioning again that I’ve published several of my short stories and essays/articles on the following Web sites. The free serialization of Cinnamon can also be found at the FiledBy and Scribd links.)

• http://www.scribd.com/doc/32280899/Life-at-Bat (This link will take you to one of the stories that’s been receiving the most traffic. You can get to the other stuff from that page as well. Same situation on the other links–except the Cinnamon serialization is only available at Scribd.com and FiledBy.com.)
• http://redroom.com/articlestory/life-bat-a-short-story
• http://www.filedby.com/author/cheri_laser/2721580/documents/32280899/

Thanks So Much for Stopping By. Please Let Me Hear from You! And I hope Everyone Has an Absolutely Fabulous Weekend as Summer Officially Rolls In!

Read Full Post »

47–Publishing Journey Update

The Shift from Writing/Editing to Marketing/Promotion is a Challenge

Looking back periodically on the launch post for this blog last November 4 is healthy. There’s no better way to remind myself how much ground has been covered. But, frankly, the place I’m in right now feels a bit strange.

Separation of Faith is going through the proofreading cycle at the publisher, so there isn’t anything for me to do with the manuscript until they send me the galley for my review. (I’m expecting that to happen sometime this week.) And although my third novel has taken an early shape, I’m not yet doing any research or even outlining yet. So I’m in this strange sort of limbo where my writing–the reason I’m on this crazy path in the first place–has taken a backseat to the marketing and promotional elements of the Journey/Plan.

Although I’m maintaining a writing presence through this blog and other social media outlets, there’s a big difference between this kind of writing and the kind that is my passion: the development of characters woven into a storyline pulled from my imagination. And I have to tell you that the focus on my third novel will increase shortly (somehow I need to find the time) because my jam-packed days seem a bit empty without my passion being fed (for at least an hour a day–a new goal).

Meanwhile, if I’m not writing my third book, what the heck am I doing? Well …

Getting Ready for the Book Launch

As we’ve discussed many times over the last seven months, creating a quality book ends up being the easy part, if our goal is to have some measure of success with that book (where at least several people actually buy the book). And believe me, all the publishing professionals who repeatedly make that point really know what they’re talking about.

For example, here are a few of the things I’ll be working on today:

• Expanding my social media presence (an ongoing, never-ending process). By the way, I published three short stories and four articles yesterday on my Red Room site (www.redroom.com, search on Cheri Laser). Those seven pieces are also available on Scribd.com where I published the free serialization of The Truth About Cinnamon. (This link will take you to one of the stories http://www.scribd.com/doc/32280899/Life-at-Bat. You can get to the rest on that same page.)
• Completing the Rising Star application for iUniverse. Because Separation of Faith earned the Editor’s Choice designation, I’m eligible for this additional recognition, which would give me a commissioned sales force that would present the novel to booksellers. This application requires me to outline my entire marketing and promotion plan for the first several months after the book’s release. (I listed a number of the questions on the application in my post #44 on May 28.)
• Writing to every person I know, who’s somehow connected to the publishing industry, asking if they’d be willing to take their time to read the copyedited manuscript for a potential endorsement/testimonial. This was already a line item on my marketing plan, but the Rising Star application forced the to-do into action.
• Studying the rudiments of how to create a video book trailer (which will be uploaded to YouTube, my blog, my Web site, Facebook, and every other place I can think of). I have a great guy who’s going to help me with this incredibly important element of the promotional plan, but my input about the organization and content of the video will be crucial. And because the video will be short (2-3 minutes), every second is important. There needs to be a script and some combination of moving video, stills, narrative voiceovers, testimonials, comments from readers, a comment from me(?), all set to carefully chosen background music. When I meet with my video guru, I need to at least look like I know what I’m talking about. Here are three links, in case you’re interesting in exploring the subject yourself: 

• http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/book_marketing_maven/2009/10/book-trailers-11-steps-to-make-your-own.html
• http://www.writersdigest.com/article/4-simple-steps-to-creating-a-book-trailer/
• http://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/make-a-book-trailer-in-10-easy-steps/

So, that’s what’s on tap for today (yikes!). Other things on the list for the next couple of weeks include:

• Gaining agreement from as many people as possible who will help distribute the press release to their contact bases.
• Figuring out how to link my new domain names (SeparationOfFaith.com, CheriLaser.com, ReinventingYourPossibilities.com, and MakingYourWordsWork.com) to my existing Web site so I don’t have create separate sites for each one. I think the fellow who’s helping me with the video will be able to help me with this as well. My instincts tell me this shouldn’t be very difficult, but that’s the extent of what I know at this point.
• Consolidating every contact/email address in my world into a single group for distribution of the press release and other promotional communications.
• Lining up all of the promotional events for the first three months after release, starting with the book launch party, and continuing with book readings and signings, and speeches.
• Lining up all of the media for publicity (local newspapers, magazines, TV and radio shows). After Cinnamon was released, I was interviewed for a TV show called “The Book Authority,” which airs in Connecticut. I’ll be approaching the host of that show to see if he’d be willing to interview me again for Separation of Faith. Securing that interview will give me a reference to help get additional interviews that are more local to my area.

I know there are other to-do’s that I haven’t listed, but I’m exhausted just looking at what I’ve already written here. And I guess I’d better wrap this up and start moving!

But First … Update on Cinnamon Edit 

An element of the Plan launched last November (and nearly forgotten with my surgery and all) is the edit of The Truth About Cinnamon so we can print a slightly more streamlined second edition. I am finally focusing on that task, and I must tell you that moving off the above list for a few hours each day to edit that story feels almost like a vacation! The new goal is to have the edit completed by June 18. I’ll post a big Yay! once that goal is reached.

Stats

These haven’t been updated for awhile:

• This blog: 2591 (last update: 2327)
• My Web site: 37,689 (last update: 36,150)

Hope You’re Having a Great Week!

 

Read Full Post »

46–Great WSJ Article on Digital Publishing

Digital Publishing in Depth

This subject has come up over and over again recently through this blog, which speaks to the enormity of the issue in the publishing industry. A new Wall Street Journal article addressing the full scope was brought to my attention this morning, and this link will also take you to the site where additional publishing resources are highlighted.

Every writer out there who’s on a Journey to the Dream needs to check this out: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704912004575253132121412028-lMyQjAxMTAwMDAwMzEwNDMyWj.html.

In addition to reading this article, check out the following sites (among a lengthening list) that give you the opportunity to publish your work:

• www.FastPencil.com
• www.Smashwords.com
• www.Lulu.com
• www.Scribd.com

Response to Free Downloads/Reads

There’s been an amazing response to several of the free stories and articles I uploaded the other day to www.Scribd.com. Thanks so much for the interest! Please continue to let me hear from you after visiting http://www.scribd.com/doc/32280899/Life-at-Bat. This link will take you to one of the stories. Scroll down on that page to find “More from This User,” which would be moi.

Hope You’re All Having a Terrific Week!

Read Full Post »