Booktrailers – Be Careful

A book trailer can be a valuable tool in promoting a literary work, but it must be used carefully. Moreover, a cinematic book trailer, where the trailer mirrors many of the elements used in movie trailers, including utilizing actors, locations, dramatic pacing with editing and music, etc., must be used even more carefully, as the objective is to garner interest in the work, not detach potential readers from interest in the material.

 For example, in The Silent Partner’s cinematic book trailer, I utilized actors and dialogue from the actual novel, but I was careful to illustrate conflict within the visual promotional “tease” of the book, while not telling much of the story. In fact, many people gave me similar feedback: “It looks very interesting, but I don’t know exactly what the book’s about.” This was the exact reaction I had hoped for. (The Silent Partner‘s book trailer is available on YouTube HERE.)

You know when you go to the movie theatre and see a three-minute trailer, only to be turned off from seeing the actual film and muttering to your friend, “Ahhh, I’ll skip that one”? I used my own real-life experience to avoid doing this exact thing, so the viewer doesn’t believe they’ve seen the best that the source material has to offer. The objective is to leave them wanting more.

Most book trailers are not dynamic and, in my experience, fail to bring about a feeling of any kind by the viewer. Why bore people to death? They can love the humor, dislike a character, or be frustrated by something happening to a character, but they have to care. Protect your visual promotion of your storytelling by ensuring that the viewer is more interested in your story after seeing the trailer, not less.

A book trailer may or may not significantly add to your book sales. My utilization of the trailer did help me get a couple specific interviews, including one with a FOX TV affiliate in San Diego, but it’s hard to tell exactly how many books have been sold due to the trailer. Rather, the trailer provided additional interest in the overall process of self publishing, and that in itself has in some cases been more interesting to some than the content of the source material. The trailer helped build the profile of the book and build my Twitter following, as well as gain interest from some in the novel. Truly, though, it’s hard to tell of specific ROI impact.

A simple checklist for producing your very own book trailer:

1. Like with your book, draft out key points to showcase your story. Think of elements you can tell or enhance with visuals, and stay away from spoilers. Have a plan.
2. Put together a crew. You can’t do it yourself. Get different people with skill sets in different areas, and find ways to compensate them. If not with money, use food, furniture you would have gotten rid of anyway, etc.
3. It will take more work than you’re prepared for, so don’t set any promotional dates until after it’s completely done. Completely.
4. Be nimble and prepared for actors or crew members to drop the ball. It’s your responsibility to pick up the pieces, so when something goes wrong, look at the situation as an opportunity to improve your work. There’s no reason to accept defeat.
5. Try to be less than 3 minutes in length. It can be hard, especially for a 300-plus page novel. It was difficult for me.
6. If someone is more talented than you in some way in putting the trailer together, hear their voice and utilize their talent, but don’t compromise your overall theme or feel of the original work.
7. Use the ecosystem you’ve built with your blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., to publish access to your promotion.

Good luck in bringing your writing to life!

The Search for Free Publicity

It may be a noble pursuit to seek out free publicity for your self-published book. After all, great work deserves to be shared and talked about, right? The problem is, there is a tremendous amount of great work that doesn’t get promoted by media outlets merely because the work exists. Sadly, great work’s existence means little to the world without some sort of relevance or meaning to specific “influentials” who can share your voice, who likely believe that your work may help a sector of the world look at itself differently, understand itself, or be thoroughly entertained. It’s up to us as writers to find these reasons in our work, share them, and get our work in the hands of those someones who can champion it.

When I wrote The Silent Partner, I was conscious of my professional standing working in advertising here in San Diego, and utilized relationships for part of the promotion of my first novel in getting a little bit of local press. (For this, I was very fortunate.) Of course, I used Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube (for the book trailer), my blog, and my website to promote my work . . . and still do. But to expand beyond my own little ecosystem of what I hope others don’t consider self-importance, I continue to aspire to connect with other writers’ blogs and book-reading communities. A GREAT place to start, with readers hungry for material they want to love.

By contrast, I’ve twice paid a publicist to also assist with press releases, and have gotten interest in my novel’s subject matter more than a few times by media outlets. Publicists’ work is not underrated, either. It’s not cheap . . . that is for sure. But in the end, once you’re on track to become a master of your type of work, and you’ve promoted yourself beyond what you can by yourself, I very much recommend getting a publicist. Even a 4-week campaign can be a shot of adrenaline into the marketing of your book. You’ll get it into hands of people you otherwise would not have. And then, whether something “big” happens with your book or not, you’ll experience growth as a marketer of yourself, you’ll become smoother at your presentation of yourself and your work, you’ll make some new contacts, make new friends, sell a few books, and you can spend more of your energy starting your next project.

Writing a Novel Like a Movie

When I wrote The Silent Partner, I wrote it with visual stimulations of storytelling that I hoped would resonate with readers. Sure, there had to be great mechanics, grammar, structure, character, story construction, and prose. But to make emotion resonate throughout the story visually, the reader had to see and feel the story unfold. 

I often get frustrated reading stories that have too much description (and adverbs) or not enough of it. (Straight dialogue does get right to it, doesn’t it? To me, this can be even more like a screenplay, but–personal taste–I desire to read stories that allow me to sink into the story.) 

Of course, I had no idea if I was going the right direction with The Silent Partner, but after winning two Eric Hoffer Awards, including 1st Place in Commercial Fiction, now I really hope I’m onto something. I’m not proclaiming this process is revolutionary. It’s simple: connect with readers swiftly and powerfully. I wrote the novel this way, and will do this with the next one as well.

Simple tactics I employed:

• Details matter, but too many of them distract the reader and slow the narrative drive.
• Use the details that mean something. Use symbolism when appropriate, and don’t use clichéd ones.
• Stay away from adverbs whenever possible. It forces you to show the reader something a different way. Some readers think adverbs are lazy. I normally just don’t like the way they look on the page. (The occasional adverb is also more powerful then, too.)
• I was willing to get rid of “well-written passages” that didn’t move the story along aforementioned: swiftly and powerfully.
• I stayed away from melodrama but embraced drama. It connects.
• Stories are made great by fascinating characters. I spent a lot of time on building and complicating them. And they change with well-thought-out reasons.
• I allowed the story to have waves, or levels. Strong dialogue sections separate from action sequences. Exposition was simply written, and I worked hard to use the right language to get the ideas out quickly. With as few words possible. Then the story moved along more quickly, too.
• Find ways to say things without dialogue.
• Create scenes that have visually stunning–and relevant–actions. Then, they become memorable.
• The audience is smarter than we sometimes give them credit for. Don’t forget this. We don’t always need to spell everything out. 

Here’s to more great storytelling.

Good luck.

Things to Ponder When Doing Your Book Acknowledgements

The last thing you probably think you need to think about is how to thank the people who supported you through your enterprise of writing and publishing your book. Whatever the size of this magnificent stable of psuedo-fans–many of whom would also be in your cheering section should you, say, be on trial for murder–there will absolutely be important people you forget. Or people you should have forgotten. Friends may be slighted for reasons you cannot imagine, from their position in the supporter roster (“Did I make the first page?”) to their dissection of what names preceded theirs. (Clearly you, the writer, have a deficiency if that person supported you more than that one.)

Be aware of this possible disappointment, and don’t go off course because of it. Simply, it’s most important that you thank the people that must know that they contributed to your success. Be genuine. Then, no matter who grumbles, you know what you always knew: you thanked them for the right reasons.

Finding Your Voice as a Writer

Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of great material out there detailing how to find your writer’s voice. That distinguishable and authentic thing that makes your writing you. In cases of superb writing, a distinguishable voice can likely catapult or sink a writer. A material’s genre (especially in fiction), structure, quality, and appeal matter immensely, and some may even argue that these factors are more important than the “stamp” of a writer’s voice in finding writing success (which is defined differently by virtually all writers). Writing, though, is an art, not just a business of selling. The marketability of a piece of work is one thing; the uniqueness and individuality of that work is what helps it stand out among its peers. In many cases, a writer’s voice is what builds fans or followers.

A. Alvarez’s book The Writer’s Voice has some great little gems in it, illustrating how voice can help writers–and authors–find and define their audience. He breaks out the difference between “voice” and “style,” helping the reader–and writer–understand the differences with clarity. I also stumbled upon a great blog by Cori Padgett, where she talks a little about the purpose of writing and pointing out the importance of utilizing your quirks as a writer.

Here are some simple things that worked for me while writing my first novel, The Silent Partner. I’m sure that I’ll continue to refine my voice through future work. If you have tactics that have worked for you, please share!

• Write and therefore rewrite. Find out what works for you, in style and substance. Challenge yourself, but if you write often about something you love, you’ll develop a unique presence on the page.
• Structure your story before you write it, so you can clear your head of concerns of structure as you plow forward. (There are many theories on story structure. In a previous blog, I spoke of my favorite, John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story.) In this way, your individuality can come through without any “rules” binding you down.
• Be your interesting self. Write about what matters to you. If something pivotal is missing, it will come up with rewrites and editing. And editors! When you can dig into yourself and find those moments that mattered to you or someone else, and you can channel them into a character or story (the writer version of what actors do, I suppose), great moments can happen on the page. And those moments are all you. (Great time to cue The Greatest Love of All.)

If you’ve found other ways to enhance your writing voice, please let me know about them! And good luck, my friends.

Um . . . You’re the Crazy Ones

God bless my friends and family who’ve said I should proud of the accomplishment of completing and publishing The Silent Partner. Tragically, they have no idea what they’re talking about.

“You should reflect and be proud of yourself.” “It’s such an accomplishment, you should rest awhile.” “You should be so proud of that review!” “Bask in the glory and be proud.” Glory? . . . REST?? . . . Pride? . . . Are you friggin’ kidding me? I’m behind! I’ve got to promote the novel somehow while I conceive my next work! There are more rules to learn, more writers to meet, more stories to tell . . . all while the clock ticks and the publishing world continues to evolve into a new universe while the economy doesn’t get off its ass. It’s madness!

Of course, I’m surrounded by good intentions with spirits around me that are pragmatic, thoughtful, and grounded. In some cases, very loving. However I, like many artists, can be creative, emotionally charged, searching, and inspired. I try to manifest all the aforementioned characteristics, well, most of them . . . and while I don’t know how I’m always doing with this bombardment of conflicts, paradoxes, and mixed emotions, I know when I’m focused on something, it will happen.

I knew once I started the book, I’d finish it. I knew I’d publish it. No matter what. To me, this isn’t amazing at all. I said, “This is what I’m going to do,” and I did it.

“You’re already working on your next book? What’s wrong with you?” Some people think that a writer who submerges his or herself into a writing project for YEARS has a serious problem with reality. I think skydiving or racing a car from zero to 60 in 5 seconds is crazy. Coming from a family with 4 siblings, having that many children is crazy.

I’m fortunate to have an amazing array of wonderful people in my life. They’re just the ones who’ve lost their minds. Clearly.

WRITING CHARACTERS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX

This has to be one of the most exhilarating parts of writing: creating fresh characters of the opposite sex. In instances of profound inspiration, these new personas may seep out of our right brains without an echo of any known human being, and in powerful, believable ways. An original character is a wonderful discovery for me as a reader, and when a writer creates endearing (and enduring) characters that resonate, and compelling stories with lead opposite-sex characters, I’m in awe of their accomplishment.

I aspired to do this with The Silent Partner. It’s up to readers to judge whether or not I accomplished the task of creating a great original character embodied as a portly black female. (I’m a white male.) She is brilliant, sassy, and distrusting of God, and a character that originally started as a white male when I originated the character back in 1999. When this screenplay became a fleshed-out novel five and a half years ago, Homer became female . . . because I thought she was more interesting. She had additional layers. As a black character, there were then new dynamics to explore that enriched the story.

No, I’m not saying white males are boring, or males aren’t wonderful characters. I’ve been entertained by their prominence in favorite books and movies since I knew how to read, change the channel, and sneak to the TV to see Star Wars again in the middle of the night on my parents’ VHS machine. (Princess Leia wasn’t my favorite character.) To me, the greatest thing that makes people interesting is their perspective. In our diverse world, it’s most fun to add flavor to a recipe. A character’s background–when well-executed–can add more dimensions to a story. As long as it’s not contrived, this background can also make themes more powerful and universal. Women realistically have intuition, and readers will buy that. Male characters can carry interesting emotions, too, but there are some things that women think about that men just don’t. I’ve learned this from the many women in my life, from girlfriends to my four sisters, and three nieces. (Yes, my life is that crazy. No boys. All girls.)

My novel has other strong male characters, sure, but The Silent Partner is Homer’s story, and the novel is better for that. After all, The Outsiders has already been written. And S.E. Hinton is a woman.

What I Learned From My First Book Signings

For any writer thrilled to (finally) share their work, a book signing should be an exciting time. Puppy dogs and ice cream. I’ve done two signings so far, and it was exciting to prepare to share the experiences with friends, family, and supporters. It took much more work than anyone had ever told me to set them up, and that, of course, is time and focus that wasn’t devoted to other writing, work, or play. And as many of us know, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. (An homage to James Howell and, most famously, Stephen King.)

I learned a lot and met some great people through the book signing experience. (The people at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, by the way, are fantastic. Both locations: San Diego and Redondo Beach. I imagine it could have been much more difficult to work with bookstores that found “un-famous” authors to be a nuisance.) Here is what I learned:

• Always be prepared with more books (in your car, if necessary). You never know.
• If you’re getting a cardboard poster of your book cover made to display, plan a month ahead. At least.
• These people, humbly speaking, are there to see you, but respect their time. Multiple sources told me I should speak for 30-60 minutes. Surely, an author should provide their “fans” (should that be what we call them?) insight into the process behind the book, interesting details, etc. While 30-60 minutes works for some authors, I spoke for what I hope was an engaging 10-15, and that worked out well for everyone, especially those with kids. It is, after all, their time as well. (You can see the video from my very first book signing HERE.)
  
• People will gobble up your promotional materials. Have them available.
• It’s up to US, as writers, to promote just about everything with our work. Mysterious Galaxy included me in their social media, which was great, but we have to be our own promotional machines. There’s a lot to learn and do.
• Your besties might not show up at your signings, for whatever reason. All good.
• You’ll never forget the people who showed up for you. I’m pretty sure I never will.
• No matter how many books you sell, it’s not about the money. Not once did I do any dollar calculation of books sold. (Mysterious Galaxy handled all the transactional details anyway.) For me, that was never the motivation to start a 5-year-plus writing project.
• Black Sharpies are awesome signing instruments.
• And the number one thing I learned: The book signings were fun, but the writing is considerably more fulfilling and necessary. An unexpected discovery that’s probably quite healthy. It’s about the work first . . . THEN the promotion. This is the beginning of everything else in the process of exposing the work.
• What have YOU learned?

Now, it’s time for me to get back to work and play. So I don’t lose my mind.

My First Book – What Was I Thinking???

When I first had the gumption to write my first novel, I never thought there would be so much work in the process of getting it off the ground. First, my arrogance that I could write a book. At all. Carrying around a healthy dose of self-confidence (ask anyone) is one thing, but the magnitude of sheer belief I had in embarking on the project was, looking back, quite astounding. Who did I think I was? And incidentally, now, with a couple book signings on the docket, who the hell do I think I am?

Writing The Silent Partner and getting it ready for public consumption has been the hardest task of my life, sans trying to get a re-fi loan for my last house. Truly, getting my bachelor’s degree was a cinch by comparison to writing this book, and that’s not a dig on the Cal State University system. (BTW, a shout out to my old writing professor, Alexis Krasilovsky. I still remember how you wouldn’t take a draft of mine because I was late turning it in . . . and how you said I’d never qualify for an “A” because of it. Oh, the memories.)

The amount of preparation it took me to write this book compared to what I surmise other writers have done–and haven’t needed to do–humbles me. It also calls into question my genetic deficiencies, as this is the first place I look upon such a revelation.

Writing courses, several writers conferences, multiple editors, hundreds of drafts . . . (“Oh, God, if they still hate it after all of this work, I should reconsider the next book’s desire to exist.”) Sleepless nights, lonely nights, overused playlists, an ill-practiced habit of daily designer-coffee, and the prices that go along with it . . . all adds up. (“You mean in the last 5 years I could have gotten not one, but two master’s degrees?”) Well, that’s just GREAT. Seriously, what was I thinking?

That moment I got my first book in the mail from the publisher. That crack of opening the cover for the first time, the chemicals and the paper and the ink and the glue . . . that smell of newness that I whiffed like when I first opened my first Motley Crue cassette (that’s right) in 1983 . . . and the story and characters that I created and evolved and improved and reshaped and reinvented . . . all is there. Every page.

That’s why.

I know, I know. You can’t smell it on the Kindle.

Preparing for the Book Signing

Though I had gotten good tools from my publisher for my first book signing, I searched online for assistance with a book signing involving a self-publishing house, and couldn’t find much. Having never done this before, I looked online for things like “preparing for a book signing,” and got some great advice. Clearly, self-published authors can face a rude awakening for their first book signing if they aren’t prepared from day one. Here is what I discovered beyond what I found online: dealing with the self-publishing house.

First, make sure you see the proof of the book before you put in a full order for them. Not an online proof, but the book itself. For my novel, The Silent Partner, I reviewed both the hardcover and softcover before I let the publisher send my copy order to print. If there’s anything you missed, this is the last time to change it, or discover something on the publisher’s end that went awry. Refuse to sign off on anything until you carefully review these.

Next, order enough books. No one wants to keep dozens of filled boxes of their work in their garage (I don’t even have one), so it’s easy to understand going easy on the book ordering. However, it would be equally as tragic to run out of books at a signing as it would be if no one showed up. Be prepared for “showtime.” If there are only crickets at the signing, there are always bookstores looking for good books, even on consignment. Plus, there’s always more signings . . . unless your first experience is so bad you decide to hang it up. (I’ve already prepared for this, and won’t hang anything up. I’ll have plenty of bourbon and red wine at home.)

Be prepared for the house to try to sell you EVERYTHING. From book listings to the services of a publicist and TV commercials, they have every desire possible to sell books, too. Books bought directly from the publisher (and not discounted on 3rd party sites like Amazon or B&N) have the highest profits for them, and the self-publishing houses seek authors who are anxious to get their books seen and purchased. There is no moral or ethical question about this, but it’s important to be prepared for it. You may need to put money aside for such extravagances.

If your book is to be posted on any 3rd party sites, confirm that the correct book description and “about the author” is used. (I had a number of instances where unapproved book descriptions were used and the “about the author” that I had supplied the publisher wasn’t used, but rather an outdated one from my blog (which has since been updated). Seriously, these details matter.

Next, make sure your books are ordered and on their way to your address before you solidify a book signing date. With all of the other preparations, who needs the stress?

If one of these steps helps another author, I’d be ecstatic. Learning along the way. I’ve never expected it any different. In the end, it’s all about the work being read how it was intended. And that time is almost near:

What: Book Signing Release Party: Terrence King’s The Silent Partner 

Where: Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore: 7051 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92111.

When: Saturday, August 4th, 2012. 2:30pm

The first 25 people receive a free softcover of the novel.

Cheers!