Writing 101: Exchanging Favors

The indie author community is getting bigger all the time, and it's important that you get some sort of edge or advantage in order to stand out (and keep selling books). So it becomes necessary to work with other indies and book bloggers who are part of the community. But be wary of exchanging favors. When you trade gifts, you may not get something of equal value in return. 

Swapping Stuff

You know how it works: you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. What's in it for me? What do I get out of this deal? Nothing comes for free. There are a thousand cliches all about how you have to give in order to get, and that's kind of how it works when it comes to exchanges within the indie author community.

Writing 101: Presentation

For hundreds of years, clever salesmen made a great living by selling water in bottles and telling people to rub dirt on their wounds. Scoff if you will, but this is the absolute truth. You see, it usually isn't about what you're selling. It's about the presentation...and that goes for self-published books, too.

Snake Oil and Novels

We've all heard the jokes and seen the satires of the old-fashioned hawkers and hucksters who used to sell people magical potions and miracle medical remedies, when really the bottles are filled with things like cow dung and cat urine. You've probably heard of the expression "snake oil" and "snake oil salesman." Well, that used to be a real thing.

People will buy snake oil if the presentation is right, so they should certainly be willing to buy your books. It's all about how you present those books to the rest of the world. Once you get past the obvious factors, it comes down to salesmanship. How good is yours? 

• Cover.  A great cover is a given in self-publishing. You want to catch the eye and you want to stand out, but you also want a book that looks like a readable book. Remember to check the cover on several device sizes to make sure it's easy to read across platforms.
• Price. Set the right price, or all the salesmanship in the world won't help. You've got to price your books according to their competition, not necessarily according to their worth.
• Trailers. If you want to present your book in an exciting way, create a trailer. Visual imagery works better than text, and this medium allows you to combine them. Tell the story in the trailer, just enough to make people want more.
• Tweets. Tweet about your books every day, at least once. But don't tweet "go buy this book" because that won't work. Give readers a reason to click that link. Ask them a question, give them a compelling quote, write something shocking -- compel them to buy, and they will.
• Extras. Give your book even more depth by offering extras. Start giving out free samples, create images and maps to show off, write blog posts about it and present! 

The way you present is important, but remember it only matters if you're actually doing it. Promote, and keep promoting, and you'll get better and better at it.

Writing 101: Do You Believe?

I'm not one of these people who puts a whole lot of stock in faith, even during the holiday season, but I do know this: you've got to have it to be a writer. So today I've got to ask you: do you believe? 

Gotta Have Faith

In the past, I've said that you have to be a little bit foolish in order to be an author -- and that's still true. But beyond foolishness, you need faith. Once you learn more about the business, and foolishness fades, all you have to rely upon is your faith. Some days, belief is all you will have. That, and a bunch of rejection letters and negative reviews. 

And once all that negativity piles up, it's going to be darned difficult to continue believing in yourself, your writing and your stories. You're going to have days when you're totally convinced you are actually a hack and a failure, that it's all been nothing but a waste of time. Believing in yourself is going to be hard, nigh impossible. 

Hope's Rebellion: Free Sample

Visit the Free Stuff tab to get a sample of my newest book, Hope's Rebellion!

Writing 101: You Don't Have to Be Gifted

There are those who say that writing is a talent. I say that it's a job. And to be an author, you don't have to be gifted or talented or even lucky. But you do have to be a hard worker, even if you've got all the other stuff already.

Talent Might Be a Myth

I'm not sure I believe in talent (perhaps because I haven't got any). Some of the most divine natural actors may never step off the community theater stage, and amazing singers are wilting away behind cash registers all over the country. It's fine to have talent, to be gifted, but at the end of the day it's a gift that gives you very little. 

The highly gifted fail every single day at all sorts of things. The talented fall down and make missteps and struggle, and some of them flounder and never succeed at their dreams. But those who do achieve success usually have the same thing in common: they work hard.

Indie News: Mac App Aims to Serve Indies

Self-publishing a book? There's an app for that...now. Mac owners can make use of Vellum. If the functionality is as good as the name, writers are sure to be delighted with it. There's just one question: what the heck does a self-publishing app do? 

iPublishing

 

Because if an app can do all that tedious promotion and editing, count me in. But that's not exactly what Vellum does. Two former Pixar designers came together to create the app, which is designed to make it easier for writers to format and distribute their work. 

Free Book Stuff

 

Books on Film: The Polar Express

Electric train are a modern symbol of Christmas, so what could be more seasonal than a story about a train that takes kids to the North Pole on Christmas Eve? I'm talking about The Polar Express, of course, and if you've got a TV in December you've probably seen it. But have you read the book? 

The Book

Chris Van Allsberg wrote and illustrated The Polar Express, which was published in 1985. It's won several awards and it's a highly popular holiday book among kids and parents. If you've seen the movie, you already have a idea of what the illustrations look like. 

The story in the book introduces us to a young boy who does not believe in Santa Claus. This begins to change when the Polar Express arrives on his front lawn, all set to take him to the North Pole.

The Film

The Polar Express finally became a film in 2004. The project had big names attached to it early (Tom Hanks, Robert Zemeckis), so it was pretty much a guaranteed hit. Live action capture was used to make the animated characters look and move more realistically. The realism of The Polar Express sets it apart from many other animated holiday films.

The film centers on a young boy who is just on the crux of no longer believing in Santa Claus. As he goes to bed on Christmas Eve, he questions whether or not Santa actually exists. Before he drifts off to sleep, the peaceful night is interrupted...by the sound of a train.

It's the Polar Express, a train that takes children to the North Pole. Our hero waffles, but eventually he does jump onto the train. There is a lot of adventure, and he meets several other children, before the journey is complete. And when he does get to the North Pole, does he meet Santa Claus? You'll have to watch the film to find out.

What Got Adapted?

The Polar Express is a short children's book and frankly there isn't enough material for a feature-length film. So lots of stuff got added to the film that builds upon the original story. The know-it-all kid (voiced by Corey Feldman), the hobo ghost, the little girl and several other characters are added out of whole cloth. 

Entire scenes were added to the film to create more story. The roller coaster moment, the rebellious journey through the North Pole, and all the ticket-punching business was fabricated for the sake of the movie.

The original book is beautifully illustrated and the short story will delight kids of all ages. The film has beautiful animation and Tom Hanks voices no less than 6 roles, so you want to see that for sure. Enjoy them both, and happy holidays!