Until the next time... is a blog usually focused on writing, music, and travel to places near and far. It concerns some of the things I've learned and some of the things I've messed up through the years. The blog also appears at www.michaelembry.com/blog.html.
It's been a busy past few days for me as I've been involved with various and sundry book-related activities. As I've mentioned in previous posts, writing a book is just one part of the process. There is also the rewriting and editing phase, and then, promotion. My Goodreads promotion for "Old Ways and New Days" is over. There were 443 entries for the five books, with winners from South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. I hope they enjoy the novel and take time to leave a review in Amazon or some other review site. Or, better yet, tell their friends about it. Nothing helps promote a book better than word of mouth. And I might add that authors appreciate reviews and or ratings and word-of-mouth recommendations. Those online ratings are visible so please do me and other writers a favor with a rating, and if you have the time, a short review.
I've also produced a trailer for the novel. It's pretty basic stuff as I only wanted to include the essentials. I've been guilty in the past of having trailers that ran a bit long. Lots of viewers don't want to spend that much time on something like that so this one clocks in at about one minute, 30 seconds.
Next on my agenda is the Kentucky Book Fair on Nov. 14 at the Frankfort Convention Center. About 225 authors and illustrators will be taking part, signing and talking about their books with patrons, taking part in symposiums and panel discussions. You can download the catalog at the website.
This marks the 34th year of the state's premier literary event, and proceeds benefit public and school libraries. If you're in Frankfort, drop by my table for a visit. A lot of effort has been put forth by some dedicated small army of volunteers. I also hosted a "Meet Kentucky Book Fair Authors" program on the local FPB-TV cable station. I've included them here as well for your viewing pleasure.
Well, I need to go address some postcards and mail a few more books. Until the next time....
One of the tasks an author should do is have a trailer for their book. Ideally, it should be done before the publication date. If not then, at least by publication date. And if that can't be accomplished, then soon after publication date. As you can see, the trailer for "The Bully List" is nearly five months after publication (Oct. 1). I don't want to make excuses but I will mention work, outside activities and the holidays. I hope you can give me a little slack. One more thing: Procrastination. But I figure it's better to get something out rather than nothing out all. I hope it will spark some more sales in the novel -- which is aimed for middle-school and above including adults. So please forgive me for dragging my feet in producing this trailer (something indie and self-published authors can understand). I'll try to be more timely with my next novel -- but I'm not making any promises!
This past week I finally put together a trailer for "Laments," my short-story collection. It was way past due since the book was published last August.
I generally put together a trailer and release it about the time the book is published, or at least a few weeks later.
As I mentioned, I do the trailer. It takes some preparation but not a lot. And if you have everything in place, it shouldn't take more than an hour or so to complete it.
One thing I've learned -- at least from my viewpoint -- is to make the trailer as short as possible. My first trailer, for "Foolish Is The Heart," ran more than two minutes. I've questioned whether people really want to watch a trailer for that long.
My last trailer, for "Laments," ran 70 seconds. It's really a minimalist-size trailer since I don't have many images. Why? I suppose because the trailer is so overdue. I can always go back and add images -- if I find the time.
I would guess that any computer with Windows will have software to compose a video. It's not that difficult. And I can do it, well, I'm sure you can do it as well. I'm sure you can find a service on the Web that can produce one as well.
As mentioned, it's nice to have images. I also include music, which is easy to find. Just make sure you have permission to use it. I also give credit for the composition at the end of my videos.
I've included book trailers for my books as well as one I did for Steve Flairty so you'll have see how I've approached each book.
