How different can you get? I'm listing three examples of recent book trailers and they are all completely different. Book trailers are as fun to watch as movie trailers, even though the budget is usually much smaller.
Below are links to some recent book trailers or info about them that you might find entertaining. Notice the differences and let me know through a comment what you like or didn't like.
My almost nonexistant book trailer experience has barely begun. I'm writing a song to go with my novel, The Seventh City (soon to be submitted for publishing). A future post will include the lyrics. (I'm still struggling with the chorus.) One of the ways I intend to use it would be as background music for my book trailer. For now, here are a few examples already in the works:
The book trailer for Mark of Royalty just made its debut. It seems to have been a big production with actors, a horse, and a castle. Check out more about it at jenniferkclark.blogspot.com.
Here's one with a contest but I found the book trailer teaser (shortened version) clever and amusing on a low budget. Check it out for yourself at: http://donaldjcarey.com/2010/11/the-bumpy-landings-teaser-contest.html Aka: Another Contest or Look What a Few Legos Can Do.
Lastly, here's a suspenceful one with effective single shots. View Perilous on the Nov. 17 post at tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlLBYl9iz8Q
What do you think?
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Contests and Other Gimmicks
Contest. The word leaps with excitement for many bloggers, especially if there is a book or chocolate to be won. It's a gimmick, really. But an effective one. We all want more followers. I've been bummed lately about my November subscribers, but I've been too busy to recruit. Something must be done.
Hmm. I'm going to have to start a contest. I need more followers--Help! My first month, I gained more than a follower a day, on average. But November--not so hot. Of course I've had some interruptions in my life that kept me from posting and checking other blogs very often. That makes a difference. I hope to be more regular again now. And I will dream up a contest before the year is over. Please check back.
I Just learned about another contest that you might want to know about and I will pass them along from time to time. Nichole Giles is giving away a signed copy of LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld, so give it a look. I did and it's easy to enter.
Hmm. I'm going to have to start a contest. I need more followers--Help! My first month, I gained more than a follower a day, on average. But November--not so hot. Of course I've had some interruptions in my life that kept me from posting and checking other blogs very often. That makes a difference. I hope to be more regular again now. And I will dream up a contest before the year is over. Please check back.
I Just learned about another contest that you might want to know about and I will pass them along from time to time. Nichole Giles is giving away a signed copy of LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld, so give it a look. I did and it's easy to enter.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Opinions That Count
Okay, so the Harry Potter movie comes out in about 24 hours. Yes, I've read the books, seen the movies, but I'm not jumping in on day one. Why? I've heard some opinions. Too many for good judgement.
"There's a questionable scene." "Why'd they have to throw some junk in?" "It's not so bad." Who do I believe? I think I'll wait to hear some reviews after someone I trust has seen it. Besides, it's not that big a deal to me to be first on the block.
Is this what we do to books? You bet it is!
We ask our friends what good books (movies, restaurants, etc.) they've read. We might read a review. The word goes down the grapevine. Advertising influences us. We make a decision by other people's opinions even though sometimes we get surprised. It is a way of screening, a protection of not wasting our time. It gives us a basis for judgement--right or wrong. In the end, it's your own opinion that counts above all the rest.
But hey, I still want to know what you think! It's what we do. I'd love a comment.
Did you like the new HP movie?
Wanna pass along your favorite read titles?
"There's a questionable scene." "Why'd they have to throw some junk in?" "It's not so bad." Who do I believe? I think I'll wait to hear some reviews after someone I trust has seen it. Besides, it's not that big a deal to me to be first on the block.
Is this what we do to books? You bet it is!
We ask our friends what good books (movies, restaurants, etc.) they've read. We might read a review. The word goes down the grapevine. Advertising influences us. We make a decision by other people's opinions even though sometimes we get surprised. It is a way of screening, a protection of not wasting our time. It gives us a basis for judgement--right or wrong. In the end, it's your own opinion that counts above all the rest.
But hey, I still want to know what you think! It's what we do. I'd love a comment.
Did you like the new HP movie?
Wanna pass along your favorite read titles?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Book Review: My Gift To You
What if you didn't think you deserved to be happy? What if you were wrong? 
Devastated by the departure of her husband and daughter, Trish faces the challenge of a lifetime. Will Trish find the courage necessary to transcend the shadows of her past? This gripping story reminds us that forgiveness of self and others is both a difficult choice and a precious gift.
The title and premise of this somewhat short, inspirational novel gave the impression of a predictable, feel-good story, but author Lori Nawyn throws in a few curve balls along the way. Pleasantly, it's not the exact book I thought it would be. She started with enough scattered information about several character relationships to pull me in to want to find out more. Unexpected and interesting events are added along the way. Even though I am certain of the outcome, it's the journey that matters. In the end, Nawyn wraps things up with the expected result but a different emphasis than I figured. The ending was satisfying.
The Christmas element of the story is not so strong as to only want to read this story at Christmastime, yet it could be considered a Christmas story if you are looking for one. I thought the amount was just right. I also enjoy Nawyn's succinct writing. She packs visual images, emotion, and a hook into short scenes. A great read by the fireplace on a cold, winter's day.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Giving Your Words Over to the Reader
Who is writing really for--the author or the reader? Your writing may arguably be for you--to fulfill that burning drive to put pen to paper, but if anyone but you are to gain from it, you must finish the work and pass it on to another. So begins November's National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. The goal of writing 50,000 words spurs many on. Being at the point of revising and getting my novel ready to send rather than write, I am not offically participating. To those who are, I cheer you from the sidelines.
To finish a major work is a satisfying experience. To allow others to pass judgement on that work takes courage and is necessary is one seeks publication. It also takes giving. Completing my novel to such a point that I can completely give it over to a reader or editor is my November goal.
Katharine Coles, professor, novelist, and Utah's Poet Laureate caught my attention recently when she spoke about rejection. Though she relates it to writing poetry, any writing can be applied. She says: "Rejection may be especially hard for poets because their work is uniquely intimate and personal--a rejection of the poem feels like a rejection of the self. It feels as if it's about YOU in the deepest way. But when we think about that editor as a mediator between poet and reader, we remember that a finished poem isn't actually about the poet any longer. In fact, I'd argue that no poem is ever finished until it has become about the reader--until it has created a space for the reader to confront or commune with not the poet but his or her own mind. If this is true, and I think it is, then the process of finishing the poem is the process of detaching from it and giving it over. If rejection of a given poem or poems feels so personal to you that you suffer more than a few minutes of ordinary disappointment that your wishes have been thwarted, then you probably haven't really finished the poem."
I want to strive for the point of finishing my work in progress to the point of not looking back and wondering what still needs to be tweaked. An editor can do that. But first, I must give him or her the chance, after all I can do. Whatever your stage of writing, make November your best writing month yet!
To finish a major work is a satisfying experience. To allow others to pass judgement on that work takes courage and is necessary is one seeks publication. It also takes giving. Completing my novel to such a point that I can completely give it over to a reader or editor is my November goal.
Katharine Coles, professor, novelist, and Utah's Poet Laureate caught my attention recently when she spoke about rejection. Though she relates it to writing poetry, any writing can be applied. She says: "Rejection may be especially hard for poets because their work is uniquely intimate and personal--a rejection of the poem feels like a rejection of the self. It feels as if it's about YOU in the deepest way. But when we think about that editor as a mediator between poet and reader, we remember that a finished poem isn't actually about the poet any longer. In fact, I'd argue that no poem is ever finished until it has become about the reader--until it has created a space for the reader to confront or commune with not the poet but his or her own mind. If this is true, and I think it is, then the process of finishing the poem is the process of detaching from it and giving it over. If rejection of a given poem or poems feels so personal to you that you suffer more than a few minutes of ordinary disappointment that your wishes have been thwarted, then you probably haven't really finished the poem."
I want to strive for the point of finishing my work in progress to the point of not looking back and wondering what still needs to be tweaked. An editor can do that. But first, I must give him or her the chance, after all I can do. Whatever your stage of writing, make November your best writing month yet!
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