Chris Lewis Carter's Blog, page 3

Camp Myth is Available on the App Store!

Get ready to experience camp life on your iOS device! Camp Myth: The Visual Novel is an app that features all-new stories from your favorite mythical campers.

Join Felix, Argee, and Moxie as they discover the perils of pet ownership in “Hydra Raising.” And the best part? This app is a FREE download!

So pack your knapsack, because CAMP MYTH IS AVAILABLE NOW!

Get ready to experience camp life on your iOS device! Ca...

Get ready to experience camp life on your iOS device! Camp Myth: The Visual Novel is an app that features all-new stories from your favorite mythical campers.

Join Felix, Argee, and Moxie as they discover the perils of pet ownership in “Hydra Raising.” And the best part? This app is a FREE download!

So pack your knapsack, because CAMP MYTH IS AVAILABLE NOW!

Killer Interview live at Jersey Devil Press!

Jersey Devil Press is turning 40… issues, that is! To celebrate, they’ve dedicated it to stories that are c-c-crazy, including my piece, Killer Interview! If you’ve ever wondered about the hiring process for B-movie horror monsters, why not go give it a read?

Camp Myth: iOS

Get ready to experience the fun and excitement of Camp Myth in a whole new way! In a few weeks, Camp Myth will be arriving on iOS (iPod/iPhone/iPad) as a Visual Novel!

Join Felix, Argee, Moxie, and the entire camp for a brand new adventure, as they attempt to earn a merit badge for…

Stay tuned to find out!

Thin-Skinned published at ManArchy Magazine!

ManArchy Magazine is a fantastic site, and I’m thrilled to announce they’ve published my short story, Thin-Skinned!

You can check it out HERE. Oh, and this one is a little on the mature side, so viewer discretion… etc… etc…

Side note: This piece actually came about from a short story competition at LitReactor.com. My prompt was: “Your character gets plastic surgery in order to make her boyfriend love them more.”

Quick Mention

TheScope.ca mentioned me in an article about successful Newfoundland-based Kickstarter campaigns. “One of the province’s most notable crowdfunding success stories,” huh?

I’ll take it

Check it out HERE

Camp Myth: The RPG has been funded!

Get ready to experience Camp Myth in an entirely new way! With the help of our FANTASTIC backers, Camp Myth: The RPG has been successfully funded! Expect some major updates soon. I can’t wait to share more of the project with everyone

“Myth Making” Articles on Game Knight Reviews

Hey everyone,

Game Knight Reviews is undoubtedly one of my favourite gaming hubs. That’s why I’m thrilled to be writing a series of articles for the site detailing the Camp Myth RPG creation process.

You can check out the first article, Canon Brawl, RIGHT HERE.

Once you’ve finished, why not jump directly into article two, Camptown Races, RIGHT HERE (and be sure to leave a comment on your choice for a playable mythic race!)

Camp Myth: The RPG!

 

“How was my summer vacation?

It was okay, I guess. Well, except for the parts where I was electrocuted, crushed, petrified, burned, stomped, poisoned, frozen, whipped, paralyzed, teleported, clawed, shot at, eaten, scarred, cursed, mauled, squashed, and thrown off a flying horse at least once a day…

And that was just earning the easy merit badges.”

***

Welcome to Camp Myth, the only summer camp built exclusively for young mythological creatures. Forget canoe rides and knot-tying lessons – these kids are more likely to fish for a Kraken, or learn the proper way to train a Chimera!

Third Eye Games is teaming up with Chris Lewis Carter to bring a unique roleplaying experience to fans of his new young adult series, Camp Myth! A growing company in the RPG industry, Third Eye Games has a proven record of releasing games filled with wonder and epic thrills, making Eloy Lasanta the perfect person to collaborate on the Camp Myth RPG.

Using Third Eye Games’ Pip System, the Camp Myth RPG will give players the chance to create their own campers from a variety of different mythological races, and earn merit badges while adventuring in the Forgotten Forest, Leviathan Lake, the Minotaur Labyrinth, and many other fantastic locations set in the Camp Myth world!

Keep an eye out for our upcoming KickStarter campaign where you can be the first to get your hands on this one-of-a-kind RPG from the minds of two great creators.

Next Stop On The Niteblade Blog Train!

Hey everyone,

Welcome to the latest stop on the Niteblade Blog Train. If my map is correct, you’ve arrived from a great post over at Erif.org, and now have a slight stopover here at this cozy neck of the interweb. Don’t worry, I’ll have you out of here in time to reach Rhonda Parrish by tomorrow, guaranteed. Just be sure to hold on to your ticket stubs – we’ll be coming through the car shortly.

So, a few weeks back, Niteblade was generous enough to interview me on a number of topics. We discussed my story, The Cord, which appeared in Issue #19 (and was republished as a podcast over at pseudopod.org), and also the kickstarter campaign I was running at the time. Well – spoiler alert – as you can probably guess from the rest of this page, Camp Myth was a success, and was just recently released on Amazon and Smashwords.

Okay, okay. I’ll stop shilling now.

/endsalespitch.

Still, I’ll be eternally grateful to Niteblade for giving me a platform to promote my project. And since Kickstarter seems to be the new hotness for writers looking to fund their latest creations, I thought it might be neat to add my $0.02 to the conversation. After all, it was (and still is) one heck of a ride, and I feel like I’ve learned a ton along the way. If you’re thinking about launching a campaign for a novel of your own, here’s my quick-and-dirty-take-it-or-leave-it advice.

First off, it’s all about the visual presentation of the campaign page. This is especially important for a publishing project, but it’s also much more difficult. I mean, you’re pitching a bunch of words, right? Still, people are visual creatures, and a good image will sell your idea more than any block of text. Have a professional-looking cover front and center, or maybe some character concept art. Looking back, my first attempt at selling Camp Myth was a bust for a few reasons, with one being that I spent way too much time describing the project and not nearly enough time showing it. By the time I was able to add some art work, the damage had already been done. You need to make an awesome first impression that will last. And if you don’t know an artist, hit up devientart and find one. There are some seriously talented people on that site, and a lot of them will be more than happy to give you a great deal on a piece or two.

Second - Make. A. Video. Seriously, it doesn’t need to be amazing, it just needs to give people a feel for who you are and what you’re doing. I shot mine with the help of my wife and her cell phone camera, and cut the whole thing together with Windows Movie Maker. It’s goofy, sure, but I think it set the right tone, and it helped people connect with me a little better. In my opinion, a project without a video is dead in the water.

Next, it’s all about promotion. Don’t just sit back and wait for the money to roll in from strangers. Reading about some of the insane success stories, it’s easy to see kickstarter as a giant tank of wallets just waiting to give you cash, but nothing could be further from the truth. Friends and family are a good start, but it’s nowhere close to the endgame. Find people who like your subject matter and approach them. If you’re a member of some forums, let people know what you’re doing. If you’re pitching a graphic novel and there’s a comic book blog that you love to follow, email them and politely ask if they’d be interested in writing something about your project. Much like submitting work to agents, lots of people will turn you down, but a few will be more than happy to work with you. I met some awesome people who gave me fantastic coverage just because I asked nicely. You can’t be afraid of putting yourself out there.

As for rewards, my advice would be two things. 1) Make them interesting – For example, I offered high-tiered backers the chance to design a character that would be illustrated and placed in all copies of the book, and had merit badges printed to go along with the summer camp theme. 2) Digital rewards are key – I offered a bunch of physical rewards and, while they ultimately turned out great, they were a lot of additional work to put together, and increased shipping costs significantly. Ebook copies, wallpapers, screensavers, audio files, or any types of digital extras are a zillion times easier to create and distribute.

Finally, make sure to keep your backers involved every step of the way, especially when your campaign has finished. Don’t flood people with news every time you finish a chapter or anything, but an update every week will keep your project fresh in their minds, and let them know that you’re still dedicated to providing them with a product. I gave people sneak peeks at artwork, showed off rewards, and generally just let everyone know that wheels were still in motion.

Well, that about covers it. I know these might all seem like common sense ideas, but you’d be surprised with the difference that skipping even one of these steps would have on your campaign. Take it from someone who both tanked horribly and surpassed expectations with the same idea.

If you’d like to find out more about Camp Myth, I’d love for you to visit The Official Website, where you can check out illustrations from the book, read up on some of the camp’s merit badges, or even pick up a Kindlegraphed copy of the book (a signed and personalized ebook – how cool is that?) What’s that? Oh, right, right. Stop shilling. Gotcha.

Ah, I’m getting word that the train is ready to depart again. I hope you’ve enjoyed your time here at ChrisLewisCarter.com. If you have any questions or comments about this blog, I’d love to hear from you.

Next stop, Parrish Junction!

-Chris-