C.N. Faust's Blog, page 24

The New Face of Dragoloth, first day of KDP Select experiment

Hello my darlings,

So, as some of you know, I recently gave “The Heretic Priest” a brand new makeover the other day. Even though there were some kinks that I will have to smooth out before publication, I was QUITE pleased with the overall result. A trailer is in the making as we speak, I just (for some reason) have not had the time to mesh all of the components together. The bookmarks will not be horribly expensive to print and I am starting to get my promotional packages together for the summer, so all is going quite well.

That being said, I have started to make some changes in my marketing platform, as well as the overall look of the series.

I can’t tell you how many times I have edited The Dragon’s Disciples cover (three times, I believe, is the running count). I was never satisfied with how it looked. But once I edited “The Heretic Priest” I couldn’t get the idea of editing DD once more out of my head. So, with that being said, I took the re-designing of the cover as my cue to also re-vamp my entire angle for the series.

It comes to this: after editing the cover for DD, I decided to take it one (or two) steps further. Because having my book in Kobo was getting me nowhere (literally nowhere … they hadn’t published it, and it had been in the system for two weeks) and I was making EXACTLY $0.00 on NookPress… I decided to delete my Kobo account, take my book off of Nook shelves, and try the KDP select route.

I have heard so many KDP select stories, and some of them are horror stories while just as many are successful. So I have come to the conclusion that it is just as much the author as the vendor who is in charge of what kind of experience they have. I am going to try it for like – how long is it? 60 days? 90 days? Something like that. If I don’t experience any success, I can always drop it. Right now my concentration is moving on to the point where eBook marketing is JUST AS important, but not MORE important than actual print marketing. That being said, there is only a paperback version of The Dragon’s Disciples out now. But soon there will be a hardcover version. And of course, The Heretic Priest will have all three as well. I just want to experiment, see what works and what doesn’t.

I have some flexibility, it would be a shame for me to waste it.

So without further ado, here are the covers (side by side) for you to admire gaze upon. Please let me know what you think! Do they at least look like they belong in the same series, now?

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

  

**NEW** Heretic Priest bookmarks, and a bit of good news! (finally!)

Hello my darlings,

Finally, The Heretic Priest bookmarks are finished!! Look how pretty they are:

I mean, I was rather proud of it when I finished it last night. Hopefully everything will be legible once I print it.

Oh, and a bit of good news! There will be an opportunity next fall for me to put my books on consignment locally. So I will keep you updated on that!

I hope you are all having a lovely week. Let me know what you think of the bookmarks!

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

**EXCLUSIVE** Excerpt from The Heretic Priest – for your phone!

Hello my darlings,

Two posts in one day? You must be dreaming!

Yes, I have started messing around with technology and no, I don’t think it’s safe. :p I tested it from my phone, so I know the download works. But now you have an exclusive (as in, not available to anyone else) excerpt from The Heretic Priest available in a scannable QR barcode for your phone!

Bored in the waiting room? The office? At home? Want to try out the QR Barcode Scanner on your phone (that you can download as an app for FREE?)

Who likes free stuff? Everyone.

Scan this barcode for your exclusive excerpt now!

Be sure to let me know what you think!

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

***Brand New*** Heretic Priest – Full Cover re-vamped

Hello my darlings,

So, I thought I had settled on a cover for The Heretic Priest.

But every time I glance at it, there seems to be something missing. Something striking, something visually appealing, I’m not sure what it was, but I totally went and re-vamped (no pun intended) the entire thing, this time excluding my own artwork.

How did I do it?

There is a lovely blogger, and her article here really inspired me. I started by going to PublicDomainPictures.net and finding a picture I could work with. I then proceeded to spend hours (and I do mean hours) editing, visualizing, and capturing what I feel like is the essence of The Heretic Priest. And maybe I missed the mark entirely. But I am very, very, very happy with the color scheme, I am very proud of the editing I did. Spine, back cover, front cover and all – I spared myself no pain and offered myself no laziness this time around. I have decided that if I am going to seriously sell my books then they must be perfect, perfect, perfect.

So, with that being said, I probably will not release another editing of The Dragon’s Disciples for a while (maybe when The Hollow Living comes out, my poor strained eyes are screaming about injustice at this moment) but at least I feel confident in my ability to produce something that doesn’t look too terribly self-published.

So. I bet you want to know what the new cover looks like.

….

All right, I’ll show you. But on one condition.

Please, please, please, please give me some feedback, honest feedback. If you saw this book in Barnes and Noble, would it be pretty enough to grab your attention? Is it pretty enough to compel you to buy it? I am dying to get an opinion, so anything would be wonderfully helpful.

For a better quality image, check out my Facebook page.

I appreciate anything you sweethearts have to say! Arrivederci.

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

The Dragoloth Compendium – Wait, What?

Hello my darlings,

Yes, you read the title correctly. In addition to my latest novel releases, the Dragoloth Compendium is underway. What will this compendium consist of, you ask? Why, everything about Dragoloth’s past, its future, and its present. There will be extensive character biographies and portraits, you will be able to learn the entire Verian language by way of its dictionary and alphabet, and knowledge of the gods, customs, trade, and maps will be at your fingertips.

This is obviously going to take a lot of work. And right now I am very busy with exams / ill. But it will be a good project to hammer out on the side. I’m personally very enthusiastic about it.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am not dead/dying/kidnapped. I will actually be posting a chapter sample from The Hollow Living later.

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

Book Trailer

Hello my darlings,

So, everyone has been telling me to do a book trailer. First of all, I didn’t even know that people did book trailers. Second of all, I didn’t know how to do one, what it should include …. any of that good stuff.

So here it is, my first attempt at a book trailer. Let me know what you think! And be sure to spread it around. Hehe.

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

FEATURE: Ashland J. Photography !

Hello my darlings!

Isn’t this a gorgeous photo? A photographer friend of mine (the same friend who designed the cover art for The Dragon’s Disciples!) is currently hosting a special on her photography for certain areas of North Carolina. Check out her facebook page for more information! And even you can’t participate, still check out her photography – she does some GORGEOUS work and I know that it would look perfect featured on your living room wall!

In case you missed my subtly inserted links, her website is http://ashlandj.com !

Go check it out!

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

Successful Advertising, Author Interview

Hello my darlings!

Today has been a pretty nice, relaxing day. I only had one full 50 minute class and a ten minute conference with one of my professors to attend. It’s started thunderstorm-ing, so now I am inside curled up with my laptop and getting caught up on some work. Before it started raining, my fiancee and I went out into the downtown area and passed out some advertisements for The Dragon’s Disciples. There is now a flyer/excerpt sitting in several coffee shops, tea shops, and bookstores that are in my immediate surrounding area.

I was personally quite proud of my flyer/excerpt idea. I want to do bookmarks next, but because those will be more expensive for me to print I thought I would start out with something simple first. So I created a flyer that is the cover of the book, clips from some reviews and information on where it can be found, and then on the back there is an excerpt (the prelude of DD) so anyone who comes across it can sit down and read it and hopefully want to read more. We’ll see how good it was an idea if some results start rolling in, but at the very least it will get my name out there and my book in the public eye. The owners of the shops were also very accommodating and nice about it. I don’t know how obnoxious I looked popping in and out of shops with my handful of flyers. Tomorrow I hit the other side of town. Cross your fingers for similar success.

I put it in word and just screen captured, because I am a loser and couldn’t think of anything better.

Tonight I work on my first podcast/YouTube video. “The Hollow Living” is making excellent progress and I am super stoked for it. I feel like the release date for The Heretic Priest will never get here.

Speaking of The Heretic Priest, I have another Author Interview here that talks about it a little bit. Check it out and then like their Facebook page!

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

Progress and Podcasts

Hello my darlings,

It feels like forever since I have made any sort of blog post. Even so, I have blog updates that should be made and there are a lot of things that I am behind on. With that being said, I am in the final two weeks of my semester here at the good ol’ university. So between exams, studying for exams, writing papers, attending concerts, and moving out – I will be posting as often as I can but it probably won’t be very exciting.

I had a free minute this afternoon. And for the first time I got to sit down and actually start WRITING The Hollow Living. That is insane amounts of progress, because up until now it has all be outlining, outlining, outlining (although if the outline is any indication, this book is going to be the most badass). That is all I have had time for! I haven’t even been able to do any good marketing for The Heretic Priest. This is probably the stage of authorship when I start dropping bookmarks in conspicuous places and relying on the goodwill of my friends and neighbors to spread the word and help this whole “promotion” bit along.  There is also a local bookstore or two that I want to talk to about, if not stocking the book (how awesome would that be if they did…) at least putting up release date signs in their windows, keeping a few bookmarks on the counter, or something.

Also, question for you my dears: how do you print your bookmarks? Do you get them printed at somewhere like FedEx (whatever their printing services are called, Kinkos or something like that), or do you print them yourself on cardstock? Is one option better (cheaper?) over the other? I’d love to hear your opinions because as of right now I am narrow of budget and wide of vision.

I have also, in the midst of all this, been toying with the idea of creating a {free} podcast and do things like, aside from talk about my own writing and things like that, interview / promote other indie authors, read excerpts, etc. I can’t decide between doing that or doing YouTube videos (I have done some YouTube videos in the past…) So – poll, do you actually LISTEN to podcasts, or do you think YouTube would be a preferable avenue? Ideally, should I try to master both? Post your opinions in the comment section (that what it’s there for!) or tweet me @Glitzkrieg_King with your ideas.

Your most adored,

C.N.F.

Villains, Release Dates, and Publishing

Hello my darlings,

I should be taking notes right this moment, because I am sitting in Greek Civilization class as  I type. But it is impossible to pay attention to this particular lesson.

3 months until The Heretic Priest is released! How exciting is that? I am busy, busy over here. In addition to getting my promotional packages together for the people who so kindly volunteered to give it its first reviews (remember, it’s never too late to jump in!) I have been trying to put in job applications / make wedding plans. Not to mention, The Hollow Living is still sitting in its sprouting idea seed state and Pharun is glaring at me for not giving him enough attention. His revenge is to follow me around talking incessantly, effectively distracting me from everything (i.e. classwork).

Not that I use my imaginary friends as an excuse to stare into space and block out my professor’s words. Nope.

I read an interesting article a few minutes ago where an author made a post about the worst things her villains have ever done. It was pretty fascinating – personally, all of my boys are bastards and I don’t think I could possibly pick ONE thing that they have done that trumps the rest. I would say that Pharun does his nastiest deed ever towards the end of The Heretic Priest … for my ARC readers you probably know what I mean. The rest of you … will just have to wait. *insert dark chuckle*

So what do you think is the worst deed YOUR villain(s) accomplished? Comment here or tweet me about it @Glitzkrieg_King … I am curious!

I have decided that my goal is that I want to own and operate my own publishing company that publishes fantasy / horror and is attached to its own RPG campaign (like a Wizards of the Coast kind of deal). Obviously, this will be some time developing and it will be a long-term goal, and there is one friend in particular I would like to woo to my side as a co-owner, but yeah – what do you guys thinks? I’m thinking company name: Faust Haus. Hahahahahaha! (no). Seriously, I need a better name.

Your most adored,

C.N.F.