P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 335

What I’m Reading This Morning 7/4

I’m taking a bit of a break from any serious blogging today so here are a few links and thoughts about some posts I’m reading. Also, be aware of some fundraisers that are ongoing that I like. And don’t forget my own IndieGoGo fundraiser starts on 7/7 – more on that below and on the News page. I plan to write some blogs about editing and marketing over the next few days as well so follow my blog and keep coming back.

Someone posted a good link for words describing voices from MacMillan Dictionarny. These are useful to remember.

Dorothy Cora Moore discusses a plotting method used by Michael Crichton on Writers Helping Writers (Angela Ackerman). I think this is a great method and should be part of development when using Scrivener’s index cards. Maybe I’ll write about this topic soon.

Here are some helpful tips for planning a marketing campaign. I’ll need these soon myself so this is a keeper. It’s from StandOutBooks.com and written by Alexander Hemus whom I just followed on Twitter.

Allison Schiff writes on Publisher’s Weekly about Copyright for authors. This is great as I see lots of confusion from many people on this subject.

Updated with more links:

Ever wonder what the hashtags mean in FB? Thanks for the post Anurag Mishra!

Zoe Saadia shares another article based on research for her historical fiction regarding new world people groups and their cultures.

That’s all I have for now. Remember to check these fundraising campaigns I like.

Picture from The Bow of Destiny project trailer.

Don’t forget, my crowdfunding campaign for The Bow of Destiny begins on IndieGoGo on 7/7. Like me on Facebook and view/share the posted campaign event. Follow me on Twitter (@ph_Solomon) to receive news and help spread the word by using #BowofDestiny when referencing my IndieGoGo updates. I plan to schedule several social media parties with possible gift-card prizes – dates to be announced. Preview the project video here or here.

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ (ph@phsolomon.com).

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Book Trailer, Copyright, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Dictionary, Emerald Kipp & The Riddle of The Timekeeper, Facebook, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pubslush, Smashwords, Social Media, The Blade Heir, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, writing, You Tube

Crowdfunding Campaigns I Like

Here are some campaigns I like besides my own:

Awakening on Kickstarter by Ciara E. Dimond – JUST 5 DAYS LEFT

Emerald Kipp & the Riddle of the Timekeeper by Claribel Ortega – 31 days left

The Blade Heir by Daniel Adorno – JUST 4 DAYS LEFT

Planetary Energy Transmitter – this is in the vision of Nicola Tesla’s idea back in 1901 – 21 days left.

There are many great ideas and books that can be supported so take a look around at what’s out there and at least tweet or share them over social media if you can’t support them otherwise so the public is aware of them.

If you have some campaigns you would like to share then please leave comments below or Tweet them to me.

Photo used in The Bow of Destiny book trailer

Remember my own campaign starts on 7/7 and you can preview it now to consider your support level and make suggestions and provide feedback. Also check back on my News page for daily updates and links.

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ (ph@phsolomon.com).

Thanks for reading.

PHS

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Awakening, Book Trailer, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Emerald Kipp & The Riddle of The Timekeeper, Facebook, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, Launch, Marketing, Nicola Tesla, P. H. Solomon, Pubslush, Social Media, Tesla, The Blade Heir, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing, You Tube

Which Way to Now?

Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I’ve self-published The Black Bag on both Smashwords and Amazon. That was a DIY project which proved both challenging and successful with my first foray into cover design and formatting an e-book. The Black Bag finally made it to Barnes & Noble today! This gave me great experience with self- publishing before doing it with a much larger book project like The Bow of Destiny.

The other big hurdle from the last few weeks was getting a crowdfunding campaign going on IndieGoGo. It included setting rewards levels and making a video for the project. Working on a low budget was a challenge but I believe it was successful for my needs during the campaign. I am just about ready for the campaign to start on 7/7.

Now the question is what I need to do now? Well, that’s easy – I need to complete the revision for the editor and beta reader during the next month. No big deal there – not. But June has been very busy but successful for goals met so why not July too? I’m putting myself on a strict deadline schedule to be ready to go to the editor as soon as the IndieGoGo campaign is finished.

Photo from the book trailer for The Bow of Destiny

But what else am I doing? Glad you asked. As if it weren’t enough to do a crowdfunding campaign and complete a book revision, I would like to edit a short story and submit it to a few magazine markets. However, if I find that it is too much then I will shelve it until August. As I wrote in a previous blog, it’s important not to make too many goals which complicates things. One of the reasons I pushed the last few weeks with the campaign and The Black Bag was to clear them off my list so I could focus on the book. These recent accomplishments were needed but also hurdles to working on the book which is the real goal.

What have you accomplished lately? What hurdles have you encountered?

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ (ph@phsolomon.com). Also please take a few minutes to look at my IndieGoGo preview and consider supporting my project- feedback is welcome before 7/7 when it goes live. Keep reading and checking my newsfeed for further details.

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Amazon, Announcement, Barnes and Noble, Book Trailer, Coverart, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Formatting, Goals, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Smashwords, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing, You Tube

When they come for her will Coryss survi

When they come for her will Coryss survive? The Black Bag @ Smashwords http://bit.ly/1sPaxix & Amazon http://amzn.to/1pNb7Ys

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Calling All Indie Authors

PHS:

Mark Shaw, you’re my hero!

Originally posted on Tales From The Fifth Tower:

When you hear the phrase “Indie Author”, what do you think it means? Just a few years ago, people looked at the phrase as meaning, “An amateur writer who can’t get published by the Big 6 and so goes the self-publishing Route. Usually a sub par story for a select audience.”

Nowadays, the phrase “Indie Author” means that the writer is just as good as any mainstream author, but doesn’t have the finances for a big publishing firm and chooses a small press company instead. Oh yes, just because you’ve signed with a publisher, does not exclude yourself to be called an indie author. I had the same thought as above. I thought in order to be considered an indie author, you had to self-publish your book.

Before the Big 6

If your not familiar with the phrase, “The Big 6”, it’s the group of publishing houses that…

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Crowdfunding Time!

I’ve been posting a number of updates on my News page regarding my upcoming IndieGoGo campaign. The project is almost ready to launch. As I posted this morning the video is live on YouTube and I’ve linked it to IndieGoGo. I’ve also been working on the rest of the information and rewards levels.

Here’s a few of the pictures I’m using from iStockPhoto in the video:

Photo from the book trailer for The Bow of Destiny

A picture included in my trailer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you haven’t seen the video yet, here’s the direct link.  Here’s the campaign preview to on IndieGoGo. Have a look and leave some comments about it.

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ (ph@phsolomon.com).

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Book Trailer, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing, You Tube

8 Milestones Met This Week

This week has been one for milestones as a writer – some big and some minor. Here’s a list:

Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!

1. Published my first e-book, The Black Bag as a complete DIY project. The book is on the premium catalog on Smashwords and now available on Amazon. I think those are several milestones there.

2. As part of my first DIY project I created my first coverart.

3. Also as part of my DIY project I formatted my first e-book.

4. In preparation for my upcoming crowdfunding campaign for The Bow of Destiny, I created my first video which is still a WIP.

5. As a minor milestone, I passed 1000 tweets.

6. Also another social media milestone will be passing 500 followers on Twitter.

7. I started my Pinterest account this week so I have begun pinning some of my work there like the cover artwork for The Black Bag and the video for The Bow of Destiny.

A picture included in my trailer.

8. I’ve also had a milestone with the blog. If you’ve seen my older posts they had no pictures. With my book out and the trailer I am now able to use a few related pictures which improves the quality of my posts.

That’s all for the week. Now I need to get busy organizing my crowd-funding campaign and completing my current revision – not mention submitting some short stories.

What milestones, goals or accomplishments have you had this week? Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ (ph@phsolomon.com).

Thanks for reading,

PHS

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Filed under: Creativity, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Book Trailer, Coverart, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Pinterest Tips, Planning, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing, You Tube

Crowdfunding: The DIY Video

Photo from the book trailer for The Bow of Destiny

See the final version on YouTube as posted today!

I’m working on my crowd-funding campaign for The Bow of Destiny to launch just after the Fourth of July so I’ve been making a video. It’s still in progress but I present it here for viewing and reviewing so please offer comments.

I’m running on a shoestring for the trailer until I raise enough money to commission some artwork and then official details like a trailer, web and social media banners, etc.

I made this with Movie Maker Live over a few hours with some photos and illustrations from iStockPhoto.com and music from Incompetech which offers royalty free music for posted credit in the video.

The name of the piece is “Dark Fog”  by Kevin MacLeod (Twitter: @kmacleod) which seemed to hit the right tenor of mystery and intrigue that I need. Kevin, thanks for offering royalty free music, I’ll drop a donation on you soon! I’m likely going to add a short clip of my own appearance at the end for the campaign value.

Here’s the link on YouTube where you can see the video now. UPDATE: Re-published on YouTube (6/30/2014).

I have more to share later today so I will post a second blog with that – stay-tuned for more!

Please leave comments below, follow via email for a FREE copy of my short story, The Black Bag. I’m on Twitter @ph_Solomon and you see my FB link above.

Thanks for reading!

PHS

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Filed under: Creativity, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Book Trailer, creativity, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, The Bow of Destiny, writing, You Tube

2 Lessons From DIY Self-Publishing

Available at Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!

I just published my first e-book entitled The Black Bag which is on Smashwords catalog now. But I had a limited budget on which to complete this project. Since it is a short story I decided to publish it entirely as a DIY project.

Now many people might gasp and say that I needed professional services to produce this e-book and I agree regarding larger projects. However, I wanted the experience of doing the whole publication myself.

So what did I learn? For starters, Mark Coker’s Style Guide is extremely helpful to authors. But there are two aspects of the process that taught me what to expect from hiring other people to do some of the work. Here’s what else I learned.

1. Formatting isn’t that hard. I would feel completely comfortable formatting a full novel based on what I learned from the Style Guide. I was able to create styles and clean up errors in my short story with ease. The only mistake I made was using a template title page. It ended up having a table embedded which was not friendly with Smashwords converter (The Meatgrinder). This was easily remedied by deleting the table along with the text and creating a style after which I re-created the title page so that the problem with conversion was cleared.

2. Coverart is tricky but doable. I used a photo purchased from iStockPhoto but I initially added the text onto it with PowerPoint. Even though my photo was initially large enough, PowerPoint compressed the size so Smashwords did not consider the cover large enough. In the end, I downloaded Gimp and got the text added after which Smashwords accepted the correct size.

Conclusion: due to need I will hire and illustrator and commission my artwork but I may do my own formatting. For this size project it was worth my effort and time to do it myself. Now the question is whether the e-book is good enough. Well, take a look at the cover and the sample to see that all the internal links and formatting are correct. If it finally passes the litmus test with Smashwords and is distributed over the premium catalog then I’d say I did a pretty good job on this small project. NOTE: The e-book has passed muster for membership on the Smashwords premium catalog.

Have you every tried self-publishing as a DIY project? If so, what problems did you have and how did you rectify them? If you haven’t, what’s keeping you from trying?

Please leave comments. Also you will receive a coupon for a free copy of my short story by subscribing to this blog via email. Finally, follow me on Twitter @ph_solomon.com or on Facebook.

Thanks for reading,

P. H. Solomon.

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Filed under: Creativity, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Coverart, creativity, Formatting, P. H. Solomon, Planning, The Black Bag, writing