"They've got a cave troll."
Wherein Jack tries to make sense of her writing
Now that my book party is over, I've gotten my word count back up for Camp NaNo, and - best of all - finished the re-write on book two!!! I am able to sit back and decide where to go from here. (Sounds dramatic, right?)
Sometimes, lately, I've been feeling a bit like Rapunzel. I've been dreaming of being an author since I was at least 13, and now I've reached that dream. I have two books published and know I can now publish even more. But I still sometimes wonder if I'm doing something wrong. When it comes to marketing I still feel completely lost.
As I've mentioned before, I don't want to be one of those authors always praising their own work and going on and on about how great it is and how all of you should read it. I've read Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, and blog posts were other authors do this and it has always made me NOT want to read their books. From my research it seems the best marketing plan, the one that has seemed to have the best effect, is to let the readers spread the word. If they like the book enough they will tell their friends. If they love the book they will tie their friends to a chair and make them read it. (I speak from experience here. Sorry to all my friends now bound to chairs.) But, I'm still wondering if even this plan has holes in it. Am I missing out on an important marketing secret? If so, what kind of quest do I have to go on to find it?
And then, when I start to doubt myself so badly I consider giving up the endeavor, I remind myself why I write.
Last year, well, actually two years ago, a group of people got together and decided to try a new form of story telling. They were certain they would be laughed at and get rotten tomatoes thrown at them when they walked out into the streets, but they risked it anyways because the idea sounded fun to them.
Armed with cameras and a couple unknown actors, they began to film a movie, done in vlog style. They posted it on Youtube, and by the time the story was over these actors had hundreds of adoring fans - and the people who made the movie were able to put it on DVD and sell it. Some of you might know who I'm talking about. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice.
I started watching these videos with a friend of mine, and by the time they were over I, like many others, wanted to own them on DVD. I followed the characters - and actors - on Twitter and their other social medias they'd set up to go along with the story. And it was there, actually it was on Tumblr, I stumbled across a letter someone had written to the actress who played Lizzie.
The general drift of the letter was the girl saying she knew it was silly, but she was going through a hard time in her life and she found things easier to bare because of these stories. Silly, right? After all, how can we find comfort in the lives of people who don't even exist? How can we be encouraged to endure the trails we face by reading about Lizzie Bennet, or someone else who never lived? (I shall give you the actress's reply in a moment.)
Interested by what I had read, I began to look into it a little more. I saw all over where people would talk about movies or books as if they were dear friends to them. They would say they were having a bad day and planned to put in their favourite movie and curl up on the couch with chocolate and tea. And I began to realize I did the same thing. After a bad day, I will crawl away from the world and visit fictional characters, and part of me thought it was silly. Shouldn't I be seeking out the company of real people to help me? (Note here, sometimes we do need help of living, breathing people. But that is something for another time and doesn't relate to this ramble. I'm pretty sure all of you, my brilliant readers, know full well when you need the advice of someone who doesn't live in a book or movie.)
All of this reminded me of what the actress had written in reply to the girl's email. I don't remember her reply word for word, but the basic of it was, for years people have taken comfort in stories. It is why we have them. We can look at the lives of people we can admire and use their examples to help us through trails. It isn't silly to admire a fictional character, so long as they are the kind we can admire.
And then I was reminded why I write. I never wanted to write to become rich and famous. (Actually, I have a fear of becoming famous. Part of the reason I picked a pen name. I don't want people looking me up on goggle and sitting outside my house with cameras. {I know it would never happen, but you know - if I ever did become a spy that would be a major set back.}) I wanted to write so that if there was ever a little kid who spent a summer alone, wishing they had a friend, they could find it in my books. (Just as I found friends in all the books I read as a kid.) I want to write to take people on adventures, to give them a chance to meet people they can admire.
I doubt my books will last for years and years. Likely they will be forgotten long before I'm ready for them to be. But at least for now, I hope those who do pick them up, will be able to enjoy their stories. Will be able to slip away from bad days, even for a little while, and be ready to face another bad day because they feel like they have a friend with them.
So there, a bit of sappiness. And now I should end this so I can get some work done on The Broken Blade and contact my Beta readers about editing. (Beta Readers, that is such fun to say, even though I have no clue what it means.)
Quote is from The Lord of the Rings, because every blog could use more Boromir quotes.
Allons-y!
Now that my book party is over, I've gotten my word count back up for Camp NaNo, and - best of all - finished the re-write on book two!!! I am able to sit back and decide where to go from here. (Sounds dramatic, right?)
Sometimes, lately, I've been feeling a bit like Rapunzel. I've been dreaming of being an author since I was at least 13, and now I've reached that dream. I have two books published and know I can now publish even more. But I still sometimes wonder if I'm doing something wrong. When it comes to marketing I still feel completely lost.
As I've mentioned before, I don't want to be one of those authors always praising their own work and going on and on about how great it is and how all of you should read it. I've read Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, and blog posts were other authors do this and it has always made me NOT want to read their books. From my research it seems the best marketing plan, the one that has seemed to have the best effect, is to let the readers spread the word. If they like the book enough they will tell their friends. If they love the book they will tie their friends to a chair and make them read it. (I speak from experience here. Sorry to all my friends now bound to chairs.) But, I'm still wondering if even this plan has holes in it. Am I missing out on an important marketing secret? If so, what kind of quest do I have to go on to find it?
And then, when I start to doubt myself so badly I consider giving up the endeavor, I remind myself why I write.
Last year, well, actually two years ago, a group of people got together and decided to try a new form of story telling. They were certain they would be laughed at and get rotten tomatoes thrown at them when they walked out into the streets, but they risked it anyways because the idea sounded fun to them.
Armed with cameras and a couple unknown actors, they began to film a movie, done in vlog style. They posted it on Youtube, and by the time the story was over these actors had hundreds of adoring fans - and the people who made the movie were able to put it on DVD and sell it. Some of you might know who I'm talking about. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice.
I started watching these videos with a friend of mine, and by the time they were over I, like many others, wanted to own them on DVD. I followed the characters - and actors - on Twitter and their other social medias they'd set up to go along with the story. And it was there, actually it was on Tumblr, I stumbled across a letter someone had written to the actress who played Lizzie.
The general drift of the letter was the girl saying she knew it was silly, but she was going through a hard time in her life and she found things easier to bare because of these stories. Silly, right? After all, how can we find comfort in the lives of people who don't even exist? How can we be encouraged to endure the trails we face by reading about Lizzie Bennet, or someone else who never lived? (I shall give you the actress's reply in a moment.)
Interested by what I had read, I began to look into it a little more. I saw all over where people would talk about movies or books as if they were dear friends to them. They would say they were having a bad day and planned to put in their favourite movie and curl up on the couch with chocolate and tea. And I began to realize I did the same thing. After a bad day, I will crawl away from the world and visit fictional characters, and part of me thought it was silly. Shouldn't I be seeking out the company of real people to help me? (Note here, sometimes we do need help of living, breathing people. But that is something for another time and doesn't relate to this ramble. I'm pretty sure all of you, my brilliant readers, know full well when you need the advice of someone who doesn't live in a book or movie.)
All of this reminded me of what the actress had written in reply to the girl's email. I don't remember her reply word for word, but the basic of it was, for years people have taken comfort in stories. It is why we have them. We can look at the lives of people we can admire and use their examples to help us through trails. It isn't silly to admire a fictional character, so long as they are the kind we can admire.
And then I was reminded why I write. I never wanted to write to become rich and famous. (Actually, I have a fear of becoming famous. Part of the reason I picked a pen name. I don't want people looking me up on goggle and sitting outside my house with cameras. {I know it would never happen, but you know - if I ever did become a spy that would be a major set back.}) I wanted to write so that if there was ever a little kid who spent a summer alone, wishing they had a friend, they could find it in my books. (Just as I found friends in all the books I read as a kid.) I want to write to take people on adventures, to give them a chance to meet people they can admire.
I doubt my books will last for years and years. Likely they will be forgotten long before I'm ready for them to be. But at least for now, I hope those who do pick them up, will be able to enjoy their stories. Will be able to slip away from bad days, even for a little while, and be ready to face another bad day because they feel like they have a friend with them.
So there, a bit of sappiness. And now I should end this so I can get some work done on The Broken Blade and contact my Beta readers about editing. (Beta Readers, that is such fun to say, even though I have no clue what it means.)
Quote is from The Lord of the Rings, because every blog could use more Boromir quotes.
Allons-y!
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