Better Early Than Late: When pub dates go wrong…

If you’ve self-published, you probably know the exasperation of CreateSpace and Amazon.

In my case, I wanted to make sure my novel was out on July 1, the date which I’ve advertised everywhere. CreateSpace warns that the print process sometimes takes up to 5 days…so, of course, I uploaded 5 days before the 1st.

And then my book magically appeared on Amazon a day later. Friends and family excitedly posted on my Facebook and I deflated in my humid, Texas apartment.

“Well….better early than late!” My friend Nathan graciously pointed out. I drank three mimosas at brunch and decided to go ahead and let the world know: my book is available!

Here are the links, hope you check out THE WAITING ROOM 🙂

Kindle version:
http://amzn.to/TupzK9

Print version:
http://amzn.to/1ofMTXn

Book Trailer for THE WAITING ROOM

Whew, I could be on Creative Commons ALL. DAY. LONG. I discovered so many amazing photographers today! Same with all the free to share video and music sites. You can get lost.

If I was a little more tech-savvy, this process would’ve been much smoother, faster, and the product muchhh more professional. HOWEVER:

I finally made a book trailer for THE WAITING ROOM. And I’m proud of it, amateur-status and all.

Check it out:

The Waiting Room – book trailer

Tips for fellow authors wanting to make a book trailer:

1. If you don’t want to spend money (like me) then DON’T! Plenty of great, free resources–you just have to cite!
2. DON’T FORGET TO CITE.
3. Remember, you’re not making a MOVIE trailer. This is a book trailer…and people who watch it know that. So don’t get caught up in the visuals–your audience should know that the clip’s purpose is to further explain your novel–to hook them into reading and coming up with their own visuals.
4. Don’t use your synopsis unless it works. My little back cover blurb is short and simple, so I think (hope) it worked. But I’ve seen other people add WAY too much text.
5. If you’re worried about your readers getting a preconceived character image, then don’t use images that give them that!
6. Get the opinion of others–not just other writers. Show it to a friend and ask how it made them feel. Which images captured their attention and which images didn’t?
7. Have fun with it! Let it revamp you.

 

Remember: The Waiting Room releases July 1!