The explosion of short video previews to sell books is reaching the point where more have them than don't, it seems.
Many who have them don't quite seem to know what to do with them.
And some complain that they're one more expense.
There are pros and cons to this marketing tool, which I expect some here will have views on.
But primarily, I want to pimp my recently published manual, "How To Make Video Book Trailers Yourself For FREE With No Special Skills Or A-List Actors Attached". (I'm working on the title)
But it says it all. There really isn't much need to spend $300 on a video, especially since so many pro videos you see are essentially animated up from two basic still pictures, or even the cover alone.
You can do that yourself, using free programs that require no special education to learn. My manual is a pdf file that is mailed to you, so it's right there on your desktop when you work on a vid. It covers everything: pictures, assembly programs, soundtrack creation, and using the video to promote. In has MASSIVE collections of links to support, free downloadable resources such as programs and pictures and sound effects, and even video examples of some of techniques involved.
Like this one, for instance:
Those "clips" were all created from single pictures like book covers (except the wolf/girl fade) in minutes, using a free program...including the music!
Primarily dealing with programs for Windows, it also supports Mac and Linus programs, and many of the free download programs run on any platform. Registered users of XP or VISTA have access to a free program that enables creating videos of this kind from no more than a few pictures literally within an hour or so.
Also, the collection of resource links, which apply to any operating system, are worth the cost of the manual... a low, low SIX BUCKS U.S.!
This manual is only available through Adoro Works. If you ask for it in a store, they'll think you're crazy. Like the entire line adoro is initiating, this is a task-oriented guide aimed at writers and small publishers.
Check it out (by which I mean, of course, buy several copies) at ADORO WORKS.COM
I am so not ready for Christmas. I just realized I don't have much time either. One good thing is the DH is off Friday and possibly all next week, so I can give him a few chores to do, which may help some. I'm counting on him to put stamps and labels on the Christmas cards, and do a few things around the house to straighten it out some. Unfortunately, I'm the organizer in the family, so I can't expect too much on the getting-the- house ready front. That's pathetic, since I'm not very organized. (g)
Anyway, I hope to get the house into decent shape before Christmas, when I do my annual meal for the family. There's also that Christmas list to get together. Time is ticking away.
What about you? Are you ready for Christmas? Or do you celebrate another Holiday? If so, are you ready?
One of the main reasons for writing "Cynthia's Attic" came from my failure - failure to appreciate my ancestors. Our family stories are probably no more or less interesting than most, and I went out of my way to avoid remembering most of them or asking questions about my grandparents lives.
For instance. Did I bother to ask my grandfather what it was like playing in the first night football game in America?
Or did I try to find out just which relative "supposedly" sold a city block on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles for $20,000? Guaranteed, I would not be sitting here writing a blog had that particular relative held on to the property.
Then there's the story, "Cynthia's Attic: Curse of the Bayou," of my great-great grandfather, Augustus Boilliat who disappeared in 1860 while taking a load of produce down the Mississippi River to New Orleans? Oh, sure I've read different accounts about what happened to him, but lost forever are the stories his grandson (my grandfather) could've told me about facts he'd heard from my great-great grandmother, Marie Julia, about her husband's disappearance.
I remember a few accounts told by my dad about his adventures as a teenage cave guide at one of the largest caves in the Southern Indiana area, Wyandotte, but I only have to guess at some of the adventures he must've had.
That's why I'm writing adventures I wanted my ancestors to have; adventures I can enjoy with them through the eyes and voice of my character, Gus.
The idea for Cynthia's Attic: The Magician's Castle came from detailed genealogy research done by my cousin, Betty. Long before the Internet, she traveled to Switzerland to search for documents that would tie our great-grandmother, Harriet Kistler, to Peter Kistler the First, President of the Republic of Bern, 1470-1480. I've tried to honor the Kistler family in the fourth adventure in Cynthia's Attic.
Thanks, Morgan, for having me as a guest!
Mary Cunningham
Mary Cunningham is the author of the award-winning 'Tween fantasy/mystery series, Cynthia’s Attic. She is proud to announce the release of book four, "The Magician's Castle," Dec 1, 2009. Her children's mystery series was inspired by a recurring dream about a mysterious attic. After realizing that the dream took place in the home of her childhood friend, Cynthia, the dreams stopped and the writing began.
She is also co-writer of the humor-filled, women's lifestyle book, "Women Only Over Fifty (WOOF)," along with published stories, "Ghost Light" and "Christmas Daisy," A Cynthia's Attic short story.
To celebrate the release of "The Magician's Castle," (Quake/Echelon Press, DEC 1, 2009), a winner will be chosen on each blog stop to receive a copy of the "Cynthia's Attic" short story, "Christmas With Daisy!" So, be sure to make a comment!
Monday, I'm over at my group blog, http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/, where I'm blogging about the mystery of the missing checks. Come on over and find out what it's all about.
I'm firming up some dates for speaking engagements in 2010. One's tentatively set for March 28, at 1:30 at the Niles Public Library, another probably in mid May at the Schaumburg Township District Library.
Also, coming up is a radio interview at WJJQ again on May 7, at 9:35 a.m. before my booksigning May 8 at Cover to Cover Books in Tomahawk, WI.
I've heard that some people are more afraid of public speaking than of dying. Surprisingly, I find it easier each time I do it. As long as I have my cheat sheet with me to glance down at once in a while for security and I like what I'm talking about, I'm okay.
What about you? Do you like to talk or would you rather not?
December 12, 2009 at 6pm to December 23, 2009 at 7pm
Christmas Celebration at Whispers Publishing's reader's loop. Come meet authors, participate in chats, contests, read steaming hot excerpts, win books! Our grand prize this year is a basket filled with Godiva's Cocolates.
Come join the fun