Unique Marketing Approaches

I don’t talk enough about marketing. That is in part because I’m not great at it: it seems like that magic sauce so many people have eludes me. Maybe it’s because I’ve tried to replicate what works for other people… that only gets a person like me so far (I’m kind-of an off-the-wall type and it’s hard to put me in a box.)

Below are some great marketing ideas I’m going to try. If you’re as unique as I am, they might be the kind of marketing ideas you need! Here are three fresh ideas I’m planning to test drive…

Review: Cryptofauna

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with Patrick Canning’s Cryptofauna. When I was queried for a review, I almost passed and I’m glad I did not.

Down on his luck Jim is something of an Arthur Dent kind of character from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy… amid his life falling apart all around him, he is whisked away on an incredible (and mostly unbelievable) adventure. The humor is similar as well and Canning is able to write some incredibly potent hooks into the story (the first line, for one) as well as some concepts that are normally so antithetical that they feel absurd—but in context, they are the right kind of absurd that makes the story work.

State of Writing

I got rough outlines done for the next Dekker’s Dozen novelette and for my untitled fantasy novel. I did some recording on a few new chapters for Wolf of the Tesseract: Darque Gates of Koth. There’s not much I can hope to do this week except continue on that course… refine outlines and keep recording.

My plan is to write a sample couple chapters on this fantasy WIP and then pitch it to the company who was talking with me (it’s in a shared universe). Hopefully I can get a thumbs up or down with a completed outline and an early sample. If it’s a no-go I can complete the story and remove some of the trademarked elements.

I’m also still waiting on getting Fear in a Land Without Shadows back from editing. That will be my priority once I get it back and I’m excited to get cracking on a final version around the time that the new Writers Market for Lit Agents releases.

The Problem With Purple Prose

If you want your book to read somewhere on the spectrum between Volgon poetry and James Joyce’s notorious Finnegan’s Wake, then purple prose is for you.

Review: Gift of the Shaper

D.L. Jennings uses tight language and well-paced action to move his hero, Thornton Woods,  along on his quest to save his father in Gift of the Shaper.

This is very much a coming of age tale as Thornton comes into his own, alongside his friend Miera, at the beginning of the book. But Thornton is not a stranger to hardship, as the son of a blacksmith.

State of Writing

I was able to complete my audio version of my Dekker’s Dozen prequel. I didn’t get much progress on the second WotT novel’s audio, but I will keep working at it this week!

I have a short story out on submission, now, and I’ve managed to start putting together for a kind of sword and sorcery tale. Once the outline is complete and ready I will pitch it to the folks over at SFR as it’s a story in the Dragon Dice game universe. When I last spoke with their execs, they were interested, but some time has lapsed and so I figure it’s worth putting together something solid to follow on the heels of their very successful Kickstarter campaign. If it ultimately doesn’t work out, I can always change a few of the world-building elements (places, trademarked race names, etc.) and have a solid one-shot fantasy.

I’m going to keep working on outlines for the untitled fantasy as well as the next Dekker’s Dozen outline (I’d like to have two more short stories in rough draft by Christmas) while I wait for my editor to get finished with Fear in a Land Without Shadows. It should be ready any week now.

In the meanwhile, I’m also booking self-publishing workshops and toying with the idea of starting a patreon page… but we’ll see.

The Createspace/KDP merger & Migration

So I like Createspace. It’s simple, efficient, and powerful. There have been problems in the past (as a company) but they’ve mostly been ironed out in recent years. And now… they are disappearing, pending a migration/merger with KDP which now will print physical books. All recent communication from Createspace claims it will happen “within the next couple weeks.” I suspect the process will finalize around the new year.

Here’s the details and what it may mean for you:

Review: The Dead Sea Gospel

James Boswell’s debut novel, The Dead Sea Gospel, proves that there is plenty of mystery and intrigue revolving around the ancient world… and around the modern one which grasps to understand it. He pens an intricate web very Dan Brown style about a new discovery: a scroll believed to come from the first century… one that was possibly written by Jesus himself. Everyone wants it… and some are prepared to kill for it. (An intriguing tale, and one worth reviewing at my Inside the Inkwell blog).

Boswell’s characters are likeable and believable. I especially found the supporting cast (some of the college students, especially Rebecca Chatsworth,) and scenes to be very believable and even endearing.

State of Writing

I didn’t blog my Monday reports these last couple opportunities. I’ve been a bit swamped with things, including back to back comic cons.

Two weeks ago I had a huge class (like 60 folks) take my indie publishing course (From Idea to Paperback). I was a bit overwhelmed! Usually, whenever I offer one for free there are only a couple who attend, so thank you!

This last week I had a few setbacks. I was doing some recording for one of my two audiobooks in progress and a computer error crashed my software… and I discovered that it had not been autosaving, so I lost a huge amount of work. I’ll begin again this week and my goal is complete the recordings for the next Dekker’s Dozen book this week.

What Happens to My Indie Book When I Die?

I was working recently with an elderly writer who asked a question I’ve often wondered about. “What happens to my book when I die?” I suppose that’s what prompted me to finally look into the subject. It’s an item that is covered in most publishing contracts… but what about Createspace… the biggest self-publishing outlet? Surely they have experienced this situation.

First things first, an author ought to stipulate rights to his or her intellectual property in a will. It is preferable to do this step before death. Hopefully that joke points to the fact that I am not a lawyer and this post should not be taken as legal advice, but should rather point you in the right direction. Every situation is different; get a lawyer, people.