Monthly Archives: May 2011

Book writers, I need your opinion

Advertising poster dating from the turn of the...

1900 advertising poster - my how times have changed - Image via Wikipedia

I have been taking courses with AWAI (American Writers and Artists, Inc.) on copywriting, and I am trying to find my niche. Copywriting is writing advertising copy for various projects in various types, such as:

  • autoresponder emails – this is a series of emails designed to interest your reader in clicking on a link that leads to your web landing page (the page that advertises your book).  The series is sent out over a period of time to give the recipient ample time to work up enough interest in your book to click the link. These emails are sent only to prospect, i.e., people who have indicated some kind of interest in buying your book and are on your prospect mailing list.

 

  • writing good advertising copy for home pages, landing pages and any other pages for a website.  They would be all about selling YOU and your book.

 

  • It would also involve helping the person setting up their website to their best advantage, working with SEO options, recommending the top hosting and framework suppliers, and help with design.  You can pick as many of the services as you need…one, two, or a package.

How many book writers who have (or are intending to) self-publish their books would be interested in services such as the above-described?  I think you can click as many as apply.

Dark

The Cave

Image via Wikipedia

We have a guest blogger today who has become fascinated with flash fiction.  His name is Eric Esteb, and he is a screenwriter by profession.  He is also a member of the writers at my FantasyFic forum.  Two of his wonderful stories were accepted as part of the anthology, Birth of a Unicorn and Other Stories, edited by me and published by FantasyFic Publishing.
This is Eric’s first foray into our blogosphere, so please make him welcome.
* * *
Dark
by Eric Esteb
“There are spiders in there.”"So? Are you scared?” Erin asked mockingly.

“No, I’m not scared,” Arnie swallowed hard and looked into the darkness of the hole under the old dead tree. He was smart enough to know that Erin and her friends had brought him here to torment him, but he’d come because he had always fancied her, throw in the fact that she had developed earlier than all the other girls in his class and…

His current predicament was a foregone conclusion. He turned and looked at Erin; she nodded for him to go.

“If you’re just gonna chicken out Arnie, tell us now so we can get out of the sun.”

“I just need to bring out a rock?”

The girl smiled. “Yep! To prove you went all the way in.”

It was dark in the cave, too dark to see after Arnie had gone around a bend in the path. The air was humid and heavy, somewhere, deeper within the cave it sounded like the earth was breathing.

Hands slick with mud Arnie groped his way along the sweating walls of the narrow cavern. After a few minutes the ground evened out and the path widened. Suddenly Arnie’s hand fell upon a sturdy wooden fence. The wood felt old but strong.

He felt his way along the fence until he came to a gate barred from his side. Arnie hesitated a moment at the gate but thoughts of Erin’s T-shirt cascaded into his head. Arnie hefted the heavy plank barring the gate, let it fall to the muddy ground and opened the gate with a creak. He winced, but after nothing bad happened he continued on through.

The breathing stopped but he felt less alone than he did a moment ago. He continued on into the absolute blackness until he found the far wall. He still needed a rock, though now it felt like something was watching him.

He blundered along until his feet fell on stone. He stepped up onto an altar and felt around in the darkness for something to take up to the girls.

“Ouch!” His voice sounded far away in that dank cavern. His hand fell onto something sharp. Something metal. Arnie touched it more carefully and realized it was a sword buried in the ground. He wrapped his hand around the grip and the blade began to glow blue.

He looked about, sensing something had been living there and, with horror, that it was no longer in its prison.

Outside, far away Arnie heard the girls scream.

Something deep down within him told him what to do. Part of him, the reader, the geek, the outcast always knew.

Arnie pulled the sword from the bed rock and rushed through the darkness to the light.

465 words
Copyright (c) 2011 Eric Esteb.  All rights reserved.

Golleee, ANOTHER Award!

I’m truly blessed these days.  I unexpectedly received another award this morning from Marantha Jenelle.  It’s one that she made up so that she could pass them out to her friends.  Thanks very much, Marantha.  Here’s what it looks like.  Cool, eh?

Awarded by Marantha Jenelle

Lovely, lovely awards

Okay, I’m happy – I just got another award from Ken Broad at Fictional Campfire. It’s called Inspirational Blogger Award, and he designed it himself.  That makes it twice as valuable to me.

Inspiring Blogger Award - awarded by Ken Broad

The only criterion is that I can award it to anyone I feel is an Inspiring Blogger.  Pretty simple.  Thanks, Ken.

Versatile Blogger Awards

Exciting news today!  No, not another flash fiction story – I got another award.  This time, the Versatile Blogger Award — from the PanicMonster.  You should read her blog, if you haven’t already.  It’s extraordinarily honest and full of pain and courage.  Thank you, PM, for this award.

Versatile Blogger Award

With respect to the award, here are the terms and more information:

The Versatile Blogger Award is passed from blogger to blogger. It’s a great way to get your blog noticed, as well as highlight some of your favorite bloggers/writers.  Considering the vast number of very creative and inspirational blogs in our own blogosphere alone, I am pretty happy to have been included in this august company :)

Now the idea in spreading the good word to others is:

1) Link back to the blogger that gave me the award . - done
2) Tell you 7 random things about myself. - see below
3) Choose 15 other blogs to pass the award to. - see below
4) Inform the other bloggers that I’m passing the award to them. - done

SEVEN RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME

Saline solution for IV

Image via Wikipedia - Saline Solution

1. I almost died twice last year, once by injection of iodine for a catscan.  It turns out I am deathly allergic to iodine.  If my family doctor hadn’t recognized it right away and put me on a saline solution to flush out my veins, I would have died…my kidneys had already started to fail.  The other time was a mix-up with too many doctors prescribing medications for me without regard to the medications I was already on.  One prescription was again making my kidneys start to fail and my blood pressure had dropped alarmingly, but again my family doctor solved that by putting me in the hospital, saline solution for 24 hours, I was right as rain the next morning.  We solved that particular one by passing any new medications past my family doctor before I started taking them.

2.  I could read and write (actual writing, not printing) when I was four years old.  I guess I couldn’t wait to grow up to get at my writing.  I wrote my first “novel” when I was seven.  It was a self-illustrated, five-page adventure story called ANGUS THE ANT.

3. I am 70 years old but have been repeatedly told that I don’t look more than my mid-50s.  I like hearing that.  When I was younger, I had somewhat shallow values, in that the looks of people were very important to me.  I have matured considerably since then, but some of it still lingers :oops:

4. I still read the Oz books and have never gotten over the idea that somewhere there may be a full-fledged fairyland (like Baum’s Land of Oz, or Anthony’s Xanth, or Brooks’s Magic Kingdom for Sale).  I’ll let you know when I find it.

Barrel racing at the Calgary Stampede

Image via Wikipedia

5. Charles, Prince of Wales, waved at me personally once when he came to Calgary for the Calgary Stampede.  I was atop the chuck wagon entry of the radio station I worked for then and was enthusiastically yelling and waving to the crowd.  Charles was in the reviewing stands and looked my way when he heard all the noise I was making.  He grinned at me and waved back.  That was 35 years ago. :)

6. I did the all-night radio broadcast for three years at CHQR in Calgary, before it became an all-talk radio station.  It was like having my own party every night and I loved it.  This was in the early 1980s.

7. I have three of the most adorable Shih Tzus you have ever seen: Ling Ling, Oreo Blizzard, and Tilly Tot.  The first two were purchased from their breeders.  However, Tilly Tot was a rescue dog, who was dying when we found her.  She was so full of bladder stones she could hardly walk and couldn’t pee at all.  We took her to the vet and he did the necessary operation.  Tilly is now a happy, healthy, little sweetheart, a real loving addition to our little family.

Okay, on to the 15 new award winners.  This might be difficult, since so many of the bloggers I follow regularly already have this award.  Here goes:

NEW WINNERS

1. AnimalsOurEverything – Janet Herring-Sherman
2. Dorky Deb – Debbie Norman
3. Fearlessly Nourished - Kristin Konvolinka
4. Huffygirl’s Blog – Donna Barry
5. Michael’s Blog - Michael Ayers (aka stickinsect)
6. Miss Beehaven with Hobbit Queen
7. Bookclub Cheerleader - Marsha Toy Engstrom
8. Fictional Campfire – Ken Broad
9. The Painted Universe - Anna Barlow
10. Out of the Woods – Billie Jo Woods
11. Selena Wolff’s Solitary Words
12. The Renegade Writer - Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell
13. Publication Coach – Daphne Gray-Grant
14. The Sunflower Girl - Jennifer Alys Windholz
15. Blog Therapy (formerly Marya Writes) – Marya

That was more of a struggle than I anticipated.  Other than the ones who already have this award, this is pretty nearly my whole Blogroll.

Congratulations, guys.  I will be in touch personally soon to let you know, in case you don’t drift by to see what I’m up to.  Thanks for being such great writers.

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