indie writers | Painting With Light

Posts Tagged ‘indie writers’

Why Should Anyone Read This?

September 13, 2012

“The Writer’s Pen”

I usually try to resist tooting my own horn (and I usually fail miserably, but I do try).

As an indie writer it’s important to get the word out about your work, because there’s no large publishing conglomerate pushing information about your latest-and-greatest literary effort to the public.

No sexy ad campaign. No colorful billboards. No radio interviews or speaking engagements.

You have to get the word out all by yourself.

But, when you do that, where do you draw the line between marketing effort and general annoyance?

A Fine Line
I don’t want to slam “buy my books” all over the place (although there are less-than-subtle links to places to buy them all along the margin of the blog, and frequently here in the text). I hope to actually have folks read what I write here because it’s occasionally interesting.

So I will only mention once that my debut novel “Reichold Street” was chosen as the Gold Medal Winner (young adult genre) in the 2012 Readers Favorite Awards, and let it go at that. Although you really should take a look at it. You might like it. Here’s the book trailer.

‘Nuff said.

Here’s the “Reichold Street” trailer:

Tags:amazon kindle, barnes & noble books, book marketing, gold medal winner, indie writers
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Book Promotion, Book Trailer, Branding, Market Your Book, Self-Published | 5 Comments »

Serendipity

August 25, 2012

“Grand Haven Lighthouse” Photo © R.L. Herron

I photograph this area often. My catalog of pictures of the lighthouse and pier in Grand Haven numbers in the hundreds … and that’s just the good ones I kept.

When I came across this one (I think I may have used it in my blog before) I was struck, not by the nice positioning of the sunset, but by the silhouette of the couple on the beach.

I was, after all, trying to get the sunset shot. My camera was set up on a weighted tripod on the beach, and I was very careful to compose the long line of the pier while I waited for the sun to go down in that precise spot.

It was difficult to do with the lens stopped down for the greatest depth of field. Everything in the viewfinder was dark … except for that bright spot of the sun.

I was busy watching the sunset, waiting for the right moment to depress the cable release I was using to minimize camera-shake, and I didn’t see the couple walking in the dark shadow of the beach.

But the serendipity of that moment was beautiful. That couple, in that exact location, at the very moment I tripped the shutter, was what made the picture for me.

I find writing a lot like that, too. I try to remember all the things I mention on my writing web site: let the characters explain the scene; make them believable, even in unbelievable situations and let the story create something entertaining.

I don’t write the way the teachers tried to pound into my head through high school, college and graduate school. There’s no outline. At most, I have a few lines of notes; a phrase that keeps bubbling up in my mind; a “what-if” thought; the memory of a delightful conversational moment I happened to overhear.

I start writing and let the story tell me what it what it wants to say. My characters drive the tale, and the serendipity of that; the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for … is always a delight.

Tags:indie writers, serendipity
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Storytelling | 5 Comments »

More Confessions of an Indie Writer

August 22, 2012

Some of you may not be intensely interested in writing or self-publishing. If so, you can stop here … right after you click on this shameless link to my books.

For the rest of you, read on.

A friend asked me earlier this week which company put together the Kindle and Nook versions of my three books. It was a question that took me somewhat by surprise. I thought he knew I had self-published all my books – both the paperback and digital versions.

“Oh, I know that,” he said when I reminded him, “but who created the digital files for you? There are lots of places who advertise about that and I wondered which one you used?”

When I told him I did it myself, he seemed amazed. “I didn’t know you knew how to do that kind of stuff,” was his response. I smiled and let him think I was a genius.

The truth is, I didn’t know. I had to figure it out.

I started the same way I suppose many author wannabes begin. I Googled self-publishing companies and looked at the first page of 23.9 million responses.

I won’t begin to list all the things I discovered. However, I did compose a brief, but by no means all-inclusive list of some of the more popular sites (listed in no particular order):

While I’m certain they are each terrific at what they do, I didn’t use any of them, because they all expect to get paid for their services.

Of course, that’s a legitimate expectation for the work they do. But I have a background in art, design and printing. However, even without that knowledge you can do it yourself. All you need is time, a sense of adventure, and the ability to laughingly absorb extreme frustration.

Now, this is why I told you earlier you could stop reading. I’m about to describe what it was like for me to set-up and arrange self-publishing for my books:

But wait, there’s more!