Selected Song: THIS IS HALLOWEEN by The Citizens of Halloween
Movies that epitomize Halloween. Book Trailers: A Great Way to Promote!
To see the movie posters visit J's Journal on my website.
Each of these movies have a theme related to Halloween. Which have you seen? Seen as in which movie, not in real life, of course!
Twilight - Vampires
The Uninvited - From Beyond the Grave
Race to Witch Mountain - Witches
Coraline - Other Dimension
The Haunting in Connecticut - A Haunting
Friday the 13th - Psycho Slasher
Monsters vs. Aliens - Monsters and Aliens
Just as movies have trailers, so can books and in recent years this trend has grown popular. It's a great way to promote your book and can be cost effective if you research various companies for pricing and even better, find a friend or their friend to help you out. To have an engaging and effective book trailer doesn't have to cost a lot, but it does take creativity. This is one thing I'm sure you have or else you wouldn't have written a book and be in need of a trailer to promote it! As for it's content and running time that's up to you and the designer to collabrate your ideas.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
How the movie The Strangers is related to a similar experience I had
Early last November, just like in The Strangers, I heard the doorbell ring at 4 a.m. It rang every 10-15 seconds for several minutes and I called the police. And like in The Strangers, the property is somewhat wooded and set back from the road. The porch light was off and after those few long minutes the bell ringing ceased. I looked outside to see a Caucasian man walking down the street in a t-shirt and shorts.He might have been drunk and looking for an address, although he never walked onto other properties, just continued down the road. The next morning I saw that the doorframe paneling was separated as if he attempted to pry the lock. Although, maybe, the paneling had already been that way and the man did need directions. That's the opinions I received from people; that the 'visit' wasn't of ill intent. One can't be too certain. I recently saw a Dateline episode on the ID channel (Investigation Discovery) where two teenage boys were convicted of murdering a married couple who were University professors. They gained entry into the house by posing as workers for an organization.
After they were captured, a man reading the paper noticed the familiar face of one of the assailants. It was the same person who had stopped by his house one evening 6 months earlier to ask to use the phone after his car had broken down. The man wouldn't open the door (and his child was also inside), but raised a gun near the door's window to show the teen and offered to call a tow-truck. When he went to the phone he found the line dead and after the stranger left the homeowner found the outdoor phone cables cut. Upon capture, the two teens had also confessed their failed attempt to kill and rob the occupants of that house (with his friend hiding around the corner), but the gun deterred them. So, you never know...
After they were captured, a man reading the paper noticed the familiar face of one of the assailants. It was the same person who had stopped by his house one evening 6 months earlier to ask to use the phone after his car had broken down. The man wouldn't open the door (and his child was also inside), but raised a gun near the door's window to show the teen and offered to call a tow-truck. When he went to the phone he found the line dead and after the stranger left the homeowner found the outdoor phone cables cut. Upon capture, the two teens had also confessed their failed attempt to kill and rob the occupants of that house (with his friend hiding around the corner), but the gun deterred them. So, you never know...
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Public Speaking and Promoting
In recent years the internet has exponentiated in users and with this boom of broadcasting grew an ever increasing audience. And just as there are numerous online opportunities for promoting yourself or product there are also great ways to generate awareness outside of the digital realm. The easiest way to promote is during a conversation (you and another's - not disrupting two people) asking the person what they think about a certain subject. Whether they know the subject or don't, you can share your thoughts on an idea or theme related to your 'brand'. Since my product is novels I would talk about topics related to what I'm writing to create potential interest. This, of course, doesn't have to be everytime you talk with someone, but the opportunities to do so are more than what it seems.
Speaking to groups is a great way to gain attention and awareness. The number of attendees that you're addressing is most times not as vital as the location and, more importantly, the content (given that you're not stage shy). If you are uneasy with speaking in public, practicing with a friend or someone who can give positive and constructive feedback is an excellent way to begin. If you were to speak at the library or book club group (and posted event flyers well in advance) there might be five or twenty-five people who attend, but if you arrived underprepared then five people might be all who stay interested. And of those five, who would likely tell a friend of the event, two or three might be interested in what you were offering.
It's favorable to your audience and advantageous to yourself to research, gather your notes and assemble a hierarchy of topics and main points that you'll present with an engaging enthusiasm. You never know who will be there and it just might be someone that wasn't interested, being dragged there by a friend, then finding your talk more enjoyable than they had first thought.
Researching not only includes using ideas and themes that you already know, but making certain that you're aware of your target audience (or close to it). For instance, the library. Depending on what day or time you schedule, there will be a different crowd of people. Even with flyers showing the time and day. If your presentation is during a weekday afternoon after schools let out, there may not be as many teens who show up. For instance, due to after school sports, homework or watching a sibling. However, if you present on a Saturday afternoon, there will be a greater for a larger audience. Another strategy (and primary one) is to host a speaking engagement based on a platform or theme in your story or for your product. Choose a location central to your platform then the audience will follow and be ready to listen.
There are numerous ways to promote what you've written or created and there are just as many people who want to know about it. Make public speaking part of your promotional plan and you'll discover the fun and rewarding benefits!
Speaking to groups is a great way to gain attention and awareness. The number of attendees that you're addressing is most times not as vital as the location and, more importantly, the content (given that you're not stage shy). If you are uneasy with speaking in public, practicing with a friend or someone who can give positive and constructive feedback is an excellent way to begin. If you were to speak at the library or book club group (and posted event flyers well in advance) there might be five or twenty-five people who attend, but if you arrived underprepared then five people might be all who stay interested. And of those five, who would likely tell a friend of the event, two or three might be interested in what you were offering.
It's favorable to your audience and advantageous to yourself to research, gather your notes and assemble a hierarchy of topics and main points that you'll present with an engaging enthusiasm. You never know who will be there and it just might be someone that wasn't interested, being dragged there by a friend, then finding your talk more enjoyable than they had first thought.
Researching not only includes using ideas and themes that you already know, but making certain that you're aware of your target audience (or close to it). For instance, the library. Depending on what day or time you schedule, there will be a different crowd of people. Even with flyers showing the time and day. If your presentation is during a weekday afternoon after schools let out, there may not be as many teens who show up. For instance, due to after school sports, homework or watching a sibling. However, if you present on a Saturday afternoon, there will be a greater for a larger audience. Another strategy (and primary one) is to host a speaking engagement based on a platform or theme in your story or for your product. Choose a location central to your platform then the audience will follow and be ready to listen.
There are numerous ways to promote what you've written or created and there are just as many people who want to know about it. Make public speaking part of your promotional plan and you'll discover the fun and rewarding benefits!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Creating Networking Opportunities Online
Creating opportunites to promote oneself on the internet can be an easy and fun endeavor that has many rewards. And it doesn't neccessarily have to cause headaches. In addition to my website http://www.jleeward.com/ I have added to my homepage image links to Myspace, Twitter, Facebook and Blogger. These four networking sites are on the left section of my site and in the center box I have included a signup for my Yahoo monthly newsletter where I feature my Ridgeview Reader newsletter that is based from my novel Helen and The Hunter.
The right box of my website layout has Noteable Links that showcase the highlights of my website. These pages are: Notes, Photos, Characters, Ask Jason, Playlist and J's Journal Blog. For more information on these visit my website. My J's Journal blog is a great feature that I chose to build into my website in addition to having any external blogs such as Blogger.
Even though my blog content will mostly be the exact same, a simple promoting strategy is that while one reader will find my blog on blogger, another will find the same posting on my website and then see links to my other sites such as Twitter, etc.
Creating links to and from each website source will gain further awareness for your audience. And a great thing about utilizing these sources is that unlike the majority of personal websites, they're free!
With countless blogs posted every day it can be difficult to decide what to read and even moreso, what to blog about, should you be writing an article or whatever you chose to post. I've considered the time invested in doing so and if it would garner many readers. To establish an audience there must be topics and ones worth reading about, to pique that reader interest. I've had readers check out my website's blog, but I know (when I do blog) there will be many more potential readers when I post what I write there onto Blogger. And from here (Blogger) they can go to my website.
When I've thought about what to write for topics, I've wondered if it would be a time waster. I've realized that no matter how many people read it, it creates an opportunity for them to visit my website and my other networking sites. And most importantly it allows me the benefit of practicing my writing (aside from my daily writing on my novel) to a diverse audience with topics that might not be in my novel or that I otherwise wouldn't give much thought to. It's amazing what new things can be learned every day and that those discoveries can be shared with those wanting to know. Or even better, to those who thought they didn't want to know and are glad they had the opportunity to find out.
The right box of my website layout has Noteable Links that showcase the highlights of my website. These pages are: Notes, Photos, Characters, Ask Jason, Playlist and J's Journal Blog. For more information on these visit my website. My J's Journal blog is a great feature that I chose to build into my website in addition to having any external blogs such as Blogger.
Even though my blog content will mostly be the exact same, a simple promoting strategy is that while one reader will find my blog on blogger, another will find the same posting on my website and then see links to my other sites such as Twitter, etc.
Creating links to and from each website source will gain further awareness for your audience. And a great thing about utilizing these sources is that unlike the majority of personal websites, they're free!
With countless blogs posted every day it can be difficult to decide what to read and even moreso, what to blog about, should you be writing an article or whatever you chose to post. I've considered the time invested in doing so and if it would garner many readers. To establish an audience there must be topics and ones worth reading about, to pique that reader interest. I've had readers check out my website's blog, but I know (when I do blog) there will be many more potential readers when I post what I write there onto Blogger. And from here (Blogger) they can go to my website.
When I've thought about what to write for topics, I've wondered if it would be a time waster. I've realized that no matter how many people read it, it creates an opportunity for them to visit my website and my other networking sites. And most importantly it allows me the benefit of practicing my writing (aside from my daily writing on my novel) to a diverse audience with topics that might not be in my novel or that I otherwise wouldn't give much thought to. It's amazing what new things can be learned every day and that those discoveries can be shared with those wanting to know. Or even better, to those who thought they didn't want to know and are glad they had the opportunity to find out.
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