The story has captivated its first round of readers in the past few days. The emails, tweets, and facebook posts are coming in faster than I can keep up with them. The blog tour started today with WOW, Women on writing. http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/ Here you can join post comments and win a free copy of the novel.
For the past few days, I've been thinking about social media and the overwhelming work it takes to get your book noticed by potential readers. I think one of the best ways is with a quality book trailer. Book trailers appeal to the masses because of the visual aspect. My first trailer was with Misty Taggart and Trailer to the Stars. She's fantastic and great to work with, and did a super job. I highly recommend Misty and her company. http://www.trailertothestars.com/
My niece, Lindy Bonin, a graduate of Lee University, worked with me on creating a new video for Televenge. Televenge, The Story. This video is a synopsis of the novel, set to music and pictures. It's a little longer than most book trailers, 7 minutes, but it's really good. I believe the music along with the story holds you until the end.
I wrote the script and recorded it into an Audacity file, then uploaded it to Lindy. Both of us worked on gathering just the right pictures for the script. The pictures were purchased from an Internet site specializing in stock photos. Lindy used music from her own collection. Lindy, like myself, is from a church background. She and her two sisters, Ashlie and Melissa, all graduated from Lee University and have become pastors or are in pastoral service.
The voice of my protagonist, Andie Oliver at the beginning, middle, and end of the video is Lindy's voice. Although a native of Ohio, she spent a great deal of time in Tennessee at Lee and then worked for her church organization in the Cleveland, TN area. I was quite surprised when I first heard it. I had no idea who it was. She does a great job as a steel magnolia, don't you think?
It took a few drafts and a little time, but in the end I think we've created something very special. I'm proud of Lindy and of the video. If you've got some time, take a look. And then hop on over to Amazon or Barnes & Noble ... where you can purchase the entire novel!
When it comes to writers promoting their work, I think we're going to find more book trailers in the future. It's the cherry on top of the sundae.
The video can be found on You Tube and across all social media sites. Enjoy!
Blessings to you and yours.
