46 Second Book Trailer! Do You Think It’s Effective?
Hello, friends! Up and coming film-maker, Abigail Hagan, created this awesome book trailer for The Offshore Triumphs of Karla Jean. Check it out, share it…and if you are inclined, send me your feedback! I would love to know what you think!
Here’s wishing you all a completely, massively awesome 2013!
Author…Teacher…Teacher…Author…
I am forever going back and forth as to whether I am an author first or a teacher first. It is the classic chicken and egg scenario. I have recently accepted a new teaching position, which has definitely caused me to put the teacher hat firmly back on my head. But then today I will be speaking before a Rotary club luncheon, so the writing and publishing hat is going on there now. I suppose the two endeavors go hand-in-hand. I cannot seem to do one without the other.
In the Company of Walt, Beatrix and Benjamin and…You? Join Us for Session Four: The Top Dozen Ways to Publish Your Work
Hello, friends!
It is hard to believe that we have completed three of four sessions in our Creative Writing Workshops. They have been fun, informative and effective. Please come and join us for Session Four: The Top Dozen Ways to Publish Your Work. Come and learn about the differences between traditional and indie publishing. Learn about publishing to ebooks and/or print-on-demand technology. Find out what’s best for you.
Please ponder the following:
Imagine a world with no Leaves of Grass. Or The Adventures of Peter Rabbit. Or Poor Richard’s Almanack.
Or imagine further, that after you wrote that first draft, of the first attempt, of your first real writing adventure…imagine there was no tome of instruction called The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., with his student E.B.White. Yes, imagine if this first response in writing instruction, had not been available.
That could very well have happened. Because along with being great contributions to our literary existence, all four of these works have something else in common.
They were all…dare we say it? Self-published. Every one.
Come join us this Saturday, June 23, 2012, from 9 am to 12 noon. We will be meeting in room B1104 at the University of Houston-Clear Lake campus. I will be leading a session discussing the very topic of self-publishing, or indie publishing, as it’s called today. Technology now allows virtually anyone to be published. For some folks that’s not a good idea. But for others it is a duty to humanity to share their gifts. Depending on your contribution, self-publishing is not vanity. I would go so far as to call it duty. It is incumbent upon you as an author to find out if the world will benefit from your contribution.
Walt Whitman. Beatrix Potter. Benjamin Franklin. Legacies we have to enjoy because they were bold enough to publish their own work. Who among us is being called to join them?
If you can’t make the Saturday session, watch this blog for further announcements. More sessions are in the works. Thank you as always for stopping by.
Time: Saturdays 9:00 a.m.-12 noon
Dates: Saturdays, June 2, 9, 16 and 23, 2012
Location: University of Houston-Clear Lake
Bayou Building: Room B1104
Cost: $20.00 per session, materials included
Note: These are non-credit, informal workshops. This program is not endorsed or affiliated with UHCL or the LITR program.
Announcements:
Coming soon! “One True Sentence” Writing Workshops in your area! If you missed this last series…more are on the way!
And also…
Do you have an organization and need a speaker? How about some hot topics?
Would you like to know what Karla’s offshore world really looked like? How about a PowerPoint presentation to find out?
Or would you like to know the latest about indie publishing? And what that might mean to you?
I would love to come and join you! Just drop me a line here or at dothagan@aol.com
And did you know…
The Edge of the Grace Period is now live on Kindle! Check out this companion novel of The Offshore Triumphs, also on Kindle for $3.99!!!
In the Company of Walt, Beatrix and Benjamin and…You?
Imagine a world with no Leaves of Grass. Or The Adventures of Peter Rabbit. Or Poor Richard’s Almanack.
Or imagine further, that after you wrote that first draft, of the first attempt, of your first real writing adventure…imagine there was no tome of instruction called The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., with his student E.B.White. Yes, imagine if this first response in writing instruction, had not been available.
That could very well have happened. Because along with being great contributions to our literary existence, all four of these works have something else in common.
They were all…dare we say it? Self-published. Every one.
On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at 7:30 in the bright, early morning, I will be leading a session discussing the very topic of self-publishing, or indie publishing, as it’s called today. Technology now allows virtually anyone to be published. For some folks that’s not a good idea. But for others it is a duty to humanity to share their gifts. Depending on your contribution, self-publishing is not vanity. I would go so far as to call it duty. It is incumbent upon you as an author to find out if the world will benefit from your contribution.
Walt Whitman. Beatrix Potter. Benjamin Franklin. Legacies we have to enjoy because they were bold enough to publish their own work. Who among us is being called to join them?
If you have not registered to attend the Tuesday session, watch this blog for further announcements. More sessions are in the works. Thank you as always for stopping by.
Announcements:
Do you have an organization and need a speaker? How about some hot topics?
Would you like to know what Karla’s offshore world really looked like? How about a PowerPoint presentation to find out?
Or would you like to know the latest about indie publishing? And what that might mean to you?
I would love to come and join you! Just drop me a line here or at dothagan@aol.com
And did you know…
The Edge of the Grace Period is now live on Kindle! Check out this companion novel of The Offshore Triumphs, also on Kindle for $3.99!!!
Events Scheduled:
UHCL presents Small Talk/Big Ideas
In the Company of Walt, Beatrix and Benjamin:
Indie Publishing Then and Now
Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 7:30 am to 9:00 am
University of Houston at Clear Lake, $15.00 admission
To register go http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/portal/ALR/roundtable
Seating is limited. To reserve your seat in the conversation by phone, call Kris Thompson at 281-283-2040.
This event is presented by the UHCL Alumni Association. For more information on the association, please visit www.uhcl.edu/alumni.
Southern Belle Book Club
Saturday, April 28, 2012, 10 am
Bayou Vista
UH Clear Lake Official Book Tour Launch: Book Signing and PowerPoint Presentation
What would Karla’s offshore world really have looked like? The rigs? The helicopters? The gritty work?
Come join us for a PowerPoint presentation to have a look at just that! Stick around for a free reception and
book signing. Enjoy fabulous nibbles created by the inventive Cindy Smith!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 6:30pm to 8:30
University of Houston-Clear Lake
2700 Bay Area Boulevard Houston, TX 77058
Garden Room and Atrium I
Annoucements and Upcoming Events
Announcements:
Do you have an organization and need a speaker? How about some hot topics?
Would you like to know what Karla’s offshore world really looked like? How about a PowerPoint presentation to find out?
Or would you like to know the latest about indie publishing? And what that might mean to you?
I would love to come and join you! Just drop me a line here or at dothagan@aol.com
And did you know…
The Offshore Triumphs is now live on Kindle for $3.99!!!
Events Scheduled:
J Connor Consulting, Inc. Book Signing
Wednesday, April 4, 2012, 1:00 pm
16225 Park Ten Pl # 700 Houston, TX 77084
Industry leader and trailblazer Jodie Connor is hosting
a book signing in the Energy Corridor-Private Event
UHCL presents Small Talk/Big Ideas
In the Company of Walt, Beatrix and Benjamin:
Indie Publishing Then and Now
Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 7:30 am to 9:00 am
University of Houston at Clear Lake, $15.00 admission
To register go http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/portal/ALR/roundtable
Seating is limited. To reserve your seat in the conversation by phone, call Kris Thompson at 281-283-2040.
This event is presented by the UHCL Alumni Association. For more information on the association, please visit www.uhcl.edu/alumni.
Southern Belle Book Club
Saturday, April 28, 2012, 10 am
Bayou Vista
UH Clear Lake Official Book Tour Launch: Book Signing and PowerPoint Presentation
What would Karla’s offshore world really have looked like? The rigs? The helicopters? The gritty work?
Come join us for a PowerPoint presentation to have a look at just that! Stick around for a free reception and
book signing. Enjoy fabulous nibbles created by the inventive Cindy Smith!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 6:30pm to 8:30
University of Houston-Clear Lake
2700 Bay Area Boulevard Houston, TX 77058
Garden Room and Atrium I
Upcoming Events
Hi, friends! Thanks for stopping by. Hope you check out my book and read it soon. It is a great story!
Have you finished reading The Offshore Triumphs of Karla Jean? Leave a comment and make my day!
Events Scheduled:
Book Signing: Barnes & Noble Bookstore-Pasadena
Saturday, March 3, 2012 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
5656 Fairmont Parkway
Pasadena, Texas 77505
Networking Breakfast: In the Company of Walt, Beatrix and Benjamin: Indie Publishing Then and Now
Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 7:30 am to 9:00 am
University of Houston at Clear Lake, ticket information coming soon
UH Clear Lake Official Book Tour Launch: Book Signing and PowerPoint Presentation
Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 6:30pm to 8:30
UHCL Garden Room and Atrium I, free event, more details to follow
It’s My Party…And I Don’t Have to Cry
Interesting week on the march toward publication. Good news, bad news, more good news.
Good News: Utter elation following a visit with my former professor of Humanities and Women’s Studies. She stated “I would be honored to read your manuscript” for a possible cover endorsement. Additional elation when my beloved University of Houston at Clear Lake asked “if I would consider” doing my book launch at the university. Really? Really?! To say I was honored at the proposal would be a profound understatement. I was invited to discuss this further next week, and you can bet I will be there.
Bad News: Received my first “conventional, traditional” editorial review from my publisher. To be succinct, the reader completely missed the focus of the novel. I guess, because it begins with a helicopter crash with an unknown outcome, she considered it “an adventure story.” That couldn’t be further from the truth. That is like saying Steel Magnolias is about diabetes. Or Gone With the Wind is about civil war fashions. I politely reminded this editor (not the same one who read the book) that my story is call The Offshore Triumphs of Karla Jean. Notice the plural. Not just the one triumph. Anyway, I went round and round trying to explain a complex story about human challenges and behavior that include themes of sexism, addiction, bad theology, issues with children and above all redemption…but alas. I was told, “Well, if you want it to be marketable, it needs more peril and action.” Geesh.
But!
More Good News: I am an indie author! What this means is that I get to say “Thank you for your professional input. I will take it under consideration. Now let’s move forward with my story!” Over the last fifteen years or so, I have heard countless authors complain mightily that their publishers insisted they make wholesale changes to their story’s premise, or risk loss of publication. And that is maddening to an author. Your creative labor, tears, blood, planning and sweat get ignored because an editor you’ve never met says, “Ya know, it could use more action scenes.” But not with indie publishing. You are the editor and the final word. And that is Good News Indeed.
However, and there is always that “however.” Just because you write an amazing story, that is possibly fit for publication, it does not mean you are ready to do so. My next blog entry will talk about what it takes to prepare a manuscript for publication, and it is monumental. You can’t skip important steps. And there are many steps. Until then, in the words of my generation, keep on keepin’ on.
Get your copy here
-
Archives
- January 2013 (1)
- August 2012 (1)
- July 2012 (1)
- June 2012 (2)
- May 2012 (2)
- April 2012 (3)
- March 2012 (3)
- February 2012 (3)
- January 2012 (3)
- November 2011 (2)
-
Categories
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
