Book Trailers!

Today's question from Dianna: BOOK TRAILERS! What do you think of them? Do you watch them? Like them? Think they're a waste of time?

I have only watched a couple of book trailers, and those ones were actually interesting. One of my fave's was a trailer for Kelley Armstrong's book, "Frostbitten." It is set out in a forest in Anchorage, so it was set to make you feel like you were running in the dark, snow covering everything, all alone . . . Basically you got the idea that it was going to be isolated, and a little stressful lol It was a fab book.

I can't say that I find book trailers to be a waste of time, because in my opinion the mixture of images, music, taglines and/or quotes help set the tone of the book, and a lot of readers like the tease of an upcoming release. I mean, who doesn't like reading excerpts from books by their fave authors? They get you all twitchy and curious, and you're just dying to get your hands on a copy. It's nice to see the inspirational imagery for the world building of characters, and a playlist is always good for the mood of the book, giving us an idea of the flow. Naturally, those are a package in trailers, and I feel that for many authors they do work quite well.

In saying that, I do think that trailers are more helpful to authors. They seemed to be the ideal tool to help describe what they themselves felt when they were writing, and therefore help pull the reader in a little bit more.

So, I guess yes, I do like book trailers. I have seen some fab ones that made me go "Ooo that sounds interesting." 

I haven't yet made one for any of my books, but who knows, maybe one day I will. ;-P

The hardest part of the writing process.

Elizabeth's question for me: In your opinion, what is the hardest part of the writing process?

My answer: Disassociation from what is happening around you.

It's far too easy to compare yourself to other authors and what they are doing, and how far they seem to have gotten in their career when you feel like you haven't moved an inch. As a self-published author, especially, you can't avoid noticing these things, because you have to be online and looking at newsfeeds and keeping up to date with what is happening where and with whom as part of your marketing research. The tricky part is not taking it seriously; disentangling yourself from it. It's easy to start to feel down about it all, particularly if you're a competitive and ambitious person; particularly if you have bills to pay, and you feel time slipping from your grasp...

Disassociate. Let it go, and be true to yourself.

Like any industry, publishing is a game. If you actually want to "win" you have to play the game and stick to the rules. Here's a tip: change the meaning of "win" to align with your heart's needs, and then make your own rules. Now you have a game worth winning.

The theme song of my life.

Elizabeth asked me, if my life had a theme song, what would it be and why?

Okay, I can't actually answer this in the way she might have hoped, and I totally can't narrow it down to one song only. So, what I've done is embedded four songs that touch me deeply and take me to a part of myself inside where there is just me and no one else. So, these aren't songs I share with anyone else - they are "alone" songs in which I occasionally find solace. Truth is, there are more than four songs that do this for me, but these are the four that I've happened to pick out today.

Why?

No, sorry, I can't tell you why ... because I can't really put it into words. The feelings they invoke run too deep. You're just going to have to wonder why, if you're that intrigued.

Dianna's life ... in four songs: