P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 334

Photo used in The Bow of Destiny book trailer

The news is out! Miami and I lost out on LeBron to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But you can still be on my team by supporting my Indiegogo campaign for The Bow of Destiny today!!! Support levels are reasonable and even if LeBron isn’t on the team – yet – you can still be on a winning team by supporting my project. If you’ve visited already then please come back and join the team with your support. As always, please share with your followers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc…

Thanks for reading!!!

P. H. Solomon

Here is the excerpt file for the Campaign: Bow of Destiny Excerpt

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ ([email protected]).

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny Tagged: Announcement, Book Trailer, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, LeBron James, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter

Photo used in The Bow of Destiny book trailer

The crowdfunding campaign for The Bow of Destiny began this week on Indiegogo. This led me to some tips I wanted to share since this blog is largely about my ongoing growth as an author. So here’s some of what I’ve learned so far. Please read and visit the campaign site to provide your support!

1. Make sure you are ready to receive funds.

In my case I created a new PayPal account but did not complete setting it up. Likewise, Indiegogo had requirements for campaigns that I didn’t know about. Both of these issues delayed me some and it’s possible limits what I can receive (which I am confirming and working out on both sides). Read carefully about the instructions and explore the site.

2. Make affordable funding levels.

I received a lot of views and referrals the first day but no contributions. Now this may be due to some PayPal-Indiegogo issues but I added a few funding levels that are low impact on wallets which is important these days.

3. Continue growing your social media platform.

Don’t let the number of your followers become stagnant. If anything you need to be more aggressive in pursuing followers to increase your reach. Always encourage others to share your campaign with their followers too.

4. Have some automated social media messages ready.

You don’t want to be writing social media messages all the time and you need to get your message out often because on busy feeds people just miss your announcements without knowing it. Use an automation service since you may be busy with any number of inquiries, changes or problems that may arise – and you want to do something else sometimes.

5. Don’t panic if it starts slowly.

See above – there may be problems so just keep on moving in the same direction and if anything tweak your overall message, keep growing your following and keep getting the message out.

6. Keep posting updates regularly.

The more you get your message out the more likely you are to be featured. Include services like Indiegogo in your tweets and other posts because they track these types of activity in addition to your funding level. Everything helps and if your are featured that means more reach for your campaign.

7. If receiving private messages to offer resources & services check them out well.

When receiving offers of service, interviews or other offers of assistance check them out. They may be legit and they may not but some due diligence will go a long way to avoiding any trouble or overspending your budget. Make sure you know the terms of anything and don’t give out private information thinking that someone is helping when they may not be. Someone may take advantage of any initial euphoria from conributions or from desperation over no contributions. Think clearly and remember to keep going ahead.

8. Don’t hover & don’t walk away.

You cannot just stay in front of the screen watching – it will drive you crazy. You get excited and wonder what will happen or nothing happens and you watch and wait for anything. If nothing is happening don’t abandon hope, keep working, be willing to be fluid in your approach – just don’t sit watching the paint dry. Do not give up and stop all work. Stay in it to the end – bitter or sweet.

Do you have tips or comments regarding crowdfunding? Do you have questions about the subject? Please leave comments below and see my campaign and help make my project a success with your support.

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ ([email protected]).

Thanks for reading!

PHS

Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Book Trailer, Coverart, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Goals, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing, You Tube

Haunted by his past. Hunted in the present. Uncertain what is real.

Epic Fantasy.

THE BOW OF DESTINY CAMPAIGN IS NOW LIVE!!! VIEW IT ON INDIEGOGO & PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR SUPPORT!!!

Picture from The Bow of Destiny project trailer.

 

Athson the Archer has seen things that aren’t there and suffered fits since being tragically orphaned as a child at the hands of trolls and Kregen the wizard. When a strange inheritance comes into his possession he’s not quite sure it’s real. But the trolls that soon pursue him are all too real and dangerous. And when the mystic Withling, Hastra, drags him into a quest for the mysterious Bow of Hart, Athson isn’t always sure what’s real and who his enemies are. With the wizard Kregen and his master the hidden dragon, Magdronu, involved Athson must face not only frequent danger but his grasp on reality and the reasons behind his tragic past.

Please read on for details and help support this ebook project!

For an excerpt from chapter 1 please click go to www.phsolomon.com and click on the excerpt link under the campaign news to view the PDF file.

What We Need & What You Get

Primary book needs: a final round of professional editing, cover artwork and formatting as a basic goal.
Secondary book needs to be addressed if surpassing funding goal: marketing (such as electronic autographs and screensaver) & website upgrades (web hosting migration costs, artwork design consistent with book cover, etc.)
Supporters will receive a copy of the ebook and recognition in the book as a contributor. Higher level supporters will have the opportunity to vote on which cover design to use. Please see below for the rewards levels list.
If the project is partially funded the money will be used for professional editing and cover artwork, followed by formatting and then secondary needs listed above depending on how much is raised.

Photo used in The Bow of Destiny book trailer

The Impact

You can help bring a fantasy epic long in the making to life. I’ve worked off and on for almost thirty years on this project. I was once offered a contract for it by small publishing company but turned it down due to several vague clauses in a non-negotiable contract. The book is already written and being well received by my picky beta reader as well as having been professionally edited once already.

Also, with the changes in the publishing industry supporters now have an opportunity to become more than readers, becoming decision-makers for the industry as well. This brings readers and authors closer. One of my rewards allows some supporters to have a say in the cover decision.

Risks & Challenges

The risks are few since the book is written, is being well received by the beta reader and has been professionally edited previously.

I’ve already scheduled to send the manuscript to the editor in August, while I am discussing artwork with illustrators now..

Other Ways You Can Help

Are you unable to contribute or not a reader of fantasy books? That’s fine you can still help me with this project in the following ways:

Share this project with friends who like fantasy books
Follow me on my website, Twitter, Facebook & Pinterest and share my project progress with your own followers.
You can also share this project directly by using the Indiegogo share tools!

Let’s make The Bow of Destiny a success. I’m counting on your support for which I’m sure you’ll receive blessings.

Thank-you,

P.h . Solomon

THE BOW OF DESTINY CAMPAIGN IS NOW LIVE!!! VIEW IT ON INDIEGOGO & PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR SUPPORT!!!

I’ve made even easier to support the project with 2 new levels. Just click the link above. Thanks for the man referrals yesterday also.

See my Goodreads Indiegogo event posted on my new author page. Friend me on Goodreads & view.

Here is the excerpt file for the Campaign: Bow of Destiny Excerpt

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ ([email protected]).

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Book Trailer, Coverart, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Formatting, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing

The Bow of Destiny is LIVE on Indiegogo

Photo used in The Bow of Destiny book trailer

That’s right, I’ve started the crowdfunding campaign so I can complete The Bow of Destiny and self-publish it. I will provide updates from Indiegogo and this site on the News page. Please take a few minutes and look over my material and consider supporting my efforts. If you cannot support with funds please consider sharing the campaign with friends through 7/31 over social media.

Here’s the blurb for the book:

Athson the Archer has seen things that aren’t there and suffered fits since being tragically orphaned as a child at the hands of trolls and Kregen the wizard. When a strange inheritance comes into his possession he’s not quite sure it is real. But the trolls that soon pursue him are all too real and dangerous. And when the mystic Withling, Hastra, drags him into a quest for the mysterious Bow of Hart, Athson isn’t always sure what’s real and who his enemies are. With the wizard Kregen and his master the hidden dragon, Magdronu, involved Athson must face not only threats but his grasp on reality and the reasons behind his tragic past.

Picture from The Bow of Destiny project trailer.

I want to thank everyone on Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, this blog and anywhere else for the recent follows. I am humbled by your responses.

Have you run a crowdfunding campaign recently? Are you interested in running one? Are you supporting The Bow of Destiny? Please share your comments and feedback below.

Like me on Facebook and view/share the posted campaign event.

Follow me on Twitter (@ph_Solomon) to receive news and help spread the word by using #BowofDestiny when referencing my IndieGoGo updates. I’m also on Goodreads so friend me there too!

I plan to schedule several social media parties with possible gift-card prizes – dates to be announced.

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: #BowofDestiny, Announcement, Book Trailer, Coverart, creativity, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Planning, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing, You Tube

 

Sometimes my twitter feed is so busy my head spins. Even though I find many helpful or interesting tweets to retweet it’s hard to find various people and their tweets.

Some of my recent blog followers.

I’ve read several posts lately suggesting the use of private and public lists in order to keep up with people better. This is effective and I’ve even been invited to some public lists lately myself (for which I’m honored). I find and follow many people this way and get specific with interactions on a regular basis so it’s a big help.

But what if I want to really follow other people whose blogs are very informative? I can go directly to their feed to find what they have been posting which is good. But I can also just visit their blog and follow them. I can even reblog some articles that I find very helpful. Lately, I’ve been followed by some other bloggers – for which I am also honored – and, when checking their sites, found their blogs interesting and helpful too.

The point is you don’t have to be lost in the crowd and you can find your way out of the tangle.

How do you sort the busy social media feeds in your life?

Picture from The Bow of Destiny project trailer.

The Bow of Destiny Indiegogo fundraising campaign start on July 7th in the morning and runs the rest of the month. Please see my News page for details and consider supporting now. The Twitter hashtag is #BowofDestiny. The even is also posted on both my Goodreads and Facebook pages (see below for links).

Also here are some other campaigns I’m supporting so please consider helping them too:

Daniel Adorno

Claribel Ortega

Ciara Foley-Henry

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ ([email protected]).

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Announcement, blogging, Book Trailer, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, IndieGoGo, P. H. Solomon, Smashwords, The Bow of Destiny, writing

Have you ever sat in front of your computer to edit – not write but edit – your book? The cursor blinks and the mass of words seem like an insurmountable wall for some reason. I think most writers experience this problem.

Ever stare at your own work?

I’ve been editing a lot lately and developed some approaches to the problem that I’m going to share today.

One obvious reason we writers don’t want to edit at times is that we just don’t want to do it. The creative mind – the part that burns with restless energy to create new stories – begs to be set free. But that same creative area of the brain has also written a tangled, though promising, draft. I don’t believe there is any way to escape this conundrum except to harness that energy by writing and addressing editing in a few practical ways.

1. Make a commitment  – preferably with a writer’s group of some sort – to edit. Usually you can set a goal with a group for how much you will do over the course of a month. This way you are accountable to others and hopefully you will all encourage each other. Also when making this goal, know what your daily target of pages to edit will be. Why? There will be days when you are unmotivated or busy but the attainable, minimal goal helps you keep going that day. I use the same idea when I’m running. I have a minimum mileage but I’m open to a higher goal if circumstances are advantageous. For more on goals see my tips from a previous post.

2. Survey the problem. I’ve been making additions and structural changes to my book so there are times when my mind is just overwhelmed by what needs to be changed. I know the big picture but it’s like having an air pocket in a pressure washer – nothing’s happening no matter what I do. At this point I need to identify the nuts and bolts of what I need to do and how I’m going to do it. For this kind of problem I journal. One of my other posts addresses why I journal and problem-solving is one of then (I also use it for writer’s block among other things).

3. Go fix it. But first learn what it means to fix the problems. Nat Russo wrote a great blog on fixing manuscript problems from a programmer’s perspective. It’s an excellent blog and closely parallels my topic today.

What do you do to overcome the blinking cursor and the call to move onto other projects?

Here are some shameless plugs:

Photo used in The Bow of Destiny book trailer

The Bow of Destiny Indiegogo fundraising campaign start on July 7th in the morning and runs the rest of the month. Please see my News page for details and consider supporting now. The Twitter hashtag is #BowofDestiny. The even is also posted on both my Goodreads and Facebook pages (see below for links).

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ ([email protected]). Also you can view my Goodreads author page from this link.

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Filed under: Creativity, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Book Trailer, creativity, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Goals, Indie Publishing, Journal, Launch, P. H. Solomon, The Bow of Destiny, writing

PHS:

Great hints to have for reviewing. I know I’ve been asked to review books and these help me.

Originally posted on Gia Scott:

Yeah, I’m a writer.  But just like everyone else, I’m a reader.  I also review the things I have written and sometimes, my review doesn’t agree with the others.

What then?

I review it honestly, and I hope others do as well.

Face it, some books have obviously fake glowing reviews–we’ve all seen them.  After a while, we also get pretty good at spotting them. That’s not the kind of review that anyone wants to agree with, but it’s also not exactly what I’m talking about either.

I’m talking about some obscure (to you) writer who has received glowing reviews about their novel and how innovative, subtle, unique, ground breaking, etc. it is.  Sometimes, all of these positive reviews set us up for disappointment, because when we read the book itself, it turns out to be so obscure, odd, and hard to get into that we never do get the…

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I’m taking a bit of a break from any serious blogging today so here are a few links and thoughts about some posts I’m reading. Also, be aware of some fundraisers that are ongoing that I like. And don’t forget my own IndieGoGo fundraiser starts on 7/7 – more on that below and on the News page. I plan to write some blogs about editing and marketing over the next few days as well so follow my blog and keep coming back.

Someone posted a good link for words describing voices from MacMillan Dictionarny. These are useful to remember.

Dorothy Cora Moore discusses a plotting method used by Michael Crichton on Writers Helping Writers (Angela Ackerman). I think this is a great method and should be part of development when using Scrivener’s index cards. Maybe I’ll write about this topic soon.

Here are some helpful tips for planning a marketing campaign. I’ll need these soon myself so this is a keeper. It’s from StandOutBooks.com and written by Alexander Hemus whom I just followed on Twitter.

Allison Schiff writes on Publisher’s Weekly about Copyright for authors. This is great as I see lots of confusion from many people on this subject.

Updated with more links:

Ever wonder what the hashtags mean in FB? Thanks for the post Anurag Mishra!

Zoe Saadia shares another article based on research for her historical fiction regarding new world people groups and their cultures.

That’s all I have for now. Remember to check these fundraising campaigns I like.

Picture from The Bow of Destiny project trailer.

Don’t forget, my crowdfunding campaign for The Bow of Destiny begins on IndieGoGo on 7/7. Like me on Facebook and view/share the posted campaign event. Follow me on Twitter (@ph_Solomon) to receive news and help spread the word by using #BowofDestiny when referencing my IndieGoGo updates. I plan to schedule several social media parties with possible gift-card prizes – dates to be announced. Preview the project video here or here.

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ ([email protected]).

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Book Trailer, Copyright, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Dictionary, Emerald Kipp & The Riddle of The Timekeeper, Facebook, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pubslush, Smashwords, Social Media, The Blade Heir, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, writing, You Tube

Here are some campaigns I like besides my own:

Awakening on Kickstarter by Ciara E. Dimond – JUST 5 DAYS LEFT

Emerald Kipp & the Riddle of the Timekeeper by Claribel Ortega – 31 days left

The Blade Heir by Daniel Adorno – JUST 4 DAYS LEFT

Planetary Energy Transmitter – this is in the vision of Nicola Tesla’s idea back in 1901 – 21 days left.

There are many great ideas and books that can be supported so take a look around at what’s out there and at least tweet or share them over social media if you can’t support them otherwise so the public is aware of them.

If you have some campaigns you would like to share then please leave comments below or Tweet them to me.

Photo used in The Bow of Destiny book trailer

Remember my own campaign starts on 7/7 and you can preview it now to consider your support level and make suggestions and provide feedback. Also check back on my News page for daily updates and links.

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ ([email protected]).

Thanks for reading.

PHS

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Awakening, Book Trailer, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Emerald Kipp & The Riddle of The Timekeeper, Facebook, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, Launch, Marketing, Nicola Tesla, P. H. Solomon, Pubslush, Social Media, Tesla, The Blade Heir, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing, You Tube

Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I’ve self-published The Black Bag on both Smashwords and Amazon. That was a DIY project which proved both challenging and successful with my first foray into cover design and formatting an e-book. The Black Bag finally made it to Barnes & Noble today! This gave me great experience with self- publishing before doing it with a much larger book project like The Bow of Destiny.

The other big hurdle from the last few weeks was getting a crowdfunding campaign going on IndieGoGo. It included setting rewards levels and making a video for the project. Working on a low budget was a challenge but I believe it was successful for my needs during the campaign. I am just about ready for the campaign to start on 7/7.

Now the question is what I need to do now? Well, that’s easy – I need to complete the revision for the editor and beta reader during the next month. No big deal there – not. But June has been very busy but successful for goals met so why not July too? I’m putting myself on a strict deadline schedule to be ready to go to the editor as soon as the IndieGoGo campaign is finished.

Photo from the book trailer for The Bow of Destiny

But what else am I doing? Glad you asked. As if it weren’t enough to do a crowdfunding campaign and complete a book revision, I would like to edit a short story and submit it to a few magazine markets. However, if I find that it is too much then I will shelve it until August. As I wrote in a previous blog, it’s important not to make too many goals which complicates things. One of the reasons I pushed the last few weeks with the campaign and The Black Bag was to clear them off my list so I could focus on the book. These recent accomplishments were needed but also hurdles to working on the book which is the real goal.

What have you accomplished lately? What hurdles have you encountered?

Share a comment below and also consider following this blog via email for a FREE copy of The Black Bag. I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@ph_Solomon), Pinterest & Google+ ([email protected]). Also please take a few minutes to look at my IndieGoGo preview and consider supporting my project- feedback is welcome before 7/7 when it goes live. Keep reading and checking my newsfeed for further details.

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Filed under: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Writing Tagged: Amazon, Announcement, Barnes and Noble, Book Trailer, Coverart, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Facebook, Formatting, Goals, Indie Publishing, IndieGoGo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Smashwords, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing, You Tube