Do-It-Yourself Book Promotion January 19, 2006

Alien helmet for the AYS tour by Sandy Plotnikoff.I’ve come to realize that I don’t hate advertising so much as have an allergic reaction to a high-hype-to-low-content ratio: like when the inner ear is imbalanced, when marketing TALKS LOUD and SAYS NOTHING NEW it induces what I call hype nausea. So promoting my books was initially a challenge for me. But since I wrote my first DIY Book Promo article five years ago, I’ve brought public attention to three more novels and now quite enjoy it. Here’s some of the things I think about when I craft a promotional campaign.
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Her Charmed Life January 11, 2006

missy-thumb.jpgI met Missy Kulik at an indie media conference where I was doing a DIY Books seminar. I picked up a couple of her comics and we’ve kept in touch ever since. Her first book, Personal Charm, was self-published in June: or as the copyright page more originally puts it, “First Pressing June 2005.” We chatted by email about her book, which has its roots in ten years of zine making.
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Make Your Own Videogame Character January 4, 2006

walker-thumb.jpgVideogames are magical. There’s this guy on the screen and he’s doing what you want. Sure, it’s just an animation on ‘roids, but somehow it delights and amazes: it manages to be more than the sum of its code.

Raigan and Mare taught me how to make a little guy walk around on the screen with Flash MX, and if you’ve had a bit of experience with the program (or a bit of patience) you too can learn how to breathe life into your characters. This is the first time I’ve written something this technical, so if you’re stuck, feel free to leave questions in the comments. And if you make a lil walker of your own, please post a link to it there, too!

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