Sunday, November 29, 2020

Making my first EVER book trailer!

 So, I attempted my very first book trailer... ever... this week. The idea came up while I was in my online book group meeting. No one had made a book trailer before. Me, being a glutton for punishment, volunteered myself to do what had never been done before!

My only criteria: spend no money. I know paying someone to do this would be better. I'm not THAT computer literate. But I also realize I don't have much of a platform to make paying someone worthwhile. I've heard book trailers don't help with sales. My thought on this, is it might help. Even if I get one sale from this, I'll be in the black. So, other than the time it takes me to make this book trailer, I'm not really out anything.

The first thing I did was do some research on the internet. I found that I can make my trailer on PowerPoint. That's great because I'm sort of familiar with that program (had to do some of my Masters as a PowerPoint presentation, as well as this summer I completed 2 presentations on PP for Imaginarium Convention on coloring and children's books).

To PowerPoint I went. This will be quick and in a nutshell, mainly because I'm not an expert and don't want to be responsible for telling people how to do things wrong! 

I came up with:

-Background (courtesy of Pixabay)

- Sample illustrations from book (4 or 5)

- Simple points of text

- Music (courtesy of Pixabay)

 

Some trailers are several minutes long. I chose something less than a minute. I wanted it short and sweet and to the point. With the help of my very tech-savvy husband, I was able to complete the book trailer and post it in a couple of hours. I know each time I do this, I'll be able to cut the time down, as well, if I decide to do more book trailers.

So, without further adieu, here's my book trailer below. I also have it on YouTube (first time I've ever posted anything on that site, too). 

 YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gbGZoTdfHM

 Now I'll wait to see if I have more book sales due to this posting! Here's to hoping it does!

Until next time!

Write on!

Angie

 







Thursday, November 19, 2020

Back to the Norm... soon... hopefully!

 Sorry, it's been so long since I've last written. This pandemic is wearing me out, between working from home and taking care of kiddo. We've had some changes over the summer and even had to live in a camper for a few months while our house was being fixed. We're back inside and it looks great.

Some great news, My Mom Is Sick and It's Okay won first place for Children's Book in the Imadjinn Awards from Imaginarium. This year, the convention went online, but it was a great time and I had a lot of fun being on various writing panels.

I'm currently working on 3 new releases for the kids:

* Book 2 for Hay Days - Emma Gets Schooled (Chapter Book for Young Readers)

* Misty's Wish - Children's Picture book about an adopted kitten that wishes for more

* Snipping Loses a Shoe - Children's Picture book about a horse that loses his shoes and all the barn animals chip in to find it


Stay tuned and let's hope for a safe, effective vaccine so we can get back out there for book events (and other great things)!

Write on!

Angie

 


Saturday, February 15, 2020

Semi Finalist for Little Peeps Chanticleer book awards! My Mom is Sick made it!

I was so excited to see My Mom is Sick and It's Okay has made Chanticleer's Little Peeps Semi Finalist list! This book is special to my heart, and it's great to see others find it special, too. I wish I could go to the awards banquet in April, but it's so far away. The cost is quite steep. So, I'll stay in Indiana and cross my fingers for good news. Even if I don't progress past this point, it's been a honor to get this far.

My Mom is Sick and It's Okay - Amazon

The Little Peeps Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Early Readers and Children’s Picture Books. The Little Peeps Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience for Early Readers. Storybooks, Beginning Chapter Books, Picture Books, Activity Books & Educational Books that appeal to children to compete in the Little Peeps Awards that discover today’s best children’s books.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2019 LONG LIST to the Little Peeps Shortlist and have now advanced to the Little Peeps Semi-Finalists positions.

Congratulations to all of these 2019 Little Peeps Book Awards for Early Readers and Picture Books Semi-Finalists

  • Sylva Fae and Katie Weaver – Elfabet
  • Lauren Mosback – In Grandpaw’s Pawprints
  • Lauren Mosback – My Sister’s Super Skills
  • Dawn Marie Thompson – Double Trouble
  • Trevor Young & Eleanor Long – Galdo’s Gift: The Boovie
  • Norma Lewis – Let All Things Now Living
  • Norma Lewis – Totem Pole
  • Kizzie Jones – A Tall Tale About Dachshunds in Costumes: How MORE Dogs Came to Be
  • Robert Wright Jr – Mummy in the Museum
  • Marianne Andresen Magin – The Legend of Santa’s Sleighbells
  • Angie McPherson – My Mom Is Sick and It’s Okay
  • Justine Avery – What Wonders Do You See… When You Dream?
  • Lucy Patterson Murray – Dream Island
  • Shana Hollowell – When the Squirrel Sings 
  • Oleg Kush – 1 & 0, Lion & Mouse, Aries the Sheep and Other Fairy-Tales
  • Kasey J. Claytor – Pinky and The Magical Secret He Kept Inside
  • Juliette Douglas – We Are Awesome Possums
  • Johnny Ray Moore – Anthill for Sale
  • Melodie Tegay – Hannah’s Two Homes: life in a “blended” family; a 5-year-old’s perspective

These titles are now in the running for the First Place positions of the 2019 Little Peeps Book Awards for Early Readers and Picture Books.

Semi-Finalists will be recognized at the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2019 CIBA banquet and ceremony. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 16 CIBA divisions Semi-Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.