So I did a thing... recently got introduced to the wonderful world of book trailers! And then... I made a trailer for my book!
I recently learned book trailers even existed. Why is this not a thing for every book? I love it! Maybe it's because I'm such a sucker for a good movie preview, but book trailers seem like a great idea. I would have an even longer TBR pile if there were trailers for all books, so maybe it is a good thing there isn't. For ILLUMINOUS, though there is! And you can watch it, for those that haven't already, by clicking that pretty grey button up there. For those that are curious, what does it take to make a book trailer? For me: * 3 days of backwards planning * Signing up to a video editing site just to realize I didn't need to * Getting onto said editing site the correct way, just to learn I need photos to make a video * Scouring through photos * Scouring through music * Figure out how to describe your entire book in 4-6 slides * Remind self not to try to be funny * Forget and try to be funny * Edit, edit, edit, remove any remnants of personal humor *Make first video too short, and try again *Debate over which of the two, almost exact videos are better *Ask for opinions only to realize I already know which one I want after I ask, resulting in me agonizing over the idea that someone will choose the wrong one, then get offended when I don't use it *Start posting video I like before they answer (Sorry friends!) *Done! For every other author it's probably easier so don't be discouraged. I just make sure to make everything more dramatic than it need be. Ha! So there was my fun adventure into the writing world for the last three days! I hope you enjoy the book trailer!
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I'm getting published! I'm getting published! *Yay!* *Happy dance* *balloons and confetti* ... Oh wait... this is actually a lot of work.... Early this month I signed with Feather Dreams Press of Bella Tulip Publishing! *Yay again!* Finally my lifelong goal is here! It is my dream come true, and my book hasn't even released yet. It's everything I wanted since a tinier version of myself wrote her first stories and thought "This is awesome". It is also not easy. Maybe it's just me. Everyday I give myself a list of things to do, everyday the list is longer. So what can I tell you about publishing that hasn't been said before? I can tell you- I don't know a thing! I thought I knew. I spent the last... however many years of my life, reading blogs, books, and joining groups about writing and publishing. I've sent queries, and got my very own collection of interesting rejections. I put in the time, did the work, and I learned there's so much more to this than I realized. And I LOVE it! I wanted this blog to be about my journey through the writing world and that's all it is. I'm keeping it simple. I cannot claim to have any answers for any new writers out there. I am no expert on being an author, or publishing, or marketing so as of now there's not much I can say about that. There's much to be said, though, about working for something, getting everything you wanted, and then some! Even if that means a lot more work and a learning curve that leaves you feeling like a dunce some days. Life is about these moments. The moments where the hard work pays off, just to get more hard work to do. So all of you with goals that seem impossible, keep going. Keep working. You can always make more goals as you go along. Simply getting what you want isn't always what you need or what you thought it would be. But I've learned something as an avid hiker and weightlifter, getting what you work for... that's magic.
For now my goal is to keep learning and keep checking items off of all of my lists. Today's blog post just got checked off, whoop! Even though learning for me means asking a lot of questions and fumbling through my first attempts. I will get there though and when I do you had better believe I will be sharing what I learn if it means helping someone else in my position in the future. So to all of the poor souls I message with questions and cries for help, *cough* Alicia & Rebecca *cough*, I'm sorry! I'm probably going to keep doing it. I'll send you all e-flowers. To all of the sunshine I'll miss being parked in a chair inside, I'm thinking of you and watching you like a creeper from afar. To all of the writers out there dreaming of someday, make today your first day of someday! Write on! I'm going to start out by introducing myself and letting you know what to expect to see here on my blog. I'm Yolanda Allard, also known as The Book Siren on many a' website over the past decade or so. I did have another blog on blogspot a few years back, also called The Book Siren's Grotto. What can I say, I know what I like, and who I am. As for me, Yolanda Allard the person; I'm just a fun-loving adventurous Mermaid who writes. Any thing I like I pursue with fangirl like obsession.
So that's me! I like sparkles, daisies and anything magical. I hunt for Wisps at night in the woods when I'm not writing. I'm friendly, quirky, and I love all manner of beings. So whether you're a fellow Mermaid, any manner of Fey, Unicorn, Wizard, Beasty, Adventure enthusiast, shut in bookworm, or *gasp* even human you are all welcome here!
Now let me explain some of what you can look forward to finding here. I believe blogs are like us, always changing and growing. They're living things that sometimes have a mind of their own. So to an extent I'm keeping mine open to change as changes are needed. For now what you'll find is me just describing my journey with writing, being an author, and going through the maze that is the publishing world. I did recently get picked up by a Publisher *YAY!*, I signed with Feather Dreams Press of Bella Tulip Publishing. My debut novel, ILLUMINOUS comes out next month. *EEK!* I will be talking about all manner of what's going on with me, my writing, and my journey as an Author. This Grotto will be full of all things bookishly me. I will however, from time to time, talk about other authors, books, covers, and whatnot. I'm not going to be reviewing books. Let me say it again for those in the back: **IM NOT REVIEWING BOOKS** SORRY! My TBR pile is ever growing, thanks in part to my friend Kelsey *Hi Kelsey!*, who keeps introducing me to amazing new books. So no reviews from me. I don't have time. What I will have is honorable mentions from time to time or I'll talk about stories I am willingly reading. I'm an ever developing fan of new stories and I must share. I will also have giveaways, prizes, and links to free books if they fit in with this blog. You wont find any links to free ebooks about erotica, thrillers, or detective stories, ect. I like thrillers and detective stories, but they're not my genre here. For the other Writers and Authors, I will have Word Count Wednesdays. It's something a friend of mine and I started doing years back to be accountable for our writing. I'll post my weekly word count here every Wednesday. I encourage anyone who wants to join, to do so. There may be something in it for those with the highest word counts. Ill post the rules and such when it comes to that. Flash-Fiction Fridays! On Fridays we write flash fiction. Here's the thing, I suck at it. I don't like writing it, but I enjoy reading it and I'm determined to get better at it. So I'll post a small Flash Fiction piece every Friday for you all to read. Eye bleach can be found in your nearest e-store. Book Cover Lovers! Every once in a while I will feature my newest favorite book cover. I love book covers! It will be at random, but I will scour books I see, pluck a cover from either the best selling shelves or obscurity and feature it here for everyone to bask in its amazing-ness. Why? Because I can. So that's it. In between blog posts about how my writing and author life is going, I'll have contests, drawings, giveaways, shout-outs, and fun themed days of the week! I wont even make anyone lift weights with me to win either... or will I? I hope you all enjoy! |
Yolanda AllardInternational Bestselling and award-winning quirky author of numerous fantasy, and paranormal novels, novellas, & anthologies. Archives
February 2021
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