Julie writes Christian mysteries and science fiction. I've not read any of her books yet, but they sound interesting, and she's a very sweet lady.
Julie C. Gilbert
Christian/Mystery/Fantasy/Sci-fi
The blog of a girl who's looking for God's plan for her life. In the mean-time, she's knitting books and writing scarves ... or something like that.
Showing posts with label Julie C. Gilbert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julie C. Gilbert. Show all posts
Friday, March 24, 2017
Q&A with Julie C. Gilbert
I have Julie C. Gilbert here today to answer any questions you might have about writing, her writing, her writing process, or any other questions you might have for her!
Julie writes Christian mysteries and science fiction. I've not read any of her books yet, but they sound interesting, and she's a very sweet lady.
Julie writes Christian mysteries and science fiction. I've not read any of her books yet, but they sound interesting, and she's a very sweet lady.
Critiquing Opportunity! Julie C. Gilbert
A number of the authors have volunteered to critique YOUR writing. This post is Julie C. Gilbert's.
How this works -
You comment below with up to 500 words of your writing.
Sometime today, Friday, Julie will come by and give you feedback.
Sound awesome? Awesome!
How this works -
You comment below with up to 500 words of your writing.
Sometime today, Friday, Julie will come by and give you feedback.
Sound awesome? Awesome!
Julie C. Gilbert
Christian/Mystery/Fantasy/Sci-fi
Thursday, March 23, 2017
SWAG with Julie C. Gilbert
Hello! I have Julie C. Gilbert here today to talk about SWAG. Basically, anything physical you have to promote yourself that isn't your actual books. (Excluding business cards) Awesome stuff. Someday, I'm going to get myself some.
Find her on the Interwebs:
The Wonderful World of Promotional Items
Introduction:
I’m not really sure where the term “swag” comes from or
what it stands for, but google failed miserably in giving me an applicable
definition until I added the phrase “promotional items.” This can be anything
from books to pens to postcards and everything in between.
Who Needs SWAG?
It helps to have a specific outlet for your swag like a
book convention, but having some postcards on hand is always a good idea. You
want to turn people’s interest in your work into a relationship that will keep
them coming back for more books. I think to some extent, all authors serious
about making a career out of this should invest in some sort of SWAG. What and
how much depends on you, your books, and the outlets you have for the stuff.
Things to Consider:
1. Budget: Promotional items are going to cost something.
Even business cards are going to cost something, though those tend to run on the
cheap side. I’ve used Gotprint to get postcards of book covers for various book
fairs. These are great to give out. People love free stuff. Postcards will run
you about $25-30 for 500. I’ve also gotten things like wristbands and pencils.
1000 pencils with a specific book title or series will cost you about $140. I
forget how many wristbands I got, 500 I think. That was several years ago.
2. Ease of Mailing: Most of the time, you’ll be there in
person handing this stuff out to people at a book expo or convention of some
sort. However, if you ever have to mail things anywhere, just be aware that
non-flat things cost a whole heap more than flat things. With postcards, I can
get away with about 6 in an envelope for ~$0.70. Global stamps were about $1.15
last I looked. The bigger and heavier it is, the more expensive it will be to
ship out.
3. Weight: Mass is going to affect mailing costs and your
back if you have to haul it around to these various shows.
What Kind Of SWAG’s Out
There?
Do people really want this stuff? YES! In no particular
order.
1. Postcards
2. Pencils/pens
3. Key chains
4. Magnets
5. Mugs
6. Notepads
7. Totebags
8. T-shirts
9. Mints
10. USB sticks
Other Opinions:
What kind of SWAG do you like to hand
out? What kind of SWAG do you like to get?
“Mugs seem to be the most popular, fun
item. That and signed paperbacks. I most like getting mugs, paperbacks, or
fridge magnets!” ~Toby Neal (Author of Lei Crime Series)
“The swag I like to get and will likely hand out is:
bookmarks, sticky notes, coasters, postcards.” ~Amy Allen (Author of New Beginnings, Lei Crime Kindle
World Series)
“I hand out bookmarks
and give a chance to get an audiobook of my historical novel TREE SOLDIER. I'm
looking at swag that might reflect the forest themes in this novel and TIMBER
ROSE. Might be key chains or magnets.” ~J.L. Oakley (Author of Saddle Road, Lei
Crime Kindle World Series)
Conclusion:
For budget conscious people, postcards are probably the
way to go. If you want unique, go for something you don’t have a lot of like
mugs and use them for contests. Make it special. Refrigerator magnets are a
great idea. I’ve done that one before too.
Thanks for reading!
Love Science Fiction or Mystery?
Email and Links:
Devyaschildren @ gmail.com
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Audiobooks with Julie C. Gilbert
Hello! I have Julie C. Gilbert here with us today to talk about Audiobooks. Audiobooks are awesome, as they allow a reader to listen to your book instead of actually reading it. Julie has multiple audiobooks, and is happy to share her experience with us.
I first met Julie C. Gilbert through the Christian Indie Black Friday sale of '15, where I almost purchased of her books, but ended up buying someone else's instead. I now have books 1 and 4 of her Devya's Children series, which looks pretty cool. She's a sweet lady.
Introduction:
I first met Julie C. Gilbert through the Christian Indie Black Friday sale of '15, where I almost purchased of her books, but ended up buying someone else's instead. I now have books 1 and 4 of her Devya's Children series, which looks pretty cool. She's a sweet lady.
Find her on the Interwebs:
Hearing Your Books Coming to Life through Audio
Introduction:
I think at one point or another most authors want to either see one of their books made into a movie or hear it brought to life on audiobook.
Pitfalls, Struggles, Stuff to Understand (The Real Deal):
1. It can cost money. Thus far, I’ve never had any of my audiobooks earn out what I invested in it to create it. That said, I’ve also made some conscious choices that affected this. Audible.com allows you to do Royalty Share or an amount PFH (per finished hour). Royalty share is awesome because you don’t have to invest any money up front. Basically, the narrator is assuming all the monetary risk for the project. You will split any earnings with them 50/50 (minus audible’s share, of course). Most of the really good narrators only work for pfh though because they realize what a tremendous amount of work goes into every single hour of audio.
2. What goes into creating an audiobook? I’ve only been on the publishing side, but I have worked very closely with all 4 of my narrators. They have to read the book, decide what voices to use for each character, record the chapters, edit the chapters, send the files to me, get feedback from me and implement it, and finally upload to ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange). You can very easily be talking about 4 hours of work for a finished hour of audio. That’s why I tend to offer bonuses to every narrator I work with. I still can’t afford industry standards , which can be upwards of $225 pfh, but I try to be as fair as I can be.
3. There’s a time investment too. You need to listen to each audiofile that comes in from the narrator because ultimately you need to approve it for sale. If the file’s 15 minutes, it can take me 45 minutes to an hour because I tend to listen 3 times minimum. The first time, I listen with the manuscript in front of my face to see if there are any deviations from the text. Most are super minor and totally fine, but occasionally, something gets left out or added that makes a big difference. The second time, I listen while doing something else like email … to see if I can still follow along. The third time, I listen for enjoyment. Many times, there are a few listens with the manuscript just in case, but that’s just be being obsessive. Typically, once is enough. I give the narrators time stamps and a phrase as to what I think is awesome and what I think is a mistake and where I’m hearing something weird on my end. Narrator’s editing skills differ. I’ve worked with those who outsource the editing and those who do it okay and those who are spot on amazing with editing. (Check out Awakening if you want an example of absolutely amazing editing and effects.)
4. Finding the right narrator can take some time and effort. I listen through sample audioclips from people who meet the criteria for what I’m looking for ie. Male/female, engaging style, British accent, etc. Then, I individually email them the project I’d like them to audition for. If I email 10 or so, I will get about half that to send in an audition. At that point, it’s just a matter of agonizing over which one is my favorite and offering them a contract.
What does Audible do to help?
It’s mostly on you to get sales, but Audible gives you free codes to boost sales whenever you release something new. These codes are good on any book, so be careful in how you give them out. I’ve taken to gifting the book directly. I used to just trust people, but it’s safest to give them your books specifically. There is a grand total of 1 advertising site I know of that does paid adverts for audiobooks. Maybe someday the other ebook newsletters will hop on board, but for now, you’re going to have to get creative about getting those codes out there. You can also earn $50 bounties if you’re very proactive and get people to buy your audiobook first when they subscribe to Audible.
My Audiobooks:
You may want to check out the audio samples. Every narrator brings something unique to the table. They’re all very hard working people, and I enjoy the process of working with them to create something new out of some of the previously published stories.
Heartfelt Cases 1: The Collins Case narrated by Kristin Condon
Heartfelt Cases 2: The Kiverson Case narrated by Kristin Condon
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts: Helping Mr. Blairington and Other Misadventures narrated by Kristin Condon
Devya’s Children 1: Ashlynn’s Dreams narrated by Kristin Condon
Devya’s Children 2: Nadia’s Tears narrated by Kristin Condon
Devya’s Children 3: Malia’s Miracles narrated by Julie Hinton
The Dark Side of Science narrated by Brian Troxell (Note: this is a prequel to Ashlynn’s Dreams and makes a whole lot more sense after you’ve heard that.)
Redeemer Chronicles 1: Awakening narrated by Caitlin Jacques
Was it worth it?
Absolutely. I’ve gotten the unique opportunity to invest in some stellar actors/actresses. Their performances definitely add a new dimension to the stories. It’s also nice to have the stories in as many formats as possible. You never know when somebody’s laid up or is blind or just loves listening while they go about their daily lives.
If you happen to like audiobooks and want to check out any of the above for free, hop on my mailing list then email me and I’ll get you an audible gift of the story of your choice. (This is subject to availability of codes. Since there’s typically not a high demand, I should be able to accommodate everybody, but no guarantees.)
By the way, I’m starting Audiobook Author and Reader Edge programs. There’s a giant gap between indie authors and readers. It’s very common to put in all the effort and then hear crickets when you try to sell it. I’d like to begin bridging that gap by working with other authors. More details here.
Thanks for reading!
Love Science Fiction or Mystery?
Email and Links:
Devyaschildren @ gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
