Saturday 23 February 2013

Log Lines and Print

I'm really pleased that my Victorian novella, Mischief at Mulberry Manor, is featured on the Log Line blog today. This is a great idea for promoting books, as it forces us to condense our story into one sentence of 25 words or less. You might have heard of the term Elevator Pitch - that's when you get the chance to pitch your book to an agent or publisher until the lift (or elevator) stops - well, a log line is the equivalent. It certainly makes us focus on the relevant parts of the story!

Although I love my kindle and read as many ebooks as print now (or maybe more), sometimes we still want to hold a paper copy of our book in our hands. And not all of my friends and family have e-readers yet. So, by way of an experiment, I published my novella through FeedARead which is supported by the English Arts Council and several large publishers. It's ideal, as I can now order several copies to sell to anyone who might prefer a print copy, and readers can buy it straight from the FeedARead store. Authors can pay to have their print book available on every other site too, such as Amazon and Waterstones, but I've decided against that option for now.

It's great that we have so many more publishing options than before, so it's good to try a variety of methods and see what works best. I'm aiming to stay with publishers wherever possible but experiment with other options for some work. It's a whole new world!

Rosemary

7 comments:

Carolb said...

That sounds very useful, Rosemary, as I know quite a few older readers that prefer a paper book and don't want an e-reader.
Thanks for sharing the details.

Joanna said...

Thank you, Rosemary. This is a really good idea. I still prefer a paper copy myself, although I am trying to love my Kindle.

It's such a good idea to condense a novel into a 25-word pitch. I'm going to have a look at mine later and see whether I can do it! x

penandpaints said...

Hi Rosemary, I was just blogging about the e book!
This sounds like a great venture, I personally much prefer a print book, but it is pretty exciting that there are more possibilities now.
What's FeedaRead, is it like Lulu, that sort of thing?
Good luck with your book, I'm going to take a look!
Hehe, I'm rhyming now!
x

Gill Stewart said...

You've just reminded me that I have Miscief at Mulberry Manor on my Kindle and haven't yet read it! Something to look forward to. I have to admit i still prefer reading print copies of books but the e-reader is VERY handy. It'll be interesting to see where the balance between paper and e-books eventually settles.

Vikki said...

It's nice to have a print copy of your book too!

Rosemary Gemmell said...

You're welcome, Carol - I do think it's good to have both options!

Joanna - the 25-word log line (or pitch) really focuses a writer!

Hi pen&paints - thanks for your comment (I must go and look at your blog!). Yes, it's a similar idea to Lulu and Createspace - a very good option in certain circumstances.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Gill - thanks for buying the ebook! The print version allowed me to do another slight edit since I published the ebook in a hurry.

I think I still prefer reading a print book, and it's certainly easier for checking back on something. But I only take the kindle to bed now as it's so much lighter.

Thanks for all your great support, Vikki!