Critique Day Approaches

Took another step towards C-Day.   The make or break day.    The day I find out how well I did with the Half-Elven website.  I submitted it to 1st Turning Point for a critique.  

Got the site proof-read for the umpteenth time.  Didn't find any typos, but did smooth out a couple sentences.  Also added my writer's blog to the navigation list.  Home page loads quickly.  Check.  The links go to the right pages.  Check.  Don't know if the links back to the site work as smoothly as they should, but people can always use the back button. 

What needed done?  I needed a how-to-contact-me page.  As soon as the work week starts, I'll be calling Go-Daddy to see how their email system works.  Also, need to get a few glitches worked out -- like removing the second home page.  Don't want to confuse Google.

If I'm lucky, I'll get  a critique at 1st Turning Point, my favorite marketing/promotion site.  I'm hoping for three parrots, aka a gentleman's "C".  Then, hopefully, I can improve any problems from the critique before I really go public with the site.  It's taken me since August, 2010 to get this far.  

One thing won't change though.  According to my site analytics, my meta-tags aren't dense enough to get a top place on the search engines.  That won't change because if I mention Half-Elven one more time, the text starts to sound stupid.

###

So ... I did put up a publication page and a contact me page on the navigation bars.   Plus, added an email collector from ChimpMail, a service recommended by author Justine Musk in her blog "Tribal Writer".  -- Problem?  [There's always a problem.]  I don't know how to make it work pretty.  Maybe, don't know how to make it work at all.  If someone, who's not me, could try to use it I would be eternally grateful.

Dood it.

Now, I have to think about trailers.

New Yorkie daughter and I discussed time lines and learning curves.  Seems she won't learn to use the software in time to have it by publication time.  So, I have to go out and find a cheap book trailer maker.  Not the Microsoft bit since I'm not going to spend the next ten years of my life learning how to use it.  


While I don't have a publication date [or cover art] yet, I am now listed on the WolfSinger Promotion page.  You can read the blurb copy, if you want.

Sigh...

a writer's work is never done.

Sigh.

"Taking Vengeance" Trailer Copy

Next promotion step: writing a trailer for the WolfSinger Half-Elven novelette, Taking Vengeance.  Pulling it out of my head turned out to be more laborious than pulling a boat along the Volga River.  [Yo. Ho. Heave. Ho.]  You don't want to know how many hours I've spent to come up with the words below. [ I spent less time editing/revising two 10 page short stories. ]

As things stand at the moment, here's the copy I've come up with:

Once, Mariah was a warrior hero who saved her Half-Elven people.

Now, she’s shunned … by the ruler, who was once her comrade-in-arms.

Abandoned … by her ring-mate, who disappears to spy on their southern enemies.

Alone … when pirates leave her daughter at death’s door.

Now, is the time for Mariah to belt on her sword again and seek vengeance.

Taking Vengeance by M. K. Theodoratus [www.half-elven.com]

Available from WolfSinger Publications in May (?) 2011.

[list of where available to come later]

I'm sure the script is too long, but I could drop the first sentence.  Still, it's the best I can do from all the tips I've gleaned from the 1st Turning Point blog site, always your site for lots of tips on promoting your books.  I'm just glad my NYC daughter's Christmas present was doing the trailer for YouTube.

Hey.  If you have any suggestions on how I might improve the script, I'd appreciate hearing them.