My Favorites

Friday, September 9, 2011

Marketing Materials - Short Form, Other Information

9 September 2011, Marketing Materials - Short Form, Other Information

I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little.  I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon, the working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel.  Over the last year, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing.  In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, the way I built the scenes.  You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published.  I'll keep you informed along the way.  At this moment, I'm showing you the marketing material I put together for a novel.

I'm working on the "short form" right now.  The short form gives you quick and terse words to describe yourself and your work.

Short form information: 

1.  No more than 3 sentences about the content of your manuscript.

Aksinya contracted the demon, Asmodeus to save her family from the Bolsheviks, unfortunately her family was already dead—now, who can save Aksinya.   

The demon, Asmodeus' purpose is to tempt Aksinya to accomplish evil.

Before Aksinya can gain her freedom from the demon, Asmodeus, she might lose her friends, family, and acquaintances, and it will all be her fault.     

2.  One sentence about successful works similar to yours.

The conceptual theme of Aksinya is similar to Faust, a story about a man who makes a contract with the devil. The difference is the main character in Aksinya did not intend evil through her actions and constantly attempts to find some means to break her contract with the demon.

3.  No more than 2 sentences about yourself. (use 3rd person)
L. D. Alford is a novelist whose writing uniquely explores the connections between present events and history—he combines them with threads of reality that bring the past alive.   

Dr. Alford is a scientist and widely traveled author who combines intimate scientific and cultural knowledge into fiction worlds that breathe reality.

4.  No more than 2 sentences that include “other,” i.e. any reasons, relationships, or other factors that might make your work more attractive.

Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon is exciting fiction from the celebrated author of Dana-ana: Enchantment of the Maiden, Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth, Antebellum, Centurion, Aegypt, The End of Honor, The Fox’s Honor, A Season of Honor, Sister of Light, and Sister of Darkness.

In this sentence or two, you want to show your potential audience your competency and ties to your other writing.  These teasers let you list your writing to show potential interconnections with the current work and give your writing competence.

If I were writing about one of my science fiction novels this is what I have written:

Ghost: Shadowed Vale is the fourth novel of the Ghost Ship Chronicles series and is a follow-on from the distant future of the Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox.

In Ghost: Shadowed Vale, author Dr. L.D. Alford continues in his science fiction the hard science themes that can be found in his aviation blog and military aviation adventures on http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/.

You can see the ties here are to science and science fiction.  The point is to draw attention to what makes me competent as an author and, in this case, as a scientist.  The trick, in every case, is to determine and emphasize your skills in regard to the novel or book you've written and then express those connections.

Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon is standalone historical suspense fiction that continues the supernatural themes of L.D. Alford’s other Ancient Light and Enchantment novels.


Tomorrow I'll wrap up the short form.

No comments:

Post a Comment