Podcast #154
Today’s episode is sponsored by Children’s Book Insider with an incredible offer you can only get if you listen to the episode, because the offer is exclusively for my listening peeps.
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In This Week’s Episode You’ll Hear
- A First Pages segment with advice from Rachelle Burk on how to improve a picture book.
- All about video marketing secrets from incredible people like Rebecca Levey, CEO of KidzVuz, & Steve Gottlieb, CEO of Shindig.com, talk about a virtual event for writers – The Publishing Business Conference
In The Session You’ll Hear About
The Publishing Business Conference
An author event that’s completely virtual, yet allows attendees to ask questions and chat directly with the author? A video service that allows you to set up a personal screening room online? A community that uses video to allow readers to weigh in on what they are reading to create word of mouth? A publisher that includes QR codes inside books to link to additional video content on-line to broaden the consumer’s experience and their own marketing reach? Learn innovative ways to use video as a marketing tool by hearing from some leading innovators in the medium.
Moderator
Susan Danziger
Founder, Ziggeo
Susan Danziger is the founder and CEO of Ziggeo, a platform which enables the recording, collecting and screening of videos. Ziggeo can be used to easily and cost-efficiently collect author videos and reader testimonials. Danziger founded DailyLit, the first company to develop a platform that enabled books to appear on phones (it was recently sold to Plympton). She previously worked for Random House and received a JD from NYU School of Law and a BA from Cornell University.
Speakers
Luke Parker Bowles
Executive Vice President of Production, Open Road
Luke Parker Bowles is executive vice president of production for Open Road Integrated Media, a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road publishes and markets ebooks from authors including William Styron, Pat Conroy, Alice Walker, James Jones, and Pearl S. Buck. Parker Bowles runs Open Road’s digital entertainment division, which creates short documentary film pieces about its authors to market their ebooks.
Steve Gottlieb
Founder & CEO, Shindig
Serial Entrepreneur and angel investor Steve Gottlieb is the Founder and CEO of Shindig, a patented new video chat technology that enables large-scale interactive events. Still in Beta, hundreds of prominent hosts (including Hugh Howey, Michael Pollan, TEDx, Big Daddy Kane, David Houle, and Guy Kawasaki) have already embraced Shindig for their online events. With Shindig, Gottlieb aims to redefine the state of the art of online engagement in a multitude of verticals.
Rebecca Levey
Co-founder, KidzVuz.com
Rebecca Levey is the Co-Founder of KidzVuz, the only video creation and sharing site by kids for kids, where kids create video reviews of books, movies, travel, fashion, toys, tech and more. As a leading education and family technology expert she has appeared on ABC News, CBS, NBC, PBS Frontline and WPIX, been featured on Parenting.com, Mashable, The Associated Press, The L.A. Times, The New York Times, and The New York Daily News. Rebecca frequently speaks at conferences and schools.
Leigh Marchant
Marketing Director, Random House, Dial Press, Spiegel & Grau, and Modern Library
Leigh Marchant is Director of Marketing for Random House and Spiegel & Grau. Prior to her time at Random House, she was a Coop Account Manager in the Merchandising Department at Barnes & Noble. She has also worked in marketing and publicity at Oxford University Press, the Perseus Books Group, and Harcourt. She earned her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
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1 Comment
Taurean Watkins
Katie, you were NOT manic! You were one of the most hopeful parts of the whole discussion. Way to speak up for those of us who don’t yet have to worry about getting ad space on a major television network.
(Not bad-mouthing those that can, BTW)
I was kind of feeling a bit down until you spoke up! I did have to spend a little bit for the music I used, and I did hire actors (On Fiverr) but that was worth it to get what not only worked for the video, and I spent less than ordering a pizza from my favorite takeout place.
I disagree with some parts of the presentation in terms of how effective video is for us non brand name folks, and not just because I took part in VIBC, either.
I know lots of authors who found clever ways to market themselves with modest budgets and no celebrity connections, and they’re “making it” where both readers, and sales, were concerned.
I agree video is only one piece of the puzzle regarding awareness of a book and its author, but it is A PIECE all the same, and we all must start somewhere.
As long as it’s thought out and the passion is there, that makes for a worthy springboard.
Yes, we can’t know what the next big thing will hit the web until it happens, but the point I felt was lost in parts before you spoke up was that we have to start somewhere, we just need it to be the best we can make it.
I still need to redo my site’s welcome video. (I haven’t forgotten, but the hard part of being on camera for me, or even just using my VOICE is that I talk too fast, that’s what messes me up more often than not, I know once that’s better, I’ll have more fun with it, but anyway…)
i know it doesn’t have to be perfect or meticulously crafted, but people need to understand what you’re saying, and the audio needs to not be cringe worthy, and that’s what I’m shooting for. So far, my retakes sound like I just learned to talk….(Sigh)
One thing that does worry me is that brevity was a BIG DEAL throughout the presentation. I still struggle here. When I did teaser videos for my debut novel, “Gabriel” only one came at under 2 minutes. 2 out of the 3 were around 2 1/2-ish minutes.
Even my shortest one is 1 1/2 minutes, which is already “pushing it” for those who find 1 minute or less ideal.
I do think I engaged viewers by 30 seconds though. My strategy is to do kind of a revolving series of short videos that play with my book’s characters and story, since the book is character-driven, .
Kind of like how old radio serial shows build up a long story arc and lower the boom at the end.
But I was banking on voice and connecting readers with the characters, especially since my book’s still early in process with my publisher and I don’t yet have a cover or illustrations to show, so I at least avoided the “Aggressive sell” thing that as many said in the presentation doesn’t work unless you’re aiming video for a 15 sec television spot, and thus only when the book’s already for sale or will be out soon.
But I had enough of a following who knew this book was coming and I wanted to share something to help spread the word.
That said, I did use my white minimalist look from my blog at the end which ties in that way with people who know me from my blog and who spread the word.
Glad “First Pages” was back this episode.
Whoever wrote “Jetpack Friday” is ON to something, and I hope whoever wrote it knows that, and and as someone who’s few attempts at writing for readers below middle grade (and NOT novel-length) were a disaster, this writer’s not too far off. I could just FEEL the brevity here, and even though Rachelle felt the plot was weak in parts, along with the lack of non-teacher dialogue, as well as feeling the MC was too passive and that we didn’t know enough about the MC’s feelings toward the fear being faced, he/she still did a better job than I could.
That said, if this was meant to be a picture book, you do have leave room for the illustrator, and it’s HARD to do that while still giving a potential agent or editor a full story on the merit of the words alone, and this can be EVEN TRICKIER in early readers and chapter books where simplicity is “God.”
But not everyone thrives on keeping things simple. Myself included. But this writer can DO IT! Even if that’s at the cost of character development.
I applaud that.
I care about my characters more than how simply I convey their story, and I hope that comes off as the compliment I mean it to be, while not also dissing the need for simplicity in non-novel length stories.
Great episode this week.
Take Care,
Taurean (Taury)
P.S. If anyone’s interested, you can find my videos at-
http://www.youtube.com/user/taureanjwatkins