My guest today is Brandon Harper. Hello! Welcome to Writing in the Modern Age!
It’s such a pleasure to have you here.
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book? When did it come out? Where can
we get it?
My book was released on January 31,
2015. Diary: From the Outside Looking In... The heart that Understands is a short
story book with a collective of personal life experiences that men and women
deal with quite often. It is primarily centered around love, life topics, sex
and relationships.
Is there anything that
prompted your book? Something that inspired you?
Yes,
I was very inspired to write after being involved in several different types of
relationships and situations that I later realized were not healthy for me or
my life. But taught me a lot in the process. My dealings of battling with
insecurities, loss, being hurt, left in the dark and fighting to find inner
peace. These things motivated me to want to help others in the world that may
be dealing with some of the same situations that I have faced and had to find
the strength within myself to overcome by placing my thoughts and experiences
in dealing with real life occurrences down on paper. Everyone has certain
issues because no one in this world lives a perfect life. There is no such
thing as a perfect life. Everything that looks good isn't always what it may
seem, and there are a lot of people who have dealt with some things that they
have kept hidden inside from the rest of the world because they are afraid that
they will be judged and looked at in an uncomfortable manner. My goal is to
give my readers a reality check through my messages. I would love to see
everyone that has ever been in hurtful situations or has ever doubted
themselves because of things that went above and beyond their control to be
happy because everyone deserves happiness.
Oh, I totally agree!
So, when did you know you wanted to write? Or has it always been a pastime of yours?
I knew that I wanted to write after
reading Karrine Steffans’ Confessions Of
A Video Vixen. Her tell- all book and straight forward delivery inspired me
to want to become a writer.
Do you have any favorite authors?
Yes, I have a few favorite authors
that range from Michael Baisden, of course Karrine Steffans, Zane, Marry Honey
B Morrison, Terry Bams, Jeff Goins, Sheri Meyers just to name a few.
So, do you write in a specific place? Time of day?
I
generally like to write at night because that is when I usually am able to have
what I like to call “quiet time" typically around 10 p.m. I enjoy writing
in my study inside of my home in Houston, Texas.
Great!
Are there any words you'd like to impart to fellow writers? Any advice?
Never give up on your dreams because
your dreams definitely are waiting on you to fulfill them and they won't give
up on you! Write your story and let your words paint a picture for the whole
world to see.
That is great advice, Brandon!
Thank
you so much for stopping by to visit us today here at Writing in the
Modern Age. It was such a pleasure having you! :)
Readers, here is the blurb forDiary: From the Outside Looking In.
Diary: From the Outside Looking
In... The heart that Understands is an insightful guide with a hard-hitting,
edgy message that gives couples and singles an overview and outlook on
situations as it relates to the topics of life, love, sex and relationships.
When you are on the outside looking in, a true heart pays attention to what
goes on and understands the reality that life brings. The happiness, the joy,
the sadness and pain, the complications, discovering self worth, powerful
romance and the sexually charged encounters. Everything that looks good or
seems like it's swell isn't always as it may appear to be. The heart that
Understands tackles various subjects and gives an in depth look on life, love
and sex on different levels by being honest and straight forward in hopes of
getting people to see what really goes on inside of people's hearts and minds.
Here is an excerpt fromthe book.
What is Real Love?
Real love understands. It is
patient, kind and uplifting and not supposed to hurt. It's honest and full of
joy, soft kisses and long, warm hugs with bright smiles and kind soft words.
It's when you see everything that you've ever wanted in someone. That special
someone is on your mind when you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed
at night. Their well-being is of the upmost importance to you because the love you
have for that person in your heart is so strong. To top it all off, it's real.
Remember, relationships do have purpose! And when you are with someone that you
really love and care for, that person is your purpose. You're their fire and
they are your ice. That man becomes that woman's Adam and that woman becomes
that man's Eve. So, why not start new life together? Real love is very
important and life is really empty without it. Try and imagine a world without
any type of love in it. Hard to do, isn't it? Exactly! A world without real
love would be a world without any peace, natural fulfillment or blessings
because everything would be negative and dysfunctional...Nobody would really complement each other because they'd be too focused on
degrading and putting each other down. And understanding in any type of
relationship would be at an all time low because nobody would give a shit about
how another person feels.
Interesting!
Thanks again for dropping by, Brandon! :)
Author Bio
Brandon Harper is a young, Native
American born in Houston, Texas. He was born and raised in the North side of
Houston, Texas by a single woman of two. He graduated from Eisenhower Senior
High School in 2006 at the age of 18 and went on further his education by
taking some writing and language arts courses at HCC ( Houston Community
College). It was then when he discovered that his true passion and calling was
to become a full time writer, and he later on at the age of 25 decided to
practice public speaking and gained a local buzz in his hometown of Houston
from attending and partaking in free local speaking gigs all throughout the
Houston area. Brandon is now a published Author, speaker, and a certified
speaker whose topics range from obtaining self confidence, discovering self
worth, relationship scenarios, and strong sexual speeches. He received his
speaker's license at the age of 27 and now at the age of 28. Brandon is not only
a highly sought after young up and comer, but a professional in his field that
is passionate about helping others in life and in love.
Being an author is hard. One must not only write books, but
also take on different roles. They have to be editors, marketers, bloggers, advisers, and the list goes on. In the publishing journey, a writer learns that
very few things are for free, or at least affordable.
Book trailers are a great
tool in promoting your own work. You can not only tie them to your Youtube
channel, but also link them to author interviews or even press releases. They
can really come in handy, anyway.
I have been publishing books since 2010, and in 2012, I received
my first book contract. That book, titled Upon
Your Return, a Victorian romance and book one of the Heiresses in Love
Series, was released in February of 2013 through Summer Solstice Publishing. It
wasn’t until the following September that I attempted this crazy thing called
‘a book trailer’.
But, what do we need book trailers for, huh? There seems to
be a lot of people for them, and a lot against them. Some people don’t see the
merit it in them, while others swear by them. The good trailers I have seen,
though, have sold me on the books. Of course, the blurbs and covers don’t hurt
either, right? LOL. Still, a good book trailer can go a long way towards
helping you to market your books effectively. I’ve been designing them since
2013, and I haven’t had any complaints yet.
However, during my first foray into creating a book trailer,
I crashed. Hard. As a starving artist, I desperately wanted to have a book
trailer, but really didn’t know how to go about it. I was told someone had to
design it for you. So, I looked around. I couldn't find anything less
than $150-200 to create a book trailer. I thought that was
normal. And I'm sure it is if you want something that is smashing. I
did find a place that charged $5.00, but the low price made me
wary. What? You might fork over that small bit of cash and see
nothing from it.
So, after numerous months of mourning the fact that I didn't have my own book
trailer, I decided to research it. I had read somewhere that you could
create your own if you had the right software. I read up on it
more.
My first attempt was all right, if not a bit long. It ended
up being between two to three minutes. People complained that it lagged, and I
soon agreed. There were also copyright issues, as I didn’t realize that I
couldn’t use just any old picture I found or an MP3 of my favorite song.
I learned my lesson, though. Now I know better.
We have to think carefully about these things. Have you
thought about designing your own book trailer? You probably saw them on
Youtube, or saw links to them on Facebook or Twitter. Didn’t you ever wonder
where the images or music came from? They most likely came from reputable
sources, were purchased legally.
So, to be fair, I’m including my first attempt here. You
won’t hear any music, but you can sort of see what it was before if it plays correctly.
Well, after several attempts, I managed to get something I’m proud to show you.
Final
Attempt
If you're an author or business person, you may be wondering how in the world was
this accomplished? I will tell you. There's no reason to keep
secrets like this to oneself. I don't know how many times I've been clueless
about something and felt so grateful when someone bothered to post an article
about it online. So I will give you step by step instructions here.
1) Pictures.
You want to find some great pictures for your video. As we all know, there
are sites out there that let you purchase pictures for said price. Here
are some great sites that give you the ability to pay affordably for images. I
know there are many more.
Here is a new site, PikWizard, which I found that has affordable options.
On any of these sites, you have to be pretty unique with your
search terms or you won’t find what you’re looking for. The best one I
have found so far, and it does require a small investment ($20 for 20 credits,
or less, depending on your budget), is 123RF. I also used Fotolia
for a book cover recently, and that was a very positive experience. If you want
a sneak peek of the kind of images you can find on free sites, though, please
visit my website at http://marielavender.com/about/my-books/. I have used
free, yet legal images for all of my self-published books thus far. Of
course, I gave credit to the photographers. All the ones listed under
Erica Sutherhome, Kathryn Layne and Heather Crouse were not only self-published, but royalty-free images were used. Purchased images were used for the ones under this name, Marie Lavender.
You should be able to find some decent pictures on any of the aforementioned
sites. Have I missed any? Probably. But, you'll be searching for
a long time if you just go on Google and say "free images". You
will get the ones I found, but also clip art and things that are definitely notfree. You could get yourself in a lot of trouble. Try looking for
"royalty-free". You can, of course, do whatever you like. I still
advise you to keep copyrights in mind. For myself, it’s safer to pay a small
amount for something than to assume it’s free and regret it later. Sound good?
2) Adding Music
Let’s say you want to add music or sounds to your video. Some people do
voice-overs. There are royalty-free music sites out there as well. Here
is a list. Some charge a little, while others don't.
Carefully select your music. I usually spend a lot of time trying to decide
what theme or feeling I want the music to convey. I narrow mine down to about
five or six songs, then narrow it down further. Be patient. This takes time.
Sometimes I wait until after I have the design before I look for music and then
see what might work for the trailer. Purchase your music or bookmark it for
future reference.
3) Figure out your design or
layout.
What all do you want to say in your video or book trailer? What message do
you want to convey? Think of this as you would if you were making your own
book cover, only it’s in video format. What idea are you trying to show in the
short time you’ll have to explain things? For mine, I opened a Word document
and typed up everything I wanted to say. Don’t give away too much about
your book, but you do want to give a good tease as you would in a blurb. The
great thing about this is that you can edit it as you go along.
At that point, I started looking for pictures to go with
each section. You’ll see more about what I mean shortly.
So, what's next? What do you do after you figure out what
you want to say?
4) Powerpoint.
Make a Powerpoint presentation using the layout and pictures you
found. Adjust sizes of the images and font, and make sure you have even
spaces on both sides of the slide. An image that is slightly off on the
pages is like a crooked picture. Even an untrained eye will catch
it. Oh, and please, please, please give credit to photographers, composers
and book cover artists in the 'Credits' page.
You should have a pretty good presentation going for you. If you like, you
can save the presentation for future reference. In fact, I encourage it. Do
something else for me now. Also save the presentation as a jpg.
“What? Why in the world would you do that, Marie?”
Just trust me. Powerpoint will ask you if you want to
save all the slides as jpegs. Say ‘yes’. You can close out of your
presentation. And what's next, you may ask.
5) Forget Authorstream.When
you do a search online for how to convert Powerpoint presentations to video, it
will probably be mentioned. It's just a useless tool, in my
opinion. So let's forget it please.
6) Open Windows Movie Maker.You
should have it somewhere in your programs. If you aren't aware of it, you
have most likely overlooked it in your day to day operations. I know I
did. And if you don't have it, it's free to download from Microsoft.
From that point, you will see a white space on Movie Maker that looks like a
whiteboard. Locate your jpgs from your presentation. Powerpoint would
have saved them in a folder for you on your computer. Open the folder and
then select all of the jpgs. That's CTRL +A for a shortcut. You can drag them
in or you can import them in as files.
Movie Maker will place them in the white area. Then, you need to drag each
slide (in chronological order, of course) into the storyboard below. You
can also click the button 'show timeline' after you've finished. This
shows your whole movie as it's progressing.
Now, do you want to add music to your video? I found it was damn near
impossible with Powerpoint, but easy with this software. Let's say you
have your own MP3, or at least one song you want to use. You will click
"import audio file" or just "import" and select the file
from wherever you saved it. That should add the file to your timeline as
well.
You will see two lines: the first shows your slides and the second is
your music. There is also a play button on the right side of the screen
where you can monitor your progress of the video by playing it
back.
So, from here you want to decide how long to make each slide and how you want
to match it up to the music. This, my friends, could take awhile because
you'll most likely have to listen to the clip over and over again. However, if
you like the song you selected, it's not really that bad. To lengthen the
slides, just click on one and drag it to the right. Above all of that, you
will see a minute and second counter that tells you how long each slide will
last in your video.
Once you have your video the way you want it, you can add end credits or
titles. That would be in the 'tools' section. And to finish your
video, you have to select where you want it to end on the timeline (minutes and
seconds or at the end of slides) and then go to the tab at the top that says
"clip". You will find this thing that says "set end trim
point". This will effectively end your video wherever you put the
line so make sure you know where you're ending it first.
But, really how long should your trailer be? The ideal length
of most effective trailers are between 45 seconds and one minute, 10 seconds.
“Wow, so short!”
It’s true. So,
my basic rule? I try to keep them to about a minute. If it goes a bit over,
fine. But then, I go back and look at the whole video critically. Does it seem
to be lagging anywhere? Did I express all that I needed to say without giving
too much away? Does the music match to each section, or flow well? Think about
emotions that might come from the music too. That will determine a lot of it. Still, you don't want to exceed about a minute and a half. Any longer, and you'll just lose your audience.
If you feel you're done building your video (or book trailer), you will want to
save it. Click "save movie file" under "File". It
will ask if you want to save it to your computer or elsewhere. Just save
it to your computer, name it and let it do it's thing. Movie Maker will
also create a folder for your video so you will have to locate it that
way. What's next?
Well, what do you want to do with your video? Let's say you want to
publish it to Youtube or just add as a video on your website or
Facebook. You can do that.
7) Find your movie file.
It should have a .wmv extension. For the purposes of this
article, let's say you want to upload it to Youtube.
8) Make sure you have an account on
Youtube (this is usually a Google or Gmail-related account).
There should be an option to upload on your account. It
will be at the top of the page.
Add the file and name it. Add a description and tags (keywords related to
the trailer or video). It should save itself, but give it time to load
your video entirely.
Youtube will also give you a URL for your video. Notate that somewhere.
Within a few minutes, you should be in business.
So, you’re probably wondering if I even know what I’m talking about. Well, why
wouldn’t you? I’m not an expert by any means, but I get by well enough by
creating my own trailers. Below, I am including all of the book trailers I have
designed. They are also on my Youtube channel.
Upon Your Return (book one of the Heiresses in Love
Series)
genre: Historical Romance, Victorian
Magick & Moonlight (book one of the Magick Series)
genre: Romantic Fantasy
Upon Your Honor (book one of the Heiresses in Love
Series)
genre: Historical Romance, Victorian
Second Nature (book one of the Blood at First
Sight Series)
genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
A Little Magick (book two of the Magick Series)
genre: Children's Fantasy
Second Chance Heart
genre: Contemporary Romance
Blue Vision (book one of the Code of Endhivar Series)
genre: Science Fiction Romance
Upon Your Love (book three of the Heiresses in Love Series)
Well, that’s how you can create your own trailer or video for promotional
purposes. I hope I have helped you figure it all out.
9) Other Options.
But, let’s say you’ve decided, “Nah, this isn’t for me. I’m
going to let someone else design it.”
Well, there is certainly no shame in that. So, where would
you go to find someone who designs a good book trailer?
First, you must decide on your budget. What are you willing
to spend for a decent trailer that will help you market your book effectively?
What is out of your price range? And what is a fair amount? That will narrow
down your choices considerably. There are some good options out there. As with
any purchase, make an informed decision. Research the services you find. Are
there reviews? What do other people say about that designer?
Obviously, some of the options can get rather expensive.
Doing it myself, I save tons of money and usually only spend no more than $20
total on the whole project.
Here are a few companies that offer book trailer production.
Beyond that, all I can say is…just start looking. Check
online on Google, even look on social media. I know a lot of them have Facebook
pages. You never know. You may find a really great place that does it
professionally and affordably! ;)
Whatever you decide, whether you want to risk attempting
this book trailer thing on your own or you want to pay someone to do it for
you, I’m sure you have it all in hand. With the right tools, why, we are
capable of anything as human beings, aren’t we?
