Introduction:  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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Author Central also allows you to enter more information on your novels.  I give an example from my novel Centurion, www.CenturionNovel.com.  You can add:

A Review
I have a couple of reviews up.
A Product Description
Hauntingly compelling, Centurion gives life to Abenadar, the man who was entrusted with the controversial and potentially explosive crucifixion of Christ. A longing heart. An unlikely friendship. Love…and the bitterest of betrayals. The son of a Galilean concubine-a Jewess-and a Roman ambassador, Abenadar suffered disapproving stares in the village of Natzeret, but so did the boy Yeshua, son of Yosef and Miryam. Perhaps it wasn’t unusual the two became fast friends. As Abenadar rises through the ranks of the Roman Legion to assume the rank of Centurion, he finds love with Ruth, a woman he rescues from the streets of Jerusalem. She believes the prophet Jesus is the One-the Messiah-everyone has been waiting for. Abenadar is dubious. He’s seen too many messiahs.and they all died on Roman crosses. But what if Jesus is telling the truth? As advisor to Procurator Pontius Pilate and a Roman, Abenadar has a duty to uphold…but it may cause him to lose everything. 

From the Author
I was always intrigued by the statement of the centurion at the foot of the cross: “Surely this man was the son of God.” Perhaps my interest was because I served in the military and felt that my life was something like that centurion’s. In any case, I always wanted to know more about this military man and his statement. When I read Wallace’s book, Ben Hur and Douglas’s The Robe, I was left with more questions than answers. I wanted to delve deeply into the centurion’s life and know exactly who he was.

I began research into the centurion in the 1990s. Already, I knew his name. In Christian legend, it is Abenadar. He was said to be a man of mixed Roman blood. In early 1995, I wrote a short story about Abenadar. The main character was the woman who lived with him and the setting was their house following the crucifixion. Already I had begun to flesh out Abenadar. I made him a man of mixed lineage: Roman and Jew–otherwise Pilate would not have given the job of the crucifixion to him. He had to speak the languages of the people–again, otherwise Pilate wouldn’t have trusted him with the job. The woman who lived with him had to have been a woman of the streets–no other woman, other than a slave, would be able to associate with a Roman of mixed blood. He had to be competent. He had to be divided somewhat in his mind, but not his loyalties. The picture of Abenadar began to build. The picture of the woman he lived with began to come into focus. In the short story, I made both of them rougher than they ended up eventually, but that story was where the novel began.

I started writing the novel, Centurion, while I was flying in Europe in 1995. The first few chapters flowed. When you write a book about the life of a man, you need to start with his beginning, and the beginning of the centurion’s life was fundamental to his character. To be a member of a Roman Legion, he had to have a Roman father. To know the languages of the people, he needed to have a Jewish mother. Since the Romans, at the time, were attached to Herod the Great’s court in Jerusalem and there was a connection with Tiberius in Galilee, it was easy to build the character of both the centurion’s mother and father. She became a local bride to the Roman ambassador. Her home town was one of the largest in Galilee, Nazareth. From that, it wasn’t difficult to construct a possible interaction between Mary, the mother of Jesus and the mother of Abenadar.

The next step was the most difficult for me. I had to build the entire life of Abenadar. I chose to begin with his great step into the Legion. That was the real beginning of Abenadar as a military man. Years of research was poured lovingly into this portion of the book. It was a necessary and fulfilling step to build up the man who was to become the centurion at the foot of the cross. In the novel, the history about the Legions and about training, promotions, leadership, and structure is exact and exciting. At the same time, I laid the foundation for his loss of faith and his return to faith. He was, after all, a Jewish man in the Roman Legion.

Abenadar moved up the ranks to finally reach the position from which he would be called to play his greatest role in history. He wasn’t a man divided. He wasn’t incompetent. He wasn’t weak or foolish. He was one of Pilate’s favorites and yet a man of mixed lineage. I had not given up on his wife, or rather the woman who lived with him. The why of her existence was coupled with his. It had to intertwine. She had to be Jewish too, but able to live with a Roman Centurion. She had to be a woman of the streets. I chose to make her a woman who desired nothing but a home and stability. She had not lost her innocence in spite of her forced harlotry. She became a much less rough character than I first envisioned. She became the Centurion’s link to Jesus the prophet, the man he must eventually crucify.

So, in a nutshell, there is a part of the journey I made to write Centurion. It took a while and it was difficult, but when the manuscript was finished, it was whole and the men and women in it were whole. It let me understand just who was this man, Abenadar, the man who crucified Christ and who stated “This man was surely the son of God.”

From the Inside Flap

From the Back Cover
He was the son of a Galilean concubine–a Jewess
and a Roman ambassador…

Step into the first-century life of Abenadar, who grew up among the people of Natzeret. He and the boy Yeshua, son of Yosef and Miryam, live in different realms, but both feel out of place. Perhaps that’s why they defended each other …and later became friends.

Follow Abenadar’s rise through the ranks and units of the Roman Legion in Palestine until he becomes one of the lead Centurions in Jerusalem. When he accidentally rescues Ruth, a prostitute, and redeems her for himself, he becomes connected to the rumored prophet, Jesus. Ruth believes Jesus is the Messiah they’ve been waiting for. Abenadar is dubious. Yet, as part of the Roman Legion, he must follow the orders of Pilate–to crucify the prophet. If he does, will he lose Ruth’s love?
And what if Jesus is telling the truth?

About the Author
The about the author is the same as my usual bio, so I won’t bore you with that.

These show up on the product page for your book.  Fill these in and make sure you get the word out about your book.

I’ll give you more about Author Central tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

Introduction:  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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Author Central also has a tab for Customer Reviews.  You can see all the reviews that people have posed on your books.  You can also see the reviews at your books sites on Amazon, but this puts all of the reviews conveniently in one place. 

It’s a good idea to seek reviews for your books and to check on the reviews.  Don’t get too hung up on reviews good or bad.  The fact that a reader took the time to review your novel is a good sign.  The details that those readers note in your books are also great information.  Seek reviews by asking your readers to write them for you.  There are other places to get reviews, but I’ll save that for a later post.

I’ll give you more about Author Central tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

Introduction:  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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

Here is the list of ideas for advertising–there are more and I’ll add to the list as we go along.  I’m certainly not an expert in all these, but I’ve dabbled in all of them.  I’ll try to relate my experience and the degree of that experience to you.

1.  Have a website for your novel.
2.  Write a blog.
3.  Advertise.
4.  Literary awards.
5.  Book cards.
6.  Contests.
7.  Interviews.
8.  Blog tours.
9.  Press releases.
10.  Speaking and teaching.
11.  e-mailing.
12.  …

The point of Internet advertising is to get someone to come to your website–there you can seduce them with your book.  That’s the whole reason for the advertising, and this applies to the indie as well as the regular published. 

Therefore, your website needs to seduce them to want your novel.  You need to encourage them to want to read your book.  The first step is getting them to your website, the second is getting them to stay long enough to–third, go to a bookseller where they can buy your book.

You can see what you need to do.  First, your website needs to be clear and clean.  It needs to not be ambiguous.  You need to clearly and specifically tell your visitors about your book in words that will interest and draw them to explore further.  You need to have pictures of the cover and information on the book.  I could go on and on about website development, but I’m not an expert–I just have made a lot.  Look at any of my novel websites for an example of how I make a website for a novel.  Take a look at www.AegyptNovel.com.

Second, you need to get them to stick around on the site long enough to want to buy your novel.  I think a crisp and clean site with strong content is about the best you can do.  Give them the four buttons (described before) and give them those marketing teasers you developed.

Third, point them to booksellers.  Give them a choice.  I put some links, and I put Amazon widgets on my websites.

There is so much more on advertising, but we need to move on.  We’ll look at Literary Awards tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

Introduction:  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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Author Central will also give you information on your book sales.  This is its own tab.  I’m certain that over time, this section information will improve and increase.  Generally, you can see where your books are selling and how well they are selling.  I’m not sure how this information can help you develop your sales, but it does give you feedback on the sales themselves.  In other words, it provides metrics for how well your advertisements and promotional work are working.

I’ll give you more about Author Central tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

Introduction:  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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

I wrote yesterday about protecting your rights.  Let’s scoot over to protecting the rights of other artists.  Just as you have a copyright and the rights to the works you create–other writers and artists also own the rights to their works.  As artists, one of our jobs is to not infring on their rights.  The point here is that every artist has the right to control and make a profit from their own works.  We all need to do everything in our power to protect each other’s rights. 

Therefore, unless you ask permission or have purchased the rights from an author, painter, photographer, etc., don’t use their works on your websites, in your books, or anywhere else.  You may take quotes from other’s books without permission.  There is a legal limitation to how much you can quote.  Teachers can print up to a chapter from a book for their students.  These are just some of the copyright laws I can remember off the top of my head.

In every case, when you quote an author, you must give attribution to the author and the work.  In other words, don’t just copy some one’s writing without footnoting their name and the work that the quote came from.  You can footnote in the text for a novel.  If you don’t footnote, you can be accused of plagiarism.

I just thought this was the right time to bring up this topic.  I’ll give you more about Author Central tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Let’s discuss rights in general.  By producing a work of art (novel) you have an implicit claim to it under law.  You don’t need a copyright to make this claim.  You do need to keep proof of the fact that you developed and produced the work.  I save my notes for writing my novels.  In the past, I kept everything on paper.  Now, I keep it in the computer.  To make my claims clearer, I keep track of the dates when I start a work.  When I print out a copy (I save the paper).  I make pdfs of my completed documents.

I keep all of these so I have an explicit claim on my writing.  In general, there is little you can do to prove someone lifted your ideas, but there is a lot you can do to protect your competed works or parts of them. 

In my own experience, I was shopping Aegypt around to many publishers in the early 1990s.  Isn’t it funny that not many years later, a movie called the Mummy came out that has a close plot to my novel–and the main character is a French Legionnaire.  I’m not sure if my ideas were borrowed–it really doesn’t matter.  My novel is published and it’s a much better plot and theme than the Mummy.  As I wrote, you can’t protect your ideas, but you can protect your work.

I’ll give you more about this topic and Author Central tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Let’s talk about photo rights.  Just because the photo is of you, and just because you paid for it, doesn’t mean you own the rights to it.  If you don’t own the rights to a photo, you have no right to publish it anywhere.  You don’t have the right to give it to your publisher, post it on a website, etc. etc. 

If you want to be able to use a photo in any way you wish, you need to own the rights to the photo.  This is what I do.  When I contract with a photographer, I also contract for the rights to the photos.  I tell the photographer that I will post his/her name with the photo and give them the full attribution, but that I want the rights.  Usually a professional photographer will work out a deal with you.  They will usually sell you the digital photos and the rights for a set fee, including the sitting.  Once you have this worked out, you don’t have to worry about the use of the photos–just make sure you give an attribution.

If you took the photo yourself, you own the rights to the photo–you can do whatever you want with it.  Don’t forget to self-attribute.

I’ll give you more on Author Central tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Your photo is very important.  Almost every site you need to put data on–including your own websites, need a photograph of you.  This means you require a great photograph to put up at Author Central, your own websites, wherever you happen to put up information (like your blogs), and for your publisher. 

Your publisher will ask right away for a photo for your book, for press releases, to place on their website, etc.  This means you need a really well done professionally taken picture.  Self portraits or the ones taken by your brother-in-law (unless he is a professional photographer) won’t do. 

You don’t want a whimsical shot (unless you are a comedy writer).  One of my good author friends, is indeed a writer of comedy novels.  He pasted a fake mustache on his picture and that was fantastic–for the rest of us, a clearly professionally taken photo (sans mustache) is necessary.

If you don’t have one already, get on a professional photographer’s schedule and have one taken.

There is much more you need to know about photos.  I’ll get to that tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

The Profile tab in Author Central allows you to manage: your biography, blogs, events, photos, videos, and twitter.

Go into Author Central and input a biography–you already have the information, that is, if you have been following along and produced the marketing information I suggested. 

Link the RSS feeds from your blogs to Author Central.  If you don’t know what an RSS feed is, then make a help search for RSS feed on your blog site.  It will tell you the URL of the RSS feed.

When you have author events list them on Author Central–there is a place just for that under the profile tab.

Put up your publicity photo.  If you don’t have a publicity photo, shame on you–get one.

If you have videos or trailers, you can upload them here too.

Put in your twitter information–the system will automatically take the twitter feed based on the account information you input.  If you don’t have a twitter account, you need one.

There are many more things you can do at Author Central.  I’ll write more about that and about photos tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal

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, and 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.

Today’s Blog:   To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select “production schedule,” you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Amazon’s Author Central allows you to check on your book sales–among other things.  You need to identify your books through their system.  Once you identify your books and the system acknowledges you, you can see the sales, see reviews, check information, add information, and etc.

You will want to explore all the features of Author Central.

There are many more things you can do at Author Central.  I’ll write more about them tomorrow.

I’ll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Aksinya Cover Proposal