Branching out...

It's hard to believe that this time last year, I hadn't signed my first contract yet. And now I'm ready to branch out into another facet of writing... book trailers and websites.

I know... what do trailers and websites have to do with writing?

In this day of virtual life, you can't be an author without having book trailers, a stunning website, blogs, tweets and more facebook friends than you can count. It's all part of the dreaded "promotion," and most authors will tell you, it's far more intimidating than writing that first book.

When I received my first contract, I was stunned to see that the company wanted to know my website address and fan email. Sheesh, I hadn't stopped squealing about getting a contract long enough to think about fan email. But as I stared at the lines on the information page, I realized that being an author involved much more than simply pumping out books. Authors need to be seen. To get their names out in as many places as possible. Part of that means having an attractive website folks will want to come back to time and again.

Faced with such a daunting task, I did the only thing I could... I opened up iWeb and jumped in. It took a few days of figuring out how to use the program and searching sites to find images I wanted to base my website on, but after a lot of hard work, and even more luck, I launched my first website. Little did I know, that was just the beginning...

When my first book came out, I was then faced with the idea that I should make a book trailer to put up on youtube, to help get my name out there like only youtube can do. I'd watched other authors make trailers or hire folks to do so, and I remember thinking... I can do that. Can't I? With images in hand I spooled up my trusty iMovie and set out to master the ins and outs of creating my first book trailer. After a lot of mistakes and learning many of the simple tricks the hard way, a book trailer was born... and I discovered... I LOVE doing this stuff.

Since then, I've made several trailers and have now branched out to making some for friends. Then this past week, I got the chance to help a great friend, and fellow author Bronwyn Green, make a brand new website. Of course, being the geek I am, I jumped at the chance and I'm proud to announce that just yesterday, her site went live. You can find it here. I'm thrilled with the outcome and even happier that she's just as tickled as I am.

So what does this all mean?

I think I've found another passion in my life... one that never would have come to light without that first contract. Funny how life changed direction when you least expect it. Now I'm dividing my time between writing and making trailers and websites for friends... and I couldn't be happier.

Never knew I had such an enthusiastic geek inside me, lol.

Thanks for tuning in and see you next month.

Cheers,

Kris

Romanicing life...one adventure at a time.

KrisNorris.ca