In 2003 I created a funny little robot character called Boris. From 2004–2006, I developed a line of gift ware and paper goods featuring Boris, inspired by Paul Frank’s Julius, Emily Strange and all the other characters who seemed only to exist to sell merchandise. Boris could be found all over the internet in several indie shops and we went around to a number of indie/craft events around Central Florida and the GTA.
After we made the Big Move and I was thrown back into school, I had to put Boris aside. This broke my heart more than anything else. Now, with the floundering economy leaving me “fun”-employed and The Curable Romantic out in the world to fail or succeed, I’m turning my attention back to Boris.
The hiatus may be a blessing and a curse. It gives me a chance to reboot the character and the story but leaves me scrambling for an audience again. I’m looking forward to telling Boris’s story. I think the themes will connect with people a little more these days as Boris wrestles with his obsolescence and freedom.
The new project is in its infancy but I’ll reveal details as it takes shape.
As part of my continuing and exhaustive efforts to promote my book The Curable Romantic: Advice for the Romance-Impaired, I jumped on the growing trend of book trailers—videos created to promote books. Previews are no longer limited to movies.
My promo is very simple and made up of illustrated stills with a midi track. Over the course of two days I drew the new illustrations, imported them into iMovie and imported a karaoke version of Doris Day’s “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps,” which I modified slightly in Garage Band. For a freshman effort, this isn’t terrible. I suspect I’ll work up a few more of these and do a series of book trailers.
Feel free to share the link to the trailer amongst your friends and internet viewing audience.
Taking a short breather from the onslaught on failures to reflect on my recent success. A few weeks ago I made my book, The Curable Romantic digitally available for the masses. It pleases me to announce that the book is now available in print via Amazon. I’m officially joining the ranks of the self-published and working diligently to legitimize the process.
The publishing world is evolving. Writers and readers are able to interact more freely than ever before. We can release creative content without interference of the publishers who can reject projects based on their own needs or the perceived needs of a choice target demographic. That does mean more crap can take up valuable shelf space and bandwidth. But let’s be honest, even with the middle-man, a whole lot of crap gets the green light.
Anyone can write a book. Now anyone can print a book. Can anyone sell a book? The Curable Romantic is a funny little book that has a chance to find the right audience, if I can market it well. In the coming months, I plan to make the effort to connect with potential readers, to tiptoe out of my comfort zone and do what’s within my power (and budget) to make this project a success.
a while ago i mentioned that i was working on an anthology of old essays and columns I’d written in the early aughts. in april i completed the writing and illustrations. my editor proofed it in may. and now, in june, the book is officially print ready and available for purchase in two formats–a 6″x9″ paperback edition and a PDF ebook.
as i mentioned in march, i’ve taken this pile of essays and turned it into a nicely organized collection of humorous relationship advice. The Curable Romantic is more than the run-of-the-mill ha-ha dating book. it’s also a creative experiment. aside from the editing and printing, i’ve had full control of all aspects of the book process. the writing, illustrations and book design were all handled by myself. i’m also converting the file into different formats and designer/webmaster over the website. i still have to convert to HTML/txt for ebook readers. because it’s essentially a self-published book, i’m also responsible for the marketing. the art of selling is not one i’ve mastered, so i expect to encounter many frustrations and headaches in this phase.
in my research, there are several sources that suggest encouraging friends to purchase the new book/spread the word/offer support. if you have friends like these, please introduce me posthaste!
i’m waiting for my proof copy of the paperback to arrive so i can finally release the print edition into the wild. also waiting for the Amazon.com listing to show up online and the Google book search to complete its process.
in addition to selling the book through Lulu.com and managing the book’s official website, the book is also available to skim through online via Issuu.com.
should this turn out to be a professional failure, it has not been a personal failure. through the process, i’ve improved several skills and learned something new. keep your toes crossed, though.
later this year, i will enter my third decade of life. earlier this year i decided to put together a little list of what i’d like to accomplish before reaching that milestone. i won’t reveal the whole list because i don’t want to look back and regret anything i didn’t get to before August.
the one item i will discuss is my book. once upon a time, i wrote a vaguely humorous romance advice column for a now defunct relationship-themed website. as one of my goals, i decided to turn this pile of essays into a short book. i’ve taken on the tasks as writer, editor, illustrator, and designer and plan to go the ol’ self publishing route via Lulu.com. it’s an interesting challenge to wear so many hats at once. having control over all of the creative means the only toes i risk stepping on are my own. but it also means there are no checks and balances, so if it goes out with glaring errors i’ve no one to blame but myself.
going the DIY/self-publishing route means i’ll also have to take on the role of marketing—which is where most of my creative endeavors fall short. but i am stopping short of trying to print/bind them all myself. as much as i’m tempted to learn and master the book binding process, we simply haven’t got the space to store tons of books.
so far i’ve got a sizable InDesign file, a song in my heart, a book cover, and an ISBN number.
fancy plans have to be set into motion somehow. more updates and sneak peeks to follow.
