Book Trailer Experts

BOOK TRAILER EXPERTS is a talented group of award winning producers, television studio executives, and marketing pros that create terrific book trailers.

Clients tell me now and them, “I’m disappointed” in this or that. What a waste of time and energy! Don’t invest your spirit in disappointment. It’s simply counterproductive. I “send out” so many things—books, notes, emails,  proposals, faxes, calls—and invest all my energy in DOING. Sooner or later the sheer momentum of this approach creates days in which all kinds of wonderful things happen that I’d even forgotten I’d started (and had no time to think or feel about). Thinking is bad. Feeling is bad. Being in the moment—and DOING--is all. “Action,” said Shakespeare, “is eloquence.” Or, Sinatra: DO BE DO BE DO….Read and Review MESSIAH MATRIX!

LETTERS TO WRITERS

I shared a few pages of criticism with a writer, and he wanted to know if I no longer wanted to pursue his project. I wrote back, “Of course I want to go forward! Criticism always surrounds every project that’s ever been made. Some of it is useful and can improve the project. Some of it is to be ignored. Vision prevails.” The truth is that getting hard criticism, forthright and direct, is the most precious gift a writer can get. Most people in the industry don’t bother to share their critical thoughts. They just pass or move forward without comment. You can only LEARN from criticism, and the rule is “take what you like, and ignore the rest.” Even the greatest films—measured by box office or awards—are surrounded with criticism. Why shouldn’t yours be too? Criticism, used wisely, is the fertilizer of creative growth.

LETTERS TO WRITERS

You’re definitely making progress. Progress is steady progress toward a worthy goal and you are steadily progressing toward your goal of visibility for your story. Progress doesn’t always manifest itself along the way. It often just “suddenly” happens. That’s what they mean when they say he ‘became an overnight success in ten years.’! If you have doubts about this, you’re wasting your time and interfering with your progress.

ANIMISM

 

Primitive man, rapidly whirling a rhomb, believed that its murmuring hum was the voice of a spirit. Why did he not think the noise he made by striking a stick against a tree or clapping stones together was a voice? Perhaps because the hum sounded like speech, sustained and resonant, but a more likely reason is that the cause of the sound was unknown. The uncaused is the product of an unseen creator, an apparently uncaused human behavior is attributed to an inner man.—B. F. Skinner, Notebooks

Karl Marx

When Karl Marx was living in London, he received this letter from his Leipzig publisher: 

“Dear Herr Doctor: 

You are already 10 months behind time with the manuscript of Das Kapital, which you have agreed to write for us. If we do not receive the manuscript within six months, we shall be obliged to commission another author to do this work.

Email Etiquette

Writers love to write, but sometimes writing can be counterproductive. Have you noticed that it takes your agent, manager, or coach what feels like forever to answer your email?Here are some suggestions for more efficient email management: 1) Don’t read “tone” into emails. Busy people tend to be brusque and to the point. So should you. If you’re upset about something or think the other person is, get on the phone instead (by setting up a telecom).

2) Keep your emails SHORT. By short, I mean, 1-2 lines, 3 at most! You will get quicker responses. 

3) Keep your emails tightly organized, but NOT in outline form,

4) Make them READER FRIENDLY—in a readable typeface, that is not in angry UPPER CASE LETTERS.

5) Focus your email on a SINGLE SUBJECT. If you have questions, that means ONE question. If you have more than one question,

6) Write another email for another subject or question. Although sending a bunch of emails will get you into the doghouse, sending a few with single subjects will make you appreciated by your target.

7) Long rambling emails, written like letters to your best friends (in the old days), will often be (a) deleted, (b) ignored, (c) filed in the LATER file, or (d) printed out to be dealt with on long trips or when time allows.

8) If you’re wondering how to wrap your head around proper email etiquette, think TWEETING. Short tweats are allowed, long ones not.

9) Make sure to change your SUBJECT LINE each time you initiate a new email. Nothing is more annoying than a long series of emails with the same ancient SUBJECT LINE. Not only that, but it makes it nearly impossible to file the emails efficiently!

Of course, the suggestions above apply only to commercial literary communications, not to dating, political ranting, or joke dissemination. And one more thing,

10) Take your literary representation OFF your political and joke target list!
Remember, “less is better and faster,” use common sense, and respect the other person’s time.