Got My Proof!

So last week I received my proof by UPS man. I know this will sound corny but I didn't open it right away. I put the brown tattered box on my counter and stared at it. I wanted to live in the moment of the excitement that under the package taped flaps, there were two copies of my novel.  Wilson and all the words that created her story were in print, safely tucked with care in the brown cardboard box.  It wasn't torturous by any means, it was inspiring, uplifting, and scary.

You ask why scary? Well, for one, suddenly it is real. It is different talking about your novel to people. But once it is in print, it is solid. Real. An example of your creativity. Once the book is out there, everyone has the opportunity to judge it. Suddenly, the reality of becoming a publish author smacks you right between the eyes.

So once I soaked up the idea that in the sealed box were two copies of my novel I had my family come and watch the opening of the box.  Personal? you bet, but I wasn't going to let the labor of building this book be lost in opening it by myself. My son grabbed the video camera and taped me opening the box. Suddenly, I had a knife in my hand and I was poking it into the gap and dragging it down to cut the tape.

It was like Christmas morning, I yanked and pulled on the box flaps, my heart fluttered and pounded heavy in my chest. I was opening my present; my child like expectations were in a full gallop. Of course unlike the movies, there was a packaging slip (BTW, it had the name of my book and me as the author!) then brown crumpled paper on top. But once I slid the brown paper down, I saw my book in print for the very first time.

It was an amazing, breathtaking, and awakening moment. It was almost surreal. In my hands was my book. I touched it, looked at it, and realized I had accomplished something truly inspiring. I followed my dream, and published the story of Wilson Mooney. A girl who came to my mind with a story to tell.

Now I have the book, yeah I see that I have some work ahead of me, but over all, it has been the most enlightening, invigorating, and life altering experience and I wouldn't trade it in for anything!

 My goal is to have Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble by the end of July, beginning of August. Then everyone can meet Wilson!

 

The Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen Book Trailer is Here!

My debut novel, Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen was inspired by my insatiable crave to ignite, in my readers, memories and feelings of the first time they were spellbound by passionate new love. Tastily portrayed encounters and emotionally charged dialogue rightfully fuel the relationship between the complex; yet inexperienced Wilson and the guy of her dreams. The matrix of this love story will escort you through Wilson’s delicate and intimate journey of new discoveries, a lost family, and her first forbidden love.

Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen will be available soon in print and eBook at www.amazon.com and only eBook format at www.barnesandnoble.com.  

Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen, a novel by Gretchen de la O. Book cover designed by Eunice Ortegón.  Images used in this video production are licensed by DepositPhotos.com and 123rt.com. Music, My Deadly Romance licensed by JewelBeat.com

PDF Files, Book Covers, and Video Trailers… OH MY!

Alright people; right off the cuff I gotta tell you, as creative as I think I am or want to be, I really found out how much work goes into formatting the content, book covers, and video trailers. Okay, I have to admit something here, (just don’t tell anyone that I was so naive), creating a video story in a short allotted period of time, and watching the mesmerizing steps my graphic designer had to take because I wanted a little change to my book cover, was beyond me.

There is no such thing as click and drag in the real world of designing. I was under the impression she could just click and drag an image to move it. WRONG. I have to say, now I totally understand the tedium that can occur with designers or the exhaustion at the uncertainty of their clients. It took a good chunk of her time to make a change some people would feel was insignificant. But to her, she got what I wanted and smiled as she tapped her keyboard, clicked her mouse, and directed a magic symphony of commands to make the change perfect. She is amazing and soon, because of her magic I will be posting the cover soon.

Now, let me carry on to the task of making a teaser book trailer for the release of Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen. After spending numerous hours for several days listening to royalty free music blasting through my ear buds, I finally found the perfect song. I didn’t realize picking a song and downloading it was going to be the easiest part of the process.

It was finding the right pictures I wanted that was a lot of work. I gotta tell you, not just any royalty free photo of Max will do. Wilson had to be just right, and well... once you see the trailer you’ll understand that not just any old pictures would work. So many hours and numerous days later, I had a collection of example photos for the video.

Okay so most of us might not know that all those great pictures of our favorite gorgeous actors and actresses are not public domain. We really don’t have a right to just right click download it, only then to upload it to YouTube with our favorite Santana song whining in the back ground.

Don’t get me wrong, I love creating videos with my favorite actor’s pictures to some of my favorite bands; but creating a teaser video for my book, well that is a different beast.

I had to make sure I could get the rights to use the pictures to go with the perfect music (I bought just for the trailer). Hours upon hours scrutinizing the smile of one, the hair of another. He’s too dark, too light, hairy; not hairy enough, his hair is too short…the list goes on forever.

Once I started to master the navigation of photo sites, I knew I would be real close to finding the right “Max” for my video. Funny, some of the less exciting pictures were the hardest to find. 

Even as I type this post, I am not completely done with the video. I have the right words flowing, the right transitions chosen, and the right placement of the pictures done.

So now I have a semi-complete video of sample pictures and even though Max and Wilson have watermarks over their faces, I think we might have a winner…Now I better get buying my licenses so I can recreate a watermark-less video. 

Did I hear you mumble something about formatting my content? Don’t even get me started…that’s for another post.  

I Got Your Book Cover...(coming soon)

I am getting really excited about the book cover.  My graphic designer, (okay it isn't like I own her, she is just totally amazing and I can't wait to show everyone her work) has really hit the nail on the head with the cover I wanted.  She is touching up the small changes and details we decided on. Soon, very soon, I will be releasing the cover art here on the WM blog, Written & Ready, and my website (and any other sites I can get to upload it).

As a matter of fact, I will  do a post introducing my graphic designer and her information, because when you see this cover, you are gonna want to have her do some designing for you.  The great thing about her is I gave her a few ideas and photos of what I wanted and she came back with great concepts.  She is a wonderful artist, amazing woman, and a professional.

So keep checking back for new posts about the release date of my debut novel, WILSON MOONEY ALMOST EIGHTEEN, and the amazing book cover design.