Dismantle My Bed

Every now and then, for a giggle, I like to go into bookstores and check out the latest screenwriting books. They’re fun. Not only do they all say exactly the same thing, but none of it’s useful. Okay, maybe some of it’s useful. For instance, did you know that you should have a likable, or at least interesting, main character? I know. Who would have guessed such a thing?

Most people know that 2003’s Eragon was not Christopher Paolini’s only novel. It ended with a cliffhanger, or at least it was intended as a cliffhanger for those people who were able to get into the book in the first place. The sequel to Eragon, Eldest, was released in 2005, and the third book in the series, Brisingr, was released in September of this year.

So, like the Harry Potter series, will the other books be released in film versions as well?

As of now, it looks like the answer is no. Whether or not movie rights would be offered for Eldest was supposed to be based on the success of Eragon. Eragon wasn’t well-received by the masses and, unless something changes, its sequels will never see the light of day.

When you are ready to do your website for your book or your publishing company you will have a lot of decisions. You will wonder if you need a blog. The answer is yes. Most sites do have blogs these days. And then you will wonder how to go about that.

Some sites just link out to a free blogspot blog. Other use Wordpress. And some use Moveable Type or another platform. Although I think it goes without saying that Wordpress is the standard. And it is super easy to use. So, if you can, you should really think about going with Wordpress for your blog.

If you have started your publishing company, you will have to find distribution. Now you can sign up with a distribution company. That is if you can find a distributor that will take you. And they will take part of your profit. Or you can deal with that headache your self. If you decide for that, one of the places you will be selling your books to is Baker & Taylor. Why? Because most libraries buy through them. And in my experience they are always slow to pay their invoices. So that is something to keep in mind.

You know, while you are trying to think of places other than book stores to sell books there is something you want to consider. You want to try to use the internet to sell books. And not just in the traditional sense. Take all of the people that start blogs and end up getting book deals.

Some blog to book examples are Indexed, Zen Habits, Waiter Rant, Stuff White People Like, PostSecret and the I Can Haz Chezburger people (or however you misspell that).

People are also using YouTube to create some effective viral marketing for their books. The opportunities are limitless.