In my ever-more-desperate attempts to garner a job offer, I've been redesigning bits of my website, to act as a portfolio of what I can do.
The latest update is to the Vreski Wards pages. I originally coded this playful little site as a Facebook App, specifically for promoting my first Novel.
This recode is far more ambitious, as I'm using it as a demonstration both of my coding skills (the code includes jQuery, raphael.js and moment.js tidbits) and my ability to build a fairly pleasing user front-end.
Vreski wards website
Vreski wards facebook app
Vreski wards facebook community page
jQuery gets more fantastic the more it matures. There's AJAX stuff hidden within the slidey pages and snazzy tags magic - who knew that AJAX could be made so simple to code up, huh?
And Raphael makes web graphics do-able - which is a godsend for me as I've never been able to play nicely with flash.
As to the Vreski Wards themselves? It's nice to have finally finished all the text snippets (including 90 sprite descriptions). The new site is finished, and polished, and a vast improvement on the old site. I'm proud to have it as part of my portfolio.
It's a bit of fun - feel free to enjoy it. (And buy my book!)
Showing posts with label promotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label promotion. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Free poems for your eReader
To Posterity
Rik's latest chapbook of poems, published September 2010.
hardcopy from lulu.com £2.49 +p&p
eBook from Smashwords.com - £free
22 Facets of my Father
A set of poems loosely inspired by the Major Arcana tarot cards, investigating the relationship between a father and a son.
hardcopy from lulu.com £2.49 +p&p
eBook from Smashwords.com - £free
Play Time
These 22 poems are some of my earlier work, from the poems that survived the post-puberty bonfire up to around the turn of the century.
hardcopy from lulu.com £2.49 +p&p
eBook from Smashwords.com - £free
From Each Skull, A Story
None of the people described in these poems are real - they've all emerged fully formed from my imagination. Feel free to draw whatever conclusions you like from this admission.
hardcopy from lulu.com £1.99 +p&p
eBook from Smashwords.com - £free
Poems to Quote to your Lover
In this collection, I am proud to present you with some love. These poems deal with loves and relationships in all their wonderful and woeful manifestations.
hardcopy from lulu.com £1.99 +p&p
eBook from Smashwords.com - £free
Sunday, July 03, 2011
My very first reader review ...
... for The Gods in the Jungle is in, fifteen months after the book was first published!
I'm currently running a Summer Madness promotion for the book - people can download it for free from the Smashwords website (link above) by using the coupon code NR38B at the checkout thingy - offer expires: July 15, 2011.
I'm currently running a Summer Madness promotion for the book - people can download it for free from the Smashwords website (link above) by using the coupon code NR38B at the checkout thingy - offer expires: July 15, 2011.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Webbiegrrl's Writings
Some people are not content to just sit back and expect the world to discover their work. Some people go out and actively promote themselves.
I am not one of those people ... which is entirely my fault.
Some people go even further. Not only do they promote their own work, they also promote the work of other people. They offer up advice on marketing and promotion. They share tips and tricks with other writers. They go the extra mile to help other independently published authors. They do this without asking for payment, or favours.
Such people shame me, make me realise just how self-centred I can be.
One such person is Sarah, the Webbiegrrl Writer. She is tireless in her efforts for others. Even for wastrels like me. Here's her blog, if either of you don't believe me. Add it to your bookmarks: you won't be sorry!
I am not one of those people ... which is entirely my fault.
Some people go even further. Not only do they promote their own work, they also promote the work of other people. They offer up advice on marketing and promotion. They share tips and tricks with other writers. They go the extra mile to help other independently published authors. They do this without asking for payment, or favours.
Such people shame me, make me realise just how self-centred I can be.
One such person is Sarah, the Webbiegrrl Writer. She is tireless in her efforts for others. Even for wastrels like me. Here's her blog, if either of you don't believe me. Add it to your bookmarks: you won't be sorry!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
For anyone about to embark on their summer holidays
Here you go ...
Rik's Smashwords summer madness giveaway coupon
for The Gods in the Jungle (£free):
Promotional price: $0.00
Coupon Code: NR38B
Expires: July 15, 2011
Don't tell anyone else!
Rik's Smashwords summer madness giveaway coupon
for The Gods in the Jungle (£free):
Promotional price: $0.00
Coupon Code: NR38B
Expires: July 15, 2011
Don't tell anyone else!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
It's all about the cover, innit
So I've been wondering if the abysmal sales of my Tome might possibly be down to the cover I designed for it. I have no money to pay a proper artist to design a book cover for me, so I have to make it up as I go along. People say an unattractive cover can kill book sales, and I recently read that the least attractive colour for selling a book is olive green.
No prizes for guessing which colours Rik went for when cobbling together the Tome's cover last year. Would you buy this book?
Version 1
So anyway, I thought it would do no harm to try again. This time I've decided to go for something a little more colourful ...
Version 2
The question is: would either of you be more willing to buy the book if it came tucked inside that second cover?
EDIT #1 - following comments received in other venues.
The new cover is too "wishy-washy". So I've tried again using a darker, more jungly background. Does this work any better?
Version 3
EDIT #2 - after further feedback ... a revised new alternate version:
Version 4
... and just because I'm getting bored with the business of it all, a simpler revised new alternate version:
Version 5
Edit #3 - a new day, a new version:
Version 6
No prizes for guessing which colours Rik went for when cobbling together the Tome's cover last year. Would you buy this book?
Version 1
So anyway, I thought it would do no harm to try again. This time I've decided to go for something a little more colourful ...
Version 2
The question is: would either of you be more willing to buy the book if it came tucked inside that second cover?
EDIT #1 - following comments received in other venues.
The new cover is too "wishy-washy". So I've tried again using a darker, more jungly background. Does this work any better?
Version 3
EDIT #2 - after further feedback ... a revised new alternate version:
Version 4
... and just because I'm getting bored with the business of it all, a simpler revised new alternate version:
Version 5
Edit #3 - a new day, a new version:
Version 6
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Goodreads 1, Rik 0
... so I'm trying to set myself up on Goodreads. It's proving to be a bit of a bugger because the two books the site already had in its database for me were not (exactly) the books I wanted listing: one was my first ever poetry book, now retired and put out to pasture, while the other was the smashwords version of The Gods in the Jungle. So none of my other lulu.com hardcopy poetry chapbooks and books, no hardcopy version of GiJ, and no mention of kindle versions anywhere!
That's me, that is!
Obviously there's still some work to do, and then I've got to figure out all the groups and social interactive stuff. Advice from Goodreads regulars would be most helpful.
Also, should I offer people free copies of GiJ? The promotion I did on this blog last year resulted in 1 (one) copy being downloaded. Cursed, my name is: cursed!
That's me, that is!
Obviously there's still some work to do, and then I've got to figure out all the groups and social interactive stuff. Advice from Goodreads regulars would be most helpful.
Also, should I offer people free copies of GiJ? The promotion I did on this blog last year resulted in 1 (one) copy being downloaded. Cursed, my name is: cursed!
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Indie Spotlight
The Indie Spotlight exists to showcase/promote independently published books available on the Kindle eReader. One book gets showcased each day.
I've no idea how effective the site is as a promotional tool, but I'm about to find out: I've just had an email to say my Tome (and I) will be showcased at the site on Thursday (20 Jan).
Hopefully my Kindle sales will soar (towards the double digits) ...
I've no idea how effective the site is as a promotional tool, but I'm about to find out: I've just had an email to say my Tome (and I) will be showcased at the site on Thursday (20 Jan).
Hopefully my Kindle sales will soar (towards the double digits) ...
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Time for a little honesty, Rik?
The truth is, I don't understand why people have no interest in buying my book, The Gods in the Jungle, either as hardcopy or eBook.
Everything I do to promote the book results in ... nothing. Quirky Facebook app to promote the book - ignored. Tweets and blogposts - unread, I assume. In the runup to crimbotide I offered the book as a free download over at Smashwords, resulting in one additional full download.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I do have some suspicions:
1. The book is crap, but nobody has the bollocks to tell me I've written an unreadable book;
2. My networking and promotional skills are abysmal;
3. Some bastard has placed an obscurity curse on me; or (my favourite)
4. All of the above.
I know, I know. Move on to something different, Rik. And stop moaning: it ain't making me look my prettiest.
Everything I do to promote the book results in ... nothing. Quirky Facebook app to promote the book - ignored. Tweets and blogposts - unread, I assume. In the runup to crimbotide I offered the book as a free download over at Smashwords, resulting in one additional full download.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I do have some suspicions:
1. The book is crap, but nobody has the bollocks to tell me I've written an unreadable book;
2. My networking and promotional skills are abysmal;
3. Some bastard has placed an obscurity curse on me; or (my favourite)
4. All of the above.
I know, I know. Move on to something different, Rik. And stop moaning: it ain't making me look my prettiest.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Rik the Unproductive?
It's amazing what happens when Rik manages to distract himself from the writing.
First there was the whole publishing stuff to Kindle thing (publishing the Tome (UKians go here) was easy; working out how to publish poetry was a right bugger).
Then there was the idea of doing a booktrailer to promote the Tome - well, lotsa people are getting a Kindle for crimbo, so why not get them to read the Tome in the new year? Which led Rik to downloading a whole host of new software for making the booktrailer: FotoMorph for mucking around with photos, OpenMPT for composing a soundtrack to the potential video (hollow logs and blowing-over-milk-bottles stuff, if you're asking), MS Expression Encoder 4 for capturing video of a spinning (GoogleEarth) globe of Rik's constructed world - because it's cool, 'kay, etc, etc, etc. Which all needs to be learned and mastered before Rik getsdown to the actual building the booktrailer thing.
Is that enough distraction-from-writing-books to be getting on with? Of course not! Rik's latest idea is to have a stunning booktrailer showing people some of the story ... which, as Rik doesn't have money for actors and the like, means doing it in animation. But not any old animation, oh no. Rik has to do it in proper 3D raytraced animation, which means he's downloaded that granddaddy of bastard software packages to learn - Blender - and he's already 3 days into learning how to model like an old pro.
So Rik apologises for not writing and editing more of the work-in-progress. He cannot resist the shiny.
First there was the whole publishing stuff to Kindle thing (publishing the Tome (UKians go here) was easy; working out how to publish poetry was a right bugger).
Then there was the idea of doing a booktrailer to promote the Tome - well, lotsa people are getting a Kindle for crimbo, so why not get them to read the Tome in the new year? Which led Rik to downloading a whole host of new software for making the booktrailer: FotoMorph for mucking around with photos, OpenMPT for composing a soundtrack to the potential video (hollow logs and blowing-over-milk-bottles stuff, if you're asking), MS Expression Encoder 4 for capturing video of a spinning (GoogleEarth) globe of Rik's constructed world - because it's cool, 'kay, etc, etc, etc. Which all needs to be learned and mastered before Rik getsdown to the actual building the booktrailer thing.
Is that enough distraction-from-writing-books to be getting on with? Of course not! Rik's latest idea is to have a stunning booktrailer showing people some of the story ... which, as Rik doesn't have money for actors and the like, means doing it in animation. But not any old animation, oh no. Rik has to do it in proper 3D raytraced animation, which means he's downloaded that granddaddy of bastard software packages to learn - Blender - and he's already 3 days into learning how to model like an old pro.
So Rik apologises for not writing and editing more of the work-in-progress. He cannot resist the shiny.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The RikVerse on Kindle
Hot on the heels of my first Kindle eChap, I'm releasing the other four chaps as a single book. This is possibly silly, as maybe people would prefer to download 22 poems rather than have to wade through 88. And apparently (according to some) the more books you have for sale on Amazon, the more sales you're likely to make. But what the heck.
The RikVerse Volume 1 for US Kindlians ($4.99ish, hopefully cheaper)
The RikVerse Volume 1 for UK Kindlians (£3.67)
The RikVerse Volume 1 for US Kindlians ($4.99ish, hopefully cheaper)
The RikVerse Volume 1 for UK Kindlians (£3.67)
Saturday, December 18, 2010
'To Posterity' and the Kindle
Kindle is shit for poetry, but I've been experimenting and may have come up with a way of showing linebreaks and strophe breaks that doesn't make the eyes bleed (too much).
Painting
|
| Walls are not blank. They soak in lives, each pore
| in the mortar a pit to house outbursts and tears.
|—
| We chose the scheme together: a brush of faint cream;
| a slice of simnel; a feather of fresh-hatched chick.
|—
| And so we paint: this emulsion stroke shall cover
| the time we argued the length of a bottle of whisky.
|—
| I texture the colour with cobwebs, old nets to catch
| forgotten meals, parties; the husks of anniversaries.
|—
| As the room grows in its new coat I follow your lines:
| dab wet gloss on the skirting, wipe spats from my hair.
|—
| When it is done, we make a good memory - a kiss -
| for the walls to record. A cat-hair glides in the fume.
To Posterity for US Kindlians ($2.99ish)
To Posterity for UK Kindlians (£2.21)
Painting
|
| Walls are not blank. They soak in lives, each pore
| in the mortar a pit to house outbursts and tears.
|—
| We chose the scheme together: a brush of faint cream;
| a slice of simnel; a feather of fresh-hatched chick.
|—
| And so we paint: this emulsion stroke shall cover
| the time we argued the length of a bottle of whisky.
|—
| I texture the colour with cobwebs, old nets to catch
| forgotten meals, parties; the husks of anniversaries.
|—
| As the room grows in its new coat I follow your lines:
| dab wet gloss on the skirting, wipe spats from my hair.
|—
| When it is done, we make a good memory - a kiss -
| for the walls to record. A cat-hair glides in the fume.
To Posterity for US Kindlians ($2.99ish)
To Posterity for UK Kindlians (£2.21)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Buying 'The Gods in the Jungle' for your Kindle:
USA - this page, or paste the following into your address bar and press return:
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Jungle-ebook/dp/B004GB1666
UK - this page, or paste the following into your address bar and press return:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gods-in-the-Jungle/dp/B004GB1666
Ireland - I assume you need to use the UK store
Canada - not yet listed, may be able to get it from the US
Australia/New Zealand - apparently you use the US store
Germany/France - not listed
Rest of the world - ???
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Jungle-ebook/dp/B004GB1666
UK - this page, or paste the following into your address bar and press return:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gods-in-the-Jungle/dp/B004GB1666
Ireland - I assume you need to use the UK store
Canada - not yet listed, may be able to get it from the US
Australia/New Zealand - apparently you use the US store
Germany/France - not listed
Rest of the world - ???
Monday, December 13, 2010
A Crimbo Prezzie for Both Readers of this Blog
It is the time for being un-grinchy and stuff, so I thought it would be a nice gesture for the season if I offered you both a present, as a way of saying thank you for sticking with this blog during its intermittent postings and occasional tantrums. Also, the lack of kitten photos.
So I've decided to give you both a copy of my book The Gods in the Jungle. For free. Happy Crimbotide!
All you have to do to get your crimbo prezzie is pop over to the book's homepage on Smashwords and press the buy button. When you get to the checkout, enter this coupon code ...
MC59R
... and the complete book shall be yours, gratis, forever more.
Coupons need to be redeemed on or before 24 December 2010.
Good reading, my friends, and the blessings of the season to you and yours!
So I've decided to give you both a copy of my book The Gods in the Jungle. For free. Happy Crimbotide!
All you have to do to get your crimbo prezzie is pop over to the book's homepage on Smashwords and press the buy button. When you get to the checkout, enter this coupon code ...
MC59R
... and the complete book shall be yours, gratis, forever more.
Coupons need to be redeemed on or before 24 December 2010.
Good reading, my friends, and the blessings of the season to you and yours!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
New Comments pages on Rikweb website
I've added a comments page to the Gods in the Jungle website - all shiny and linked to Facebook and everything.
(I've also (hopefully) fixed the comments pages on the RikVerse website. Please could either of you let me know if things aren't working properly. Thankee, innit.)
Enjoy!
(I've also (hopefully) fixed the comments pages on the RikVerse website. Please could either of you let me know if things aren't working properly. Thankee, innit.)
Enjoy!
Pimp my novel like a pro
As of 1 November 2010 The Gods in the Jungle will be part of the Smashwords Affiliate Program, with 61% of my royalties (around $1.20) from each sale going to whichever third party link to the book generates that sale. More information on the Smashwords Affiliate Program can be found on this Smashwords FAQ page.
If either of you are interested in earning somecash Affiliate commission, all you need to do is visit the GIJ page on Smashwords and paste the linking code supplied at the bottom of that page into any blogpost, review or webpage where you mention the book.
Plus you'll earn morecash Affiliate commission if people following that link go on to buy any other Smashwords book during their visit.
Win-Win, innit!
If either of you are interested in earning some
Plus you'll earn more
Win-Win, innit!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
I noticed something strange ...
... as I was updating my eBook download records from the website (yes, I am that anal):
Why the sudden spike in downloads for RikVerse Volume 1? Not that I'm complaining (please do continue downloading my eBooks as many times as you both like! I want you to read and enjoy my poems on your eReaders), but it just seems a bit wierd for the downloads on that one eBook to almost treble in a single month, especially as the latest version was launched back in March and I've been doing zero promotion for the book since then.
All in all, today has been a day of happy surprises. All I need now is for someone to offer me a paying job (or a lottery win) and my happiness will be complete.
Why the sudden spike in downloads for RikVerse Volume 1? Not that I'm complaining (please do continue downloading my eBooks as many times as you both like! I want you to read and enjoy my poems on your eReaders), but it just seems a bit wierd for the downloads on that one eBook to almost treble in a single month, especially as the latest version was launched back in March and I've been doing zero promotion for the book since then.
All in all, today has been a day of happy surprises. All I need now is for someone to offer me a paying job (or a lottery win) and my happiness will be complete.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Sunday, August 01, 2010
The Gods in the Jungle @ Apple iBooks
Just in case either of you couldn't find the book on the iBooks thingy, the links below will take you to the page:
US iBooks - price $3.99
Canada iBooks - price $3.99
UK iBooks - price £1.99
It migh be cheap but it certainly ain't nasty, innit!
US iBooks - price $3.99
Canada iBooks - price $3.99
UK iBooks - price £1.99
It migh be cheap but it certainly ain't nasty, innit!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Vreski Warding System #11
LINKS:
The Vreski Wards app on Facebook
The App's Facebook page (for comments and stuff)
The Vreski Wards homepage on rikweb.co.uk
40 sprite texts completed, 50 to go.
I'm almost there ...
The Vreski Wards app on Facebook
The App's Facebook page (for comments and stuff)
The Vreski Wards homepage on rikweb.co.uk
40 sprite texts completed, 50 to go.
I'm almost there ...
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