Literally Racing Along

There's been a great deal going on lately in the My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain world lately.

I was interviewed on the Layered Pages blog, as part of my B.R.A.G. Medallion recognition. I think it came out fairly well - I'm hoping to book more of these interviews in the coming months leading to the debut of the second book in the series.

I released a new book trailer. I'm much happier with this than the original version. It's a very simple tease that I think catches the spirit of the story.

The book trailer (and the landing page linked above) was the center of a Facebook Ad campaign I recently concluded. My primary gain in the campaign was a higher profile, rather than outright sales. The ad itself received numerous likes (which I hadn't expected), and I added more followers to the Facebook Page. To be perfectly honest, the trailer and the campaign didn't translate to sales, at least as far as I can see at the moment (for some markets, sales reports might take up to a month or two to appear). I still haven't quite worked out right approach to turn interest into results.  There are so many factors at play(subject matter, audience reach, ad timing, advertising materials, for example), and it's going to take time to understand exactly how to make this work more effectively. Independent reaction to the book has been positive—but I'm still working on the marketing learning curve...

In the meantime, I'm moving on with the second book in the Food Chain series, and have now delivered a draft to my editor (The Book Scrubber). If my last experience was any indication, we'll be working on this for the next couple of months to further develop and finalize the book for publication. I'm hoping to launch it this fall. I think it captures the spirit of the original, while it moves Alexander's story forward in a fun new direction.

In the next few days, I'll be sharing the title of the new book, and a few plot details. Check here, the Facebook page, or Twitter @rickflix for the latest. Reviewers interested in an advance copy should let me know as soon as possible.

The Vlogger Interviews: Peter Ilagan [JourneysOfLifeVlogs]

This episode of my webseries, "TheVlogger Interviews" features Peter Illagan, known on YouTube at JourneysOfLifeVlogs.

Just who are Vloggers, anyway?  Yes, the obvious answer is that they're "video bloggers," but that's too simple an answer, I think.  They're not filmmakers, as we've come to understand the craft (and anyway, that's a dated term).  YouTubers are often called "content creators," but that's a term that seems awfully bland for what the site has come to represent.

Peter Ilagan, of the YouTube channel, Journeysoflifevlogs, has found expression for himself as an artist in a several different forms - as a sketch artist, as a painter - and as a writer.  In fact, he began his YouTube experience after publishing his book of short stories, Journeys of Life.  He saw social media at first as a way to promote his book, but rapidly discovered that he liked creating videos and posting them online.

"I've come to realize that I like the aspect of making videos for YouTube social media because it gives me a chance to be more creative, obviously, and just express my thoughts in a way I never could have imagined.  I mean, I'm a little more funny in the videos that I expected to be I guess, and I just like the fact that I can put it together in like a two or three minute video and just put it out there for people to see and just really enjoy and hopefully entertain them."

Some might call that a thirst for immediate gratification, but if you're an artist - you know that there's huge satisfaction in knowing that you're actually reaching and touching your audience.  I asked Peter if he's a writer who vlogs, or a vlogger who writes.  His answer, I think, sums up the multi-dimesional canvas that, thanks to technology, is at our fingertips - and makes defining social media-centered artists so hard to define.

"I don't look at myself as a writer who vlogs, or a vlogger who writes.  I look at myself more as a vlogger who creates, using whatever means I feel is the best way to express my creativity."

Take a look at Peter's interview here or on my YouTube channel, and then check out Peter's main channel.

And if you really want the full "Journeys of Life" experience, here's a secret:  make sure you follow him on Twitter - he's got a wickedly dry sense of humor.   And I don't use the word "wickedly" too often...