James Marinero's Posts - The Book Marketing Network2024-03-29T05:47:20ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinerohttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2977890218?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=13cgpdczh17u7&xn_auth=noFree thriller eBook Sicilian Channeltag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2017-06-22:523145:BlogPost:7042312017-06-22T08:57:17.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>Want some free reading thrills? For a limited time I'm offering a free copy of my thriller 'Sicilian Channel', which follows on from 'Gate of Tears'. Get a copy now on my website at <a href="http://jamesmarinero.com" target="_blank">www.jamesmarinero.com</a> …<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997494684?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997494684?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>Want some free reading thrills? For a limited time I'm offering a free copy of my thriller 'Sicilian Channel', which follows on from 'Gate of Tears'. Get a copy now on my website at <a href="http://jamesmarinero.com" target="_blank">www.jamesmarinero.com</a> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997494684?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997494684?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-full" width="750"/></a></p>
<p></p>'Sword of Allah' eBook giveawaytag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2016-10-04:523145:BlogPost:6904842016-10-04T10:30:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>I've just launched 'Sword of Allah' and I'm running a limited time promotion, currently giving away 100 ebook copies ( more about the book at <a href="http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/sword-of-allah-book-launch-just-2-weeks-to-go" target="_self">http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/sword-of-allah-book-launch-just-2-weeks-to-go</a> ).</p>
<p>If you'd like some suspense and nail-biting moments then hop over to …</p>
<p>I've just launched 'Sword of Allah' and I'm running a limited time promotion, currently giving away 100 ebook copies ( more about the book at <a href="http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/sword-of-allah-book-launch-just-2-weeks-to-go" target="_self">http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/sword-of-allah-book-launch-just-2-weeks-to-go</a> ).</p>
<p>If you'd like some suspense and nail-biting moments then hop over to <a href="http://www.jamesmarinero.com/Sword-of-Allah.html#SOA" target="_blank">http://www.jamesmarinero.com/Sword-of-Allah.html#SOA</a> now and get yourself a copy!<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2865901582?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2865901582?profile=original" class="align-center" width="600"/></a></p>Sword of Allah book launch - just 2 weeks to go!tag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2016-09-05:523145:BlogPost:6894032016-09-05T20:49:44.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>The second in my 'Maghreb Triliogy', this is a bang up to date techno thriller. <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997491631?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997491631?profile=original" width="200"></img></a></p>
<p>In February 2016 North Korea announced the successful testing of a fusion bomb. This sets the backdrop to frantic diplomatic activity and a multi-threaded tale of intrigue. Outrageous demands by a visionary terrorist group become public and throw the United Nations into…</p>
<p>The second in my 'Maghreb Triliogy', this is a bang up to date techno thriller. <a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997491631?profile=original"><img class="align-right" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997491631?profile=original" width="200"/></a></p>
<p>In February 2016 North Korea announced the successful testing of a fusion bomb. This sets the backdrop to frantic diplomatic activity and a multi-threaded tale of intrigue. Outrageous demands by a visionary terrorist group become public and throw the United Nations into panic.</p>
<p>Ex-Royal Marine Steve Baldwin has been involved in trying to capture an old enemy, Maruška Pavkovic, in Malta, but changed priorities resulting from the British Government’s dark objectives move the action to North Africa where political instability is the norm and duplicity the name of the game.</p>
<p>Baldwin is in the thick of it in more ways than one with Ellie Williams, a senior British agent, as they try to prevent disaster. Events overtake him and he is caught in a whirlpool of powerful intrigue which is too strong for him to fight against. Is he a hero or just a victim?</p>
<p>Thousands of lives are at stake, but the UK Prime Minister is bent on secretly acquiring the technology for her country. It’s an outrageous gamble with the lives of her soldiers – and the diplomatic reputation of the UK. Can Baldwin and Williams save the day – and the Prime Minister’s reputation – or will the mistakes be buried?</p>
<p>Launching 19 Sept 2016, available now for pre-order from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L0I9VXM" target="_blank">Amazon</a>; <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/james-marinero/sword-of-allah/ebook/product-22840202.html" target="_blank">Lulu</a> or from my <a href="https://gumroad.com/jamesmarinero#" target="_blank">secure shop</a>.</p>Sicilian Channel Launched: Exploring North African Islamist Terrorismtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2016-05-10:523145:BlogPost:6836422016-05-10T14:39:18.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p><span class="font-size-3">Lymington, UK, 10<sup>th</sup> May 2016 - From milkman to author, Lymington to Moscow, James Marinero has great stories to tell. His latest thriller, ‘Sicilian Channel’ is published today.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">This story reflects the upsurge of Islamist terrorism in North Africa - the Maghreb or Barbary Coast - attacking the ‘soft underbelly of Europe’ (Winston Churchill’s phrase).…</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Lymington, UK, 10<sup>th</sup> May 2016 - From milkman to author, Lymington to Moscow, James Marinero has great stories to tell. His latest thriller, ‘Sicilian Channel’ is published today.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">This story reflects the upsurge of Islamist terrorism in North Africa - the Maghreb or Barbary Coast - attacking the ‘soft underbelly of Europe’ (Winston Churchill’s phrase).<a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997491804?profile=original"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997491804?profile=original" width="200"/></a></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Steve Baldwin has sailed to Crete in his search for a quiet life. The Royal Marines had been his family, but now he is alone again – until he meets a waitress with a murky background. To avoid entanglement, Baldwin sets sail for Malta where he is dragged kicking into the pursuit of a psychopathic female assassin – Maruška Pavkovic – with whom he shares some painful, bloody history. Islamist terrorism is spreading across the Sicilian Channel from the Maghreb into the soft underbelly of Europe – and Malta, with its Crusader history, is a key target. </span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">James’s books have a nautical theme replete with sharply-researched locations, cultural background and leading-edge technology.</span></p>New direction, new booktag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2012-08-01:523145:BlogPost:5365762012-08-01T17:00:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>I've spent most of the past year working on a biography - a totally unexpected project for me. Now, Susan's Brother is published.</p>
<p>In 1957, at the age of 9, Susan’s brother was in an adult unit – a unit treating very seriously ill mental patients. In 1985, Susan’s brother took delivery of an Aston Martin DBS.<br></br> <br></br> The intervening 28 years hold a remarkable story about a man who grew and prospered as a successful engineering professional, but started out as a dyslexic ‘slow…</p>
<p>I've spent most of the past year working on a biography - a totally unexpected project for me. Now, Susan's Brother is published.</p>
<p>In 1957, at the age of 9, Susan’s brother was in an adult unit – a unit treating very seriously ill mental patients. In 1985, Susan’s brother took delivery of an Aston Martin DBS.<br/> <br/> The intervening 28 years hold a remarkable story about a man who grew and prospered as a successful engineering professional, but started out as a dyslexic ‘slow starter’, abused and unwanted by his parents and sister.<br/> <br/> Set in a Middle England which is recovering from the war, damaged buildings and infrastructure have to be repaired, but also damage people and damaged lives.<br/> <br/> This is based on a true history, a history that gives hope, a history that demonstrates how simple acts of kindness by friends and neighbours can help someone overcome tremendous handicaps, identity denial and family abuse to become a success both as a person and a parent.<br/> <br/> There is also a message about those who learn to abuse as children and continue that abuse into adulthood with their own children, and also about those in the extended family who turn a blind eye out of a misplaced sense of family loyalty.<br/> <br/> Several public personalities (some notorious), and Carl Jung, the eminent Swiss psychiatrist, are among those who briefly feature in the life of Susan's brother. <br/> <br/> This book has some dark moments, but it is a book written to uplift. As it was related to James, by Susan’s brother:<br/> <br/> “I want this book to show that ordinary people, doing ordinary things, can help someone get through the most appalling difficulties. If it wasn’t for the Tolhursts, I wouldn’t be here today”</p>Warning About Amazon - A Great Piece Of Marketingtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-12-20:523145:BlogPost:4999072011-12-20T07:00:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>A traditional bookstore owner has come up with a great idea for marketing his stores: An Amazon Warning Popup in the Google Chrome Browser!</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997452849?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997452849?profile=original" style="padding: 10px;" width="300"></img></a> The full story is at…</p>
<p>A traditional bookstore owner has come up with a great idea for marketing his stores: An Amazon Warning Popup in the Google Chrome Browser!</p>
<p></p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997452849?profile=original"><img class="align-left" style="padding: 10px;" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997452849?profile=original" width="300"/></a>The full story is at <a href="http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/12/web-pop-up-warns-you-to-stop-shopping-at-amazon/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PublishingPerspectives+%28Publishing+Perspectives%29&utm_content=Google+UK" target="_blank">publishingperspectives.com</a> , wherefrom came the image.</p>
<p>It's a neat idea, but does Marcus just have his finger in the dyke (that's for retaining water - no sexual allusion)? Sure, his battleground may well be with Amazon, but that's not the whole war for bookstore owners. eBooks is their War.</p>
<p>I saw some figures recently which suggested that a further 10% fall in trad-book sales would result in the closure of all bookstores. I don't know about that, but that has to come a point when volumes shrink to the level that makes trad-books unprofitable for traditional publishing houses.</p>
<p>Makes you think!</p>
<p></p>ePub at Last!tag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-12-10:523145:BlogPost:4990922011-12-10T22:30:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>At last I got round to revisiting my back-burner ePub project for Gate of Tears. Loading onto Amazon was easy - I did that months ago, but then gave up on the ePub version. Well, this week I cracked it. Then I found that choosing a distributor was a nightmare.</p>
<p>In the end I loaded it onto Lulu.com. It was quick, clean and easy as I'd got it through epubcheck1.2 at long last, before I attempted the Lulu load. It was up and available within 2 hours. Pretty good, given it's only 2 weeks…</p>
<p>At last I got round to revisiting my back-burner ePub project for Gate of Tears. Loading onto Amazon was easy - I did that months ago, but then gave up on the ePub version. Well, this week I cracked it. Then I found that choosing a distributor was a nightmare.</p>
<p>In the end I loaded it onto Lulu.com. It was quick, clean and easy as I'd got it through epubcheck1.2 at long last, before I attempted the Lulu load. It was up and available within 2 hours. Pretty good, given it's only 2 weeks to Christmas and a Saturday, to boot. <a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/gate-of-tears/18740807" target="_blank">GateofTears on Lulu</a> Now I just need to write up some notes to remind myself next time.</p>
<p>I'd heard that the non-Kindle ereader market was as big the Kindle market. I live in hope, and with a lot of determination! It coincides with the release this week of the video trailer for Gate of Tears, including custom music. Let me know what you think!</p>
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EPvi6w5sYGM?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
</p>
<p>If anyone's interested, I'm writing an article on how we made the trailer. Cost was <$30 plus my time.</p>
<p>A very merry Christmas to you, and a successful selling month!</p>Freemium Publishing - Chinese Modeltag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-11-07:523145:BlogPost:4912372011-11-07T02:30:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>Probably a bit off-blogtheme, but useful information nevertheless for authors about how the publishing world is changing.</p>
<p><a href="http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/11/freemium-self-published-fiction-china/comment-page-1/#comment-25935" target="_blank">http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/11/freemium-self-published-fiction-china/comment-page-1/#comment-25935</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Probably a bit off-blogtheme, but useful information nevertheless for authors about how the publishing world is changing.</p>
<p><a href="http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/11/freemium-self-published-fiction-china/comment-page-1/#comment-25935" target="_blank">http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/11/freemium-self-published-fiction-china/comment-page-1/#comment-25935</a></p>
<p> </p>Book Marketing Tip - Sharing the Word with Librariestag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-08-20:523145:BlogPost:4720402011-08-20T15:30:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>My publisher sent me off this week, off with parcel of books. Copies of '<a href="http://www.gateoftears.com" target="_blank">Gate of Tears</a>' to deliver to my local county library.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the UK, public libraries are under threat of execution. Many (some reports say 400) are seriously threatened because of cuts in public expenditure. Book acquisitions are being cut.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>'You're a new product' my publisher says. You need to build a readership. Fair enough. Free…</p>
<p>My publisher sent me off this week, off with parcel of books. Copies of '<a href="http://www.gateoftears.com" target="_blank">Gate of Tears</a>' to deliver to my local county library.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the UK, public libraries are under threat of execution. Many (some reports say 400) are seriously threatened because of cuts in public expenditure. Book acquisitions are being cut.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>'You're a new product' my publisher says. You need to build a readership. Fair enough. Free samples. Just like a new soft drink or chocolate bar. Hmmm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But then I got to thinking. Maybe he's right, and building a following is important (ok, that's a no-brainer). Every free sample chocolate bar gets eaten once, but each library copy may be loaned and read 50 times - now that's leverage. I was starting to taste the chocolate!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, let's start unwrapping the bar. There are payments from the UK Government to registered authors under the Public Lending Right Act 1979, too, currently at a rate of about 6 pence (9 US cents) per loan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>James Patterson's books are borrowed about 1.5 million times a year in the UK. Tasty. Building a brand, creating demand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, the plan was to donate some copies of 'Gate of Tears' to the libraries in my local county. Emails were exchanged - they were keen to have the copies. My publisher, <a href="http://www.ezeebooks.co.uk" target="_blank">eZeeBooks</a> , included some customised posters and a bunch of bookmarks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just one aspect of book marketing, and because they were donated without charge, they were helping my local libraries. Books wear out, and new stock has to be acquired with shrinking budgets. Good thinking, glad to help.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>One small seed cast on a prairie. I do hope it was not a chocolate wrapper and a field of stones.</p>
<p> </p>Tip - Using Your Book Research For Marketingtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-08-18:523145:BlogPost:4714722011-08-18T05:00:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>Forgive me if this has been said somewhere else, but as I progress with my books, my approach to writing and marketing is changing. There's a tip here that some of you might find useful.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My work includes some scientific topics, politics, naval and aerial conflict, medical conditions and a host of other areas which require detailed research. When I do my research (and some of it is done during the writing of the book as a plot twists and turns), I organise my new knowledge…</p>
<p>Forgive me if this has been said somewhere else, but as I progress with my books, my approach to writing and marketing is changing. There's a tip here that some of you might find useful.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My work includes some scientific topics, politics, naval and aerial conflict, medical conditions and a host of other areas which require detailed research. When I do my research (and some of it is done during the writing of the book as a plot twists and turns), I organise my new knowledge into articles. These articles will typically include some or all of: a background, current knowledge, interesting facts and 'writebites', the future, and a summary. There may be several articles on one relevant topic - an overview, then a couple of articles on specific aspects.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>OK, why do this?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>1. It deepens my knowledge of the topic.</p>
<p>2. It provides easily accessible reference material.</p>
<p>3. It provides me with some 'boilerplate' - what I call 'writebites' for the novel, and</p>
<p>4. ...I have more or less ready-made article for article marketing when the book is published.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now, I've got to admit that I didn't write my first book in that way, but the technique has emerged as I've progressed. <a href="http://www.jamesmarinero.com/Research-Articles/" target="_blank">Here are some examples</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I can see that this approach would even work for someone who writes historical novels.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>One final twist is that when a relevant news item comes up in the press, then I put out press releases which use the news item to link back to my articles and books. I've been really lucky in that respect, as <a href="http://www.jamesmarinero.com/Publications/" target="_blank">'Gate of Tears'</a> is topical in many news events at the moment, and 'Susan's Brother' is topical in respect of abused children and family breakdown in the UK. So, there's plenty of mileage there.</p>
<p><br/>I appreciate that adding the press release cycle is not relevant if you are writing, say, about the use of the mystical metaphor by Omar Khayyam, but you never know. If someone publishes a new translation of the Rubaiyat or a new treatise on Khayyam, then even then one could use the P R loop.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>J</p>Creative Press Releasestag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-08-09:523145:BlogPost:4668732011-08-09T08:00:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>Where did this guy come from? My publisher has been nagging me about press releases. So, we got creative.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Depending on genre, you can use snippets from your books to generate press releases. In my genre - techno-thrillers - it is perhaps easier than for say a genre such as literary fiction. We have a few press releases along the lines that follow:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>START</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>30 Megajoule Electromagnetic Pulse Gun Technology - A Reality?</strong><br></br><br></br>A…</p>
<p>Where did this guy come from? My publisher has been nagging me about press releases. So, we got creative.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Depending on genre, you can use snippets from your books to generate press releases. In my genre - techno-thrillers - it is perhaps easier than for say a genre such as literary fiction. We have a few press releases along the lines that follow:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>START</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>30 Megajoule Electromagnetic Pulse Gun Technology - A Reality?</strong><br/><br/>A detailed description of electromagnetic pulse gun technology in a hand-held pistol form. Could a hand-held energy pulse weapon be built? Does one exist? <br/><br/><strong><a href="http://www.jamesmarinero.com" target="_blank">James Marinero</a></strong> explores the concept in <strong>'<a href="http://www.gateoftears.com" target="_blank">Gate of Tears</a>'</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here are some edited snippets:<br/><br/>“Yes, it looks a bit like the standard issue L107A1 – the old SIG 226 – deliberately, with the same weight, balance, trigger pull weight. This, though, is the latest gear – British manufacture I’m proud to say. Mostly plastic. No projectiles – it’s an energy pulse weapon. We call it an epigun. <br/><br/>Point and shoot. Lethal, or not, choose as you fire. Aim for torso. A regular trigger pull for stun, a double tap usually kills. The stun pulse disrupts the nervous system of the target for a few minutes, incapacitates them for an hour or so, a bit like a tasar. The double tap sends the heart into deep arrhythmia from which it does not stabilise. Composite Kevlar derivative armour is no protection. Complete recovery from stun in most cases – except memory- but even stun could be fatal if the subject has a heart problem.<br/><br/>Infra red sights with illuminator - here where you’d expect a Maglite torch. Has a high temperature spot target designator– you’ll be wearing a headset with night vision goggles even though the moon is up so you can see into the shadows. Charge in the energy cell is good for 30 kill shots, silent, no flash. <br/><br/>“You may see a slight flicker of light when you hit your target – metal or animal. Oh, and it’s good for disrupting most electronics unless they are very heavily shielded.”<br/><br/>Steve toted the pistol, and could see that the barrel appeared to be blocked.<br/><br/>Don nodded. “Yes, there’s a specially shaped alloy core inside the barrel – room temperature superconductor or so I’m told, together with neodymium rare earth magnetry. It maximises and focuses the pulse energy – like a directional aerial. It’s all electronic – no hammer action, decocking lever, dead simple....<br/><br/>“No drop either as there’s no bullet for gravity to act on, though it makes no difference at 20 metres” Don continued.</p>
<p><br/>“If you want more recoil then we can adjust that too, but it reduces the load by about 50% if we dial it up to the recoil of the 226. Muzzle energy is 15 kiljoules equivalent – that’s the same as a .50 calibre heavy machine gun. Energy cell holds 1 megajoule, only half is usable though.”...<br/><br/>“Hell Don, I’m a soldier not a scientist. I once went out with a girl called Jools and yeh, she was known as Megajools – 42 double D chest. That’s all it means to me. How come you know so much about this weapon?”...<br/><br/>“I headed the evaluation and operation acceptance testing team, so I should know...<br/><br/>(c) 2011 James Marinero. Extracts may be reproduced by <em>bone fide</em> journalists</p>
<p> </p>
<p>END</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You should choose the keywords carefully. Although we are categorising the press release in Arts/Entertainment / Books, the main keywords are topic-related and designed to pick up a specific technical audience:</p>
<p>keywords<br/>pulse weapon,magnetic pulse gun,new gun,new weapon,new thriller,new novel, james marinero,gate of tears</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I hope that you found this useful.</p>
<p>J</p>Maybe A Useful Guide To An Author For Booksales, But Otherwise A C##p Videotag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-08-02:523145:BlogPost:4628202011-08-02T20:57:35.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>Do you need a point of sale display? Well they are easy to make (< $2). Here's a cheap and cheerful video about how you can put together a low-cost counter-top bookstand. Why only put them in bookstores?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What goes around comes around! Find it useful? Yes? Then how's about a like on Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jamesmarinero">http://www.facebook.com/jamesmarinero</a> or follow my blog…</p>
<p>Do you need a point of sale display? Well they are easy to make (< $2). Here's a cheap and cheerful video about how you can put together a low-cost counter-top bookstand. Why only put them in bookstores?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What goes around comes around! Find it useful? Yes? Then how's about a like on Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jamesmarinero">http://www.facebook.com/jamesmarinero</a> or follow my blog <a href="http://www.jamesmarinero.blogspot.com">http://www.jamesmarinero.blogspot.com</a> ?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>James</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R0Wm4Nba8FY" width="425" frameborder="0" height="349"></iframe>
</p>The Importance Of Book Cover Design - Setting Out Your Ideastag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-07-31:523145:BlogPost:4604672011-07-31T10:30:00.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gate-Tears-James-Marinero/dp/0956842607" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997450506?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="130"></img></a> I worked with my publisher to produce a design brief, so we could get quotes for the cover design of 'Gate of Tears' - I hadn't realised that it was such a detailed job.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the end we found a great designer, but even so, he didn't read or absorb the brief thoroughly and it seems there was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing. I ended up with something completely different to what I…</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gate-Tears-James-Marinero/dp/0956842607"><img width="130" class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2997450506?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="130"/></a>I worked with my publisher to produce a design brief, so we could get quotes for the cover design of 'Gate of Tears' - I hadn't realised that it was such a detailed job.</p>
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<p>In the end we found a great designer, but even so, he didn't read or absorb the brief thoroughly and it seems there was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing. I ended up with something completely different to what I expected, but my publisher thinks it's good. Pictures of planes and submarines (which figured in the designs in my mind) can cut down female 'pickups' in bookstores, and we didn't end up with any! We ran four sample designs past a panel of a dozen 'target' customers, and this one came out well ahead.</p>
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<p>Anyway, for others who are about to commission a book cover design, here's the one we used for Gate of Tears (ISBN 978-09568426-0-2): <a href="http://www.ezeebooks.co.uk/Book-Cover-Design-Brief.html" target="_blank">Gate of Tears Design Cover Design Brief</a> - you may find the template useful.</p>
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<p>And, here's an article about <a href="http://www.ezeebooks.co.uk/Articles/Publishing/Why-You-Need-A-Book-Cover-Design-Brief.html" target="_blank">Book Cover Design Briefs</a> by the publisher. Remember to get your designer to throw in high definition versions for Kindle covers and promotional materials, as the actual book cover design itself may not scale neatly down to thumbnails or up to posters.</p>Gate of Tears is Heretag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-07-30:523145:BlogPost:4600312011-07-30T10:44:50.000ZJames Marinerohttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/JamesMarinero
<p>I was finishing the last chapters of my thriller <strong> </strong><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gate-Tears-James-Marinero/dp/0956842607" target="_blank">'Gate of Tears'</a> in March this year, in an apartment in Malta, overlooking the sea. British Tornadoes were flying on their way to and from bombing missions in LIbya, and I could see warships and ferries bringing refugees from Libya into Malta (just a couple of hundred miles away). The main political and superpower action in 'Gate of…</p>
<p>I was finishing the last chapters of my thriller <strong> </strong><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gate-Tears-James-Marinero/dp/0956842607" target="_blank">'Gate of Tears'</a> in March this year, in an apartment in Malta, overlooking the sea. British Tornadoes were flying on their way to and from bombing missions in LIbya, and I could see warships and ferries bringing refugees from Libya into Malta (just a couple of hundred miles away). The main political and superpower action in 'Gate of Tears' takes place a few years hence, in the Red Sea, where the strategic oil chokepoint - the Strait known as Gate of Tears (Bab el Mandeb in Arabic) is just twenty miles wide.</p>
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<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2894236460?profile=original"><img width="130" class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2894236460?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="130"/></a>Other action sequences are set in the Yemen, and Djibouti, which border the Strait, and extrapolate the rapid growth of China as a superpower, with its 'Golden Shield' intelligence gathering operation around the world and on the internet.</p>
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<p>It has been a fascinating exercise, and I was even able to bring in details of the death of Osama bin Laden, before my publisher got it into print in June.</p>
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<p>With strong characters established, I have another three books lined up and under way, and I hope to learn a lot here about the marketing process.</p>
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<p>Coming soon on Kindle too!</p>