Great Webcomic Photoshop Tips

I have had my experience with webcomics and know how difficult it can be to get started.

There is too much information out there at times, which can be very overwhelming. This video by How to Webcomic, shows a great webcomic photoshop tutorial.

Check it out and get your pens ready.

6th Grade Reading Level Books

Seefer Elliot's homesite is a playground of recommendations for those who love middle grade reading. While it would be super cool of you to buy one of the Seefer Elliot books, there are plenty of other brilliant novels to sample.

One topic of discussion, Sixth Grader Reading Level Books will have an accompanying Google Hangout where you can join in and discuss your favorite reads.

I hope to see you on the Hangout. If you can't make, please be sure to check out the reading lists on SeeferElliot.com.

Creating a website to promote ebook

Traditional methods of book promotion aren't cutting it anymore. I have tried grassroots and hiring a publicist, but both failed to convert. Without an author being tied to a publisher, bookstores are not interested in that author's books. This leaves two options: create a publishing house or disregard dead-tree versions of the book.

I actually tried the first option. Snowdrops Publishing was born in early 2014, but it was expensive to start up and will be hard to maintain. With domain expenses, ISBN purchases, buying inventory, etc., the money was leaving m pocket much more easily.

So how am I going to get Seefer Elliot to become one of the most popular books for 6th graders? I decided to concentrate solely on e-marketing for 2015. After all, the growing population of middle schoolers who own electronic reading devices has swelled dramatically in the last few years. If I am not going to be seeing my book in a Barnes and Noble or the public library, I need to reach the other big marketplace: e-readers.

I have created a hub page, Seefer Elliot, to help make my book more Google-friendly. It is my hope that others looking for information about books in the genre will find this page and receive the information presented on it.

In conjuction with having a crawlable site, having the the domain name makes it much easier to drive traffic. Instead of having the long amazon URL, I can simply say "hey check out my website at ..."

Once at the website, users can jump to the Amazon purchase page. Making book one 99 cents is also part of the strategy.

I will update this in the future to inform you how it goes and if it translates into additional sales. Maybe one day, you'll hear about my book being one of the best 6th, 7th or 8th grade books to read from another source other than me. :) Here's hoping at least.

Now Available: Seefer Elliot and the Darkness Within

I felt very accomplished when I published my first book, Seefer Elliot and the World Aside Ours. I had fun writing and promoting that first attempt to become a novelist. Soon after the dust settled, I realized I had to get back to the drawing board (computer) and start the follow-up.

After a year of outlining, editing, re-writing, editing again, marketing and promoting, I am happy to announce that Seefer Elliot and the Darkness Within is now available everywhere.

If you haven't seen it, please have a look at the book trailer (which, I must say, is pretty cool):

And if you are anxious to read it, you will be happy to know that for a limited time, both books will be listed for $0.99 on Amazon. Get them while you can:

    

Thank you to all of those who have supported me along the way!

High fives!

Pat

Giveaway for Seefer Elliot and the Darkness Within

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Seefer Elliot and the Darkness Within

by Pat Mallon

Giveaway ends May 06, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

There may be 6 more days to go until the release of Seefer Elliot and the Darkness Within, but you can enter to win a copy now on Goodreads. All you have to do is follow the link above and put the book on your bookshelf. Good luck!

BTW, here's a shot of the cover, since I haven't shared that yet...

High Fives,

Pat

Seefer Elliot and the Darkness Within

On May 6th, I will be releasing Seefer Elliot and the Darkness Within. The sequel to The World Aside Ours has been the labor of love over the last year. When I published my first book last January, I felt very satisfied with the effort. I wrote the book with little plans to expand on the small universe I built. As time went by, ideas kept popping into my head for further adventures of the boy that would save the world. Thus, my hunger to pick up the pen continued.

The Darkness Within follows Seefer Elliot during the months following the alien attack on his school. Investigators are suspicious of Seefer as reports of his powers and feats begin to build. Meanwhile, a new threat hunts the boy the Omegans call "Cepheus."

I am very excited to show off the book trailer for this second edition. Please check it out and consider picking up a copy of The Darkness Within on May 6th.

Thanks,

Pat

New Cover for Seefer Elliot #1

With the release of Seefer Elliot #2 fastly approaching, it was time to bring the first book’s cover in line with the new cover format. The digital painting illustration is more in line with many middle-grade novels. I liked the old look, but I can see how it would have come off as slightly young for readers who are trying to identify with older material.

Original:

New:

What do you think?