editorial

Beware! Are You Getting Everything You Paid For?

Irene Watson

I keep harping on credibility because I believe being upfront is of utmost importance.  Embellishing information  on a website eventually catches up, especially when it looks like the information is being "stretched."  Unfortunately may authors take the word as truth and don't question  the content.

Recently an author communicated with me about a video she had made by an online site.  She was happy with the video but was questioning the distribution and wanted to know my opinion.  Knowing how much time and effort it takes to make a presentable and professional video I checked the site for more information.  As I continued to browse the site I found this information:

* trailer will be submitted to Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Well, in reality Amazon doesn't allow book trailers in their review section. Their guidelines say that they are advertisements. (You can put the video on your author page, however, it's doubtful that authors give the company access to their personal account.)  As well, B & N website doesn't have provisions for videos on the book page so I'm not sure what happens there...probably nothing.

*  trailer will be distributed up to 100 high-traffic video channels.   I asked a colleague to ask for a list of these channels and the response was:   

The full list of sites to which we post our videos is proprietary, so we don't release it in its entirety, but we'll gladly provide you with some of the links at which you can view your trailer.

This is exactly the same line that the author got when I asked her to inquire.  So, that's fine.  Trying another angle, we asked for examples where we could see some of the trailers posted and were given one:  YouTube.  Again, same thing as the author indicated.

 There are video sharing programs but they are super-expensive and it's doubtful that this company pays for one considering the low cost of the initial trailer.  Besides, if they did subscribe, these  online programs pump out a list of links where the videos are posted that are emailed to the submitter so it would be very easy to copy/paste and send to the author confirming the 100 high-traffic video channels. Checking the distribution points that were mentioned on the site we found none of the videos, that were on YouTube, posted  by this company .

Note the word "some" in the response.  To me "some" indicates it's not the 25 - 50 or 100 sites as promised but as little as one or two.  Why only some?

* press release announcing  the trailer distributed to 250,00 media outlets.  When asked for more information in this regard the response was:

Regarding your press release, we submit it to our syndicated PR service, from which it is further distributed to media outlets worldwide.

In reality there are many free online sites you can post a press release where "media" can pick it up.   In order to actually distribute a press release companies charge a fee and from the looks of the price of the video there are no funds allotted to distribution.  Checking online I couldn't find a press release for the author's video.

Many authors have used this service and I suspect it's because of the low price.  I have no qualms with that whatsoever.  Marketing budgets are tight and ROI may be low so I definitely encourage getting the best price.  But, what I don't encourage is getting sucked into false numbers...or numbers/services that aren't justified, proven, or disclosed.  Maybe it doesn't matter as long as you have a low-budget trailer made and it feels good to get one for less than others charge. However, to me, it seems like distribution is extremely important  for SEO purposes because after all, isn't that the reason for having a book trailer? Are you okay paying for something you don't get?

I'd like to know what your comments are.  How do you verify credibility or do you follow up to be sure you are getting what you paid for?  Tell me here.

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PS - I just got an email from an author saying the videos from the particular company I talked about above got "yanked" off Amazon.com. He had this company do several videos for him so he could google-bomb and just noticed they are no longer up. As I mentioned, eventually not being honest does catch up. My motto: Make good Karma.

featured this week

Nonfiction - How To, Business, Legal

How to Interview Like a Pro: Forty-Three Rules for Getting Your Next Job

Mary Greenwood, J.D., LL.M.

iUniverse (2010)
ISBN 9781450270892
Reviewed by Vicki Landes for Reader Views (12/10)

Synopsis

How to Interview Like a Pro offers strategies and practical tips about the interview process. It is written by longtime human resources director and attorney, Mary Greenwood. How to Interview Like a Pro will prepare you for your next interview and offer strategies on how to answer the difficult questions that leave other candidates stuttering. Readers will also learn the forty-three rules that will help you get your next job.

Read review of How to Interview Like a Pro
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Fiction - Sci-Fi, Novel, Fantasy

Homecoming

Sue Ann Bowling

iUniverse (2010)
ISBN 9781450213158
Reviewed by Marty Shaw for Reader Views (10/10)

Synopsis

During the last Interglacial, more than 125,000 years ago, humans hybridized with the R'il'nai and spread across the galaxy to colonize other planets. Although they formed the Jarnian Confederation, they still depended on the R'il'nai for guidance and protection—not only from the Maungs but from each other.

Homecoming, by author Sue Ann Bowling, is a science fiction novel you won't want to miss. A boy must learn to accept his differences. The last survivor of a dying species seeks love. A woman struggles to retain her sanity after two hundred years alone. All must face the responsibilities of power.

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Spotlight - reader views literary awards winner

Lynda Goldman Award for the Best Novel of the Year

The Black Minute by Christopher Valen

North Star Press of St. Cloud (2009)
ISBN 9780878393329

Christopher Valen really didn’t get serious about writing until he took a course from Will Weaver, author of A Gravestone Made of Wheat, which was made into the very successful Hollywood movie, Sweet Land. He has published both non-fiction and fiction, but White Tombs is his first novel.

In doing research for White Tombs, Valen spent time with members of the St. Paul Police Department and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department. He eventually enrolled and graduated from the Citizen’s Academy at the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department. When Valen is not writing, teaching or traveling, he enjoys skiing, sailing and practicing Spanish.

Synopsis: After his highly acclaimed debut novel White Tombs, author Christopher Valen brings St. Paul Homicide Detective John Santana back in his new suspenseful novel, The Black Minute.

The body of a young, Hmong woman is found on Harriet Island near the Mississippi River. It appears to be a simple case of murder and revenge. But what begins as a routine investigation soon morphs into something far more sinister. Trusting his instincts and determined to find justice, Santana relentlessly follows clues through a maze of political intrigue and deadly secrets, all the while wondering who he can trust, and whether he can survive long enough to resolve the case, save the city from a catastrophe and keep the woman he loves safe.

Read review of The Black Minute
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This week's video

Tecolote: The Little Horse That Could

Sandy Nathan

Vilasa Press (2010)
ISBN 978-0976280996

Synopsis

The little horse's chances were not good. Born prematurely on a freezing night, the buckskin colt had to fight for his life. When he was still a baby, Tecolote lost his mother. Would he be able to find a horse to help him grow up and teach him the ways of the herd? Would he ever know a friend who would love and protect him?

Be with Tecolote as he masters the challenges that young horses--and young people--face as they grow up and become all they're meant to be. Tecolote: The Little Horse That Could will inspire children and adults alike.

Join Sandy Nathan as she tells a true tale of a young horse growing up straight and tall, a youngster who will remind you of the child in us all.

The illustrations in this book are snapshots taken while Tecolote's story was unfolding. In using snapshots, the author wanted to bring you as close to the action as possible and introduce you to the real Tecolote, Shambho, Rosie, and all the other horses of Rancho Vilasa. This truly is Tecolote's scrapbook--welcome to his world.

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