June 2020 - Page 3 of 3 - Burning Embers

My Thoughts on Promo Art

by James Meservy | Jun 4, 2020 | Daily Discussions, Monthly Discussions | 0 comments

Promo Art.

Wow, that is something I really do not know how to do.

I am expert at finding friends who do. But for me, the only photo manipulation software I can use is PowerPoint, believe it or not.

I have followed Canva’s tutorial, and still have no idea how to use it. I can’t make heads or tails of Photoshop. I was trained as a kid in school how to use Microsoft Paintbrush, but that was long ago, and I was never good at it unless I had the instructions open and followed every step. As soon as I closed the book, I completely forgot everything.

So my hat’s off to anyone who can create promo art. I think you are incredibly talented.

Well, that begs the question as to where my promo art comes from. Easy. One of two sources. I either commission it or I barter services. That works for me. I like to BETA read, what I usually barter services for.

Thoughts on June Topics

by James Meservy | Jun 2, 2020 | Daily Discussions, Monthly Discussions | 0 comments

JUNE INTRO

June, according to my schedule, is the month to discuss Promo Art, Radio Silence for Authors, and Author Retreats.

Well, considering I don’t know much of anything about any of the above, looks like I will be doing some research.

Let’s start the month off by chatting about Promo Art.

Promo Art is awesome. I use teasers and book trailers all the time. I use them on Pintrest, or I will use them on Pintrest whenever I get around to it. I use them on Twitter for fun, they are all over my Facebook Page.

As a blogger who interviews authors on my personal blog, jqmserv.wordpress.com, weekly, I see a big difference in interviews with promo art and the ones that are just text. Guess which ones I find more interesting?

Above are my two favorite promo images I use for The United, The Realm of the Light Book 1, thanks to Alicia Scarborough, a Photoshop Sorceress in her own right. The Light bless the day I met her. She understands these things a lot better than I, and is so generous with her time, and such a sweet person, that she willingly barters services with me. To be honest, I think I do less for her than she does for me, but that’s why it’s important to me to have good friends I can trust.

Promo Art, it can be the difference between a best seller and lost in the crowd. (no, that is not a quote from someone else, I just thought of it. Hmm, maybe I can create an image with it on it. *shaking head. Nah. We want someone who knows how to make good promo art do that, so maybe I will commission it to be done at some distant future time.)

Have a great night, and may June be a wonderful month!

Intro to Promo Art and Radio Silence

by Alicia S. | Jun 1, 2020 | Monthly Discussions | 0 comments

Welcome to the glorious month of June!

I’m excited to share with you my thoughts and lessons on promo art and radio silence.

I can’t believe it’s June already y’all. It’s too soon.

Could’ve swore that yesterday was the middle of May.

Oh well. Guess that’s what happens when ya got tons of stuff to do and little time to do it.

This month’s discussion topic is PERFECT because you and I are going to be talking about promotional art / graphics and radio silence.

Radio Silence? What’s that?

Oh, it’s my term that I like to use when I drop off the end of the social media world. Meaning my account goes silent on specific days or during certain hours of the day.

The first time I did that stunt it totally freaked out all of my friends because I did not tell them that I was going to do it. Yet, after I did it then I kind of set a schedule to keep on doing it on specific days or times.

I’m not saying that social media is bad… it’s something that having too much of can lead to grief.

But, first, Promo Graphics…

You and I are going to discuss promotional art / graphics during the next two Mondays of this month.

You’ll learn about the tools that other authors use and why you’d want to do your own graphics too.

So, let’s kick off this month with an enthusiactic “HURRAY FOR JUNE” then get ready to learn about graphics and the importance of life balance.

Until next time…

Keep on rising above the ashes of obscurity!