HOW TO CREATE A "PREVIEW CHAPTERS" E-BOOK FOR FREE
And then, about a week ago, I was clicking though a random music e-zine when it occurred to me that, whichever company had produced the e-zine, their format was perfect for an e-book. I pulled up the website, Issuu.com, curious how much it would cost to have them produce some preview chapters of Knightley.
I clicked on the “about” page, looking for a “cost of services” section. That’s when I realized that Issuu.com allowed you to instantly convert any PDF into a read-only, non-downloadable e-book or e-zine hosted on their website for free.
I quickly formatted the first two chapters of Knightley, saved them as a PDF, and hit upload.
When I let my publicist know about what I’d found, he immediately passed the discovery on to his colleagues. When I told my agent, he excitedly rattled off a list of clients who could benefit.
And so, I’ve decided to share the wealth: if you have a short story, preview chapters, deleted scenes, or anything else that you’ve always wanted to share with readers, here’s how to create it for free using MS Word and the internet:
1. Sign up for Issuu.com
2. Open a Word Doc. For sample material relating to a book, it’s best to Insert–>Picture–>From File and place a picture of the book cover on the front page.
3. Include important information: ISBN number? Release date? Publisher?
4. If you’re using text from an ARC (AKA 1P), think about adding a disclaimer along the lines of “uncorrected proof”
5. Add chapter headings. Get as creative as you’d like with the formatting. You can find some great fonts at http://www.1001freefonts.com/ and it’s a few easy clicks to install them—just google “how to install fonts on a mac/pc”
6. Go to File–>Print–>PDF–>Save as PDF
7. Follow instructions to upload to Issuu.com
8. Use a URL shortener for a customized, shareable URL. I chose bit.ly/kach12
9. Share on your website, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
You can read the first two chapters of Knightley Academy, out March 9 from Aladdin, as an online preview here: bit.ly/kach12
KNIGHTLEY ACADEMY TRAILER STILLS
As you’ve probably gathered from my recent tweets, I’ve been busy with pre-production on a live action trailer for Knightley Academy. In a marathon 6 hour session this afternoon, the cast and crew camped out at an undisclosed location to shoot the trailer. You won’t be able to see the trailer–or the amazingly hilarious behind-the-scenes footage–until the very end of the month, but here are a couple of low-res stills from the set:
And of course there was a FlipCam wandering around the set, begging for people to pick it up, turn it on and…do impressions of Lord of the Rings, debate whether Dumbledore’s sexual orientation can be considered Canon, and sing show tunes–yes, with jazz hands.
Maybe one day Knightley Academy will be picked up by a real production company, but even if that never happens, I already got to see my characters come to life, and, in another week, so will you guys!
xx
Robyn
Knightley Academy, Chapter One, Part I
The sound-smothering potatoes of doom seem to have climbed into my throat, since I am currently voiceless at the moment. In any case, I am trying to melt the potatoes (potatoes melt, yeah?) with lots of hot tea and honey so I can be back on the case producing part II of this little foray into preview chapter podcasting. Please enjoy part I, below. And yes, it did take me hours to figure out how to achieve the 3-D reflection effect, thank you for admiring.
Blog TV Questions
Hey, guys, I’m really sorry about the BlogTV potatoes of doom sweeping in to wreck the audio on the show. I’m going to be fiddling with things (and buying an external mic) over the next week so that everything is 100% potato free for next time. And there will totally be a next time! I have a song about narwhals which you NEED to hear, plus copies of Linger, Raised By Wolves and Sisters Red to give away, not to mention some pretty cool celeb autographs and lots of other surprises.
Basically, I am going to try to remember most of the questions that you guys asked me during the show and then recall my answers so that, if you didn’t hear the answers, you shall still have them.
BLOG TV SHOW QUESTIONS: January 25, 2010.
Q: Where is your accent from?
A: It is from being American and spending too much time in England. My accent hovers somewhere over the Mid-Atlantic, although I try to sound super American in my YouTube videos for some bizarre reason, mostly because it amuses me.
Q: How tall are you?
A: Five feet. It is ridiculous how tiny I am in real life. RIDICULOUS.
Q: Did you model in England?
A: I am FIVE FEET TALL! Actually, I was on Vogue.com and they made me pose a bit for street style, which is not really modeling, and then I was in some tabloids, which is not really modeling either, and then there was a bit more nightlife/streetstyle stuff which was far more posed, but I shamefully can’t remember the names of the magazines, as they are all foreign/not Vogue.
Q: If you could take 3 things back in time anywhere for 1 day, where would you go and what would you do?
A: I would take my iPhone, Red Bull and modern undergarments and go back to Edinburgh in the Victorian Era to spend the day solving medical mysteries with Dr. Bell, who was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s real life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes (also the inspiration for Dr. House!). I would tweet the whole thing whilst being blissfully caffeinated and also not having to wear a corset.
Q: Why are there Jewish Knights in your book?
A: There is one Jewish knight and one Indian knight. It’s because, in the story, Knightley Academy accepts commoners for the first time in history. These are two of the main characters in the book, and they are AWESOME.
Q: How many books will Knightley be?
A: Knightley is going to be a trilogy. Everything should be resolved by the end of book 3, although, if my publisher/fans want me to write more, I was considering doing a second Knightley trilogy, which would be published as YA and would feature the characters a couple years after the events in book 3.
Q: What are you writing next?
A: I can tell you nothing except that it’s about a kid called Peter Brimley, and it’s sort of like what would happen if you made a mashup of A Little Princess and the Chrestomanci books.
Q. What is the most interesting thing anyone has said about Knightley?
A. Tamora Pierce said XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [redacted due to my being unable to post this comment on the internet all official-like], which made me laugh so hard, and someone at my publisher’s put in their catalog that Knightley is “like Hogwarts without magic,” which is somewhat depressing when you think about it, because that basically means it’s like a drafty old castle where people are randomly getting killed and all the kids wear funny clothes and wave sticks around. Actually…hmmmm….
Q: Did you always want to be a writer?
A: I wanted to be a scientist and I was always inventing things until I was twelve and read the Harry Potter books. Then I wanted to be a writer. Now I’m a writer/scientist.
Q: Which is your favorite Jane Austen novel?
A: Northanger Abbey. It’s set in Bath, which is this ridiculously cool English town where my favorite YouTuber, Charlieissocoollike is from, and is mostly about a girl who wants to be a tragic heroine in a gothic romance novel and winds up spending her days walking around this place called the pump-room. Then she is the target of a MASSIVE PRANK where a sarcastic, adorable guy pretends that his house is all gothic-novely just to screw with her. Go read it.
Q. Which is your favorite classic novel?
A. If this counts, any of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I wrote my thesis on them.
Q. What do you study?
A. Bioethics. I’m a graduate student.
Q. Are you dating anyone?
A. Sigh. No comment.
Q. Have you ever been to the ballet?
A. When I was in Budapest, I bought a box in the royal opera and saw the Hungarian Ballet put on Romeo and Juliet. It was awesometastic. I met some crazy Danish guys there and we took a road trip to Transylvania.
Q. Are you going to Vidcon/Infinitus/Leakycon2011, etc?
A. I am probably going to VidCon, Infinitus, Steampunk World’s Fair, Lunacon, DragonCon, BEA, SCBWI-LA and a couple of others this year.
Q. Where are you going on your tour?
A. My publisher hasn’t confirmed dates/places yet, but I expect to visit these states on tour in March: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts. I’ll let you know when I know.
Q. Why is Knightley Academy better than your other books?
A. Because I wrote it many years later, and after 4 more years of practice, I think I have vastly improved as a writer.
Q. How old are you?
A. I am 23 which is TOTALLY NOT OLD.
Q. Can I fence against you?
A. You would probably win. I fall over a lot. I am hopelessly uncoordinated.
Q. What if you got superglue and fixed your broken garden gnome?
A. I am afraid of superglue. I would probably glue my tongue to my eyelid or something. I had silly putty once. They gave it to us in my graduate program and I got it all over everything I own. Even my pajamas. Even my JAR OF PEANUT BUTTER.
Q. Do you play an instrument?
A. I play guitar. I am not very good. Perhaps there is some music in our future? If you will cover your ears…
Q. What is your favorite food?
A. Well, I *was* going to say mashed potatoes, but NOW I can never think of potatoes the same way again.
Q. Who is your favorite character from Twilight?
A. Carlisle Cullen! I want to be him.
Q. Are you going to do another BlogTV show?
A. YES!
Some videos you might have missed?
Sorry, blog. I’ve totally ditched you for twitter and youtube, haven’t I? Oops. I’ll try to blog more frequently from now on to make up for it. In the meantime, have you guys seen these?
Looking Back on 2009, even if it is the 5th already.
I’ve been debating whether or not I wanted to write a cheesy, sappy, nostalgic behemoth of a blog post looking back on this past year. In the end, I decided to do it, even though it’s painful to go through the photos and see all of the people and places I had to leave behind. 2009 has been a lifetime of a year, the happiest of my life, and everything was so perfect that I suppose it had to come to an end. But at least I’ll always have the memories–and 4548596579732 photos. Don’t worry, though–I cut it down to about 30.
In 2009:
I moved to London, England, in search of a great perhaps. I arrived in England with two suitcases and no friends.
But sitting and writing novels in the coffee shops of Brick Lane quickly changed that.
I visited an old schoolmate who was working in Parliament and got to see all of the official, secret government-y places. This is the view from inside of Parliament looking out.
I wrote about 400 pages of Knightley Academy sitting in Cafe 1001, ChaLounge, and, during the final stretch, Primrose Bakery.
In March I moved from my artist’s studio into a moldering, five story mansion full of girls. This was my room.
And this was our neighborhood–Primrose Hill. We walked up the canal on most days to have silly adventures in the grocery store or explore the vintage stalls in Camden Market.
I photographed Fashion Week, and got photographed by Vogue.
And became so close with my housemate, Mary, that we were like sisters. This is Alex. Even though it was ridiculous because I’m American, I wore an “I support the Welsh Guards in Afghanistan” bracelet for him every day when he went off to war.
Ellie and Sasha, my other dear housemates.
Clearly, we hated each other. ;)
A modeling agency rented the 4th floor of our house, so we had a lot of models from all over the world staying with us temporarily.
The last housemate, Michelle (left) and our promotional photo for the house girlpop band. Kidding. This was just a random photo shoot I insisted upon whilst having a barbecue on our balcony.
The view from the top of Primrose Hill, where we had picnics with pink wine and paperbacks from the used book stall on Camden Lock.
Clearly, I got up to no good when I fell in with a party crew and spent my evenings trying not to freak out that I was out dancing with Emma Watson, Prince William and Paris Hilton.
Met some interesting people at the parties. These boys were as ridiculous as they look, and just as hilarious.
I turned 23.
Attended the Cannes film festival
Dressed inappropriately for red carpet premieres…
Got chased by paparazzi
Quite literally crashed some after parties
and borrowed a yacht from a friend.
I traveled back to New York City for BookExpo America and spoke from a very high platform whilst wearing a tank top and tights. Seriously, ask Maureen Johnson whether I remembered to wear pants to BEA.
I signed with a new literary agent, Editor McSteamy!
And met some other young writers with whom I became friends.
I traveled the world
And saw gorgeous old cities
crumbling fortresses
and medieval castles. I even spent a weekend writing in JK Rowling’s favorite cafe’s in Edinburgh
And hung out with gypsies in Copenhagen.
I finished writing Knightley Academy and sent it off to my publisher
Moved back to America
And became a graduate student specializing in genital theft and Edward Cullen’s sexual psychoses, much to my parents’ joy.
Behind the scenes at Sony Studios
While I was out in LA, I was a guest on the set of a friend’s show. It was all kinds of epic, even if the PAs did sort of strand me in the parking lot, forcing me to wander the film lot aimlessly with my video camera:
The new cover revealed!
I am super-mega-ridiculously excited to show you guys the new cover design for Knightley Academy!
Ridiculously awesome, right? The school crest is on the back, made of stone. And there’s a ton of advance praise we’re using to decorate the jacket:
- “Steampunky, subversive and enthralling!” - Tamora Pierce
- “A fabulously enjoyable tale, brimming with humor, suspense and swordplay. I found myself wishing I could attend Knightley Academy!” – Kaza Kingsley, author of the bestselling Erec Rex series
- “Terrific fun! Knights-in-training, a looming war, and white-knuckle subterfuge made for a great read. Can’t wait for the next one!” – Dean Lorey, author of the Nightmare Academy series
I am at a loss for consonants: Eeeeeee!
In case you were wondering about the castle on the cover, it’s an illustration of the school:
“Knightley Academy didn’t look like an elite school for young aristocrats. In fact, it rather reminded Henry of a ramshackle country estate built by a slightly eccentric duke. The buildings were a mismash of styles: flying buttresses topped with thatch, turrets on innocent-looking wooden cottages, mansard roofs, and ivy-covered brick, all connected by a series of cobblestone paths that threaded through a grassy quadrangle complete with an absurd hedge maze that only came waist high.”
Do you think the cover matches the description from the book?
p.s. there is a new countdown widget for the book in the sidebar. If you’d like to use it on your blog or myspace page, please let me know so I can send you a virtual hug and an invisible, no-calories, made-of-your-imagination magical cupcake.
Steampunk in Oxford
Here’s a video of a steampunk exhibition at Oxford that makes me wish I was still living in England:
Are any of you guys into steampunk? Let me know in the comments.
Random Knightley Page Excerpt #1
In order to get your interest interested in Knightley, here is a page-long teaser from the novel. The page was chosen using a random number generator. I’ll do a few more of these before the book comes out.
Chapter 7: Servants and Scholars, Page 108
*a couple of notes before we begin.
1. This scene is from the first day of school, when everyone is assigned rooms.
2. It is infinitely more amusing if you imagine Alan Rickman’s voice whenever Lord Havelock speaks.
3. If you followed my Facebook updates last year, you’d understand about the Alan Rickman thing. Reader, I tried to keep him out of this. But he took up residence in my manuscript and could not be persuaded to leave. Alternately, if you would like to upset Alan Rickman, feel free to imagine Lord Havelock speaking with Sean Connery’s voice instead. *
“My, my, emergencies do happen quickly.” Lord Havelock glared. “
Who has died?”Rohan went pale, but swallowed and bravely said, “No one, sir. However, the three of us have not been assigned rooms. I trust there is a good reason.”
Henry and Adam exchanged a look of surprise. Rohan’s accent was unbelievably upper crust, but even more curious was how he faced Lord Havelock without fear.
Lord Havelock also seemed taken aback, but he reached into a fold of his master’s gown and produced a small, grubby plaque.
Lord Havelock stopped at a shabby wooden door across from the common room. It was not a grand door–the wood had gone warped in places, and the doorknob was made of unfinished wood, rather than shining brass. Henry would have thought it was a broom cupboard if he had noticed it, and it was not a very noticeable sort of door.
Lord Havelock tacked the plaque–rather crookedly, in fact–to the door and, with a cold smile, turned on his heel and returned to his chambers.
“Shall we?” Adam asked, hand on the doorknob.
Obligatory link: Pre-Order on Amazon here.
Supernatural Genital Stealing Vampires
I’m working on a paper that concerns genital theft and koro, which are mildly hilarious culture bound syndromes related to perceived loss of masculinity. The only problem? No matter how hard I tried, I could not come up with a thesis statement.
So I asked myself, “is it possible that this paper is actually about vampires?” The answer was very clearly yes.
Now I am working on a paper that concerns how vampire sexuality (cough, Edward Cullen, cough) is a Western metaphor for the same concerns that gave rise to culture bound syndromes such as genital theft and koro, and how, through understanding Edward Cullen’s sexual behavior, health care providers can better comprehend patients who believe themselves to be victims of genital theft.
Let me draw your attention to a screen shot of my research:
Does it surprise you that there are no articles in medical or scientific journals which deal with “genital theft” + “supernatural” + “vampires”? Don’t worry! My paper shall be the first!
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