Roger Eschbacher is #opentowork

Hi everyone!  I'm sharing this again because, well, you know... 

As a professional television/animation writer, I’ve pitched and developed premises, outlines, and scripts on numerous top-level shows for WARNER BROS, NETFLIX, NICKELODEON, HASBRO STUDIOS and more.

My expert improv skills and extensive stage experience as a main company member of THE GROUNDLINGS has led to numerous appearances on popular sitcoms, hour-long dramas, and in major commercial campaigns.

To top things off, I'm a PUBLISHED sci-fi/fantasy novelist and children's picture book author.

To say all this makes me flexible and open to fresh challenges--both inside and outside of entertainment--is an understatement. I'm experienced, coachable, and passionate about continued growth and learning. 

Let's talk about what I can add to your corporation, university, game studio, ad agency, entertainment programming or . . .

Thanks!

#OpenToWork #opportunities #thankyou

"Ghost Star" is now on promotion for $0.99 until Sunday, May 16, 2021!

He'd battle an empire to save his family!

When his father and crewmates are attacked and killed by a ruthless alien commander, young Galen Bray becomes the new captain of the GHOST STAR, a notorious smuggling vessel. Barely escaping capture, Galen sets out to rescue the only other survivor of the vicious attack, his sister Trem. Along the way, he discovers a mysterious people thought wiped out long ago, his family's surprising origins, and a destiny he never imagined . . .

"Ghost Star" is now on promotion for $0.99 until Sunday, May 16, 2021. 

 

Thanks!

 

 amzn.to/2Ip8kHq 

 

 #YA #spaceopera #kindlepress

Call To Action: Please Nominate My Book for Publication by Amazon's Kindle Scout

Here are three steps you can follow to earn this author's undying gratitude:

• Step One: Follow THIS LINK to Kindle Scout. 
• Step Two: Log in to your Amazon account.
• Step Three: Nominate Ghost Star, my new YA Sci-Fi novel, for publication by Amazon.

It's just that simple! Seriously though, I know this kind of stuff can be a pain, but, in this case, there really isn't much more to it than the steps I just listed.

It's free to vote and only costs a little bit of your time.

The Backstory: I recently completed the manuscript for Ghost Star and decided to give Amazon's Kindle Scout program a try. How it works is that you submit your previously unpublished novel and support materials--book cover, description, etc.--and, after a review, they assign you a "campaign."

My Kindle Scout campaign for Ghost Star will launch on August 26, 2017 12:00 AM EDT and end on September 25, 2017 12:00 AM EDT.

During that time frame, it's the author's job to get as many of his supporters to "nominate" the book for publication as possible. Here's why:
  
"The more nominations your book receives the more likely it will get the attention of our Kindle Scout team and be selected for publication."

Pretty straightforward, right?

The bottom line is that it would be really cool if you would nominate my book.

Thank you!
Roger

BONUS STEP:

• Step Four: Ask your friends and family who might be up for this kind of thing to vote for Ghost Star, too. Thanks!

Raw link to campaign:  https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/K0R7BME788ZC

Call For Employment

The writing for Treehouse Detectives, the fun animated show I've been working on, is close to wrapping. Our mystery-solving brother and sister bears are coming to Netflix soon and should be a big hit with the preschool crowd.

In the meantime, I need work. Thanks!

#animationguild #sagaftra #bbqpitmaster

Sci-Fi Novel Update

After receiving some wise counsel from several of my author pals, I've decided to go the Kindle Scout route with my space opera novel. As my friends pointed out, the concern about "having to do a lot of promotion" to get people to nominate my book is a hollow one. I was reminded that even traditionally-published authors have to self-promote like crazy these days (unless they're already big name authors or celebrities) and self-published authors definitely have to do that. The consensus: if I was fortunate enough to get a publishing contract with Kindle Press, it wouldn't be so bad to have Amazon as a marketing ally. In other words, worth the effort.

So...

Sci-Fi Wallpaper from Fond Décran (not my cover art, but cool nonetheless)

To get things just right, I'm in the middle of a heavy-duty polish edit of the manuscript. I lopped off the first chapter to get things moving right away and am currently involved in the somewhat tricky process of seeding anything of importance from the former Chapter One into the rest of the book. Somewhat tricky, but also fun in a jigsaw puzzle kind of way. I'm also doing a chapter-by-chapter edit for continuity and overall readability. At the end of the above edit I'll go through everything one more time by having MS Word read my words back to me in its quirky Text To Speech voice (I use "David" because he sounds like an authoritative robot 😉).

Then...

I'll get everything together--manuscript, cover, logline, brief summary, etc.--and submit it to the folks at Kindle Press. At this point, the self-promoting (begging) will begin in earnest, and for thirty days I'll be promoting  the link to my "Kindle Scout campaign page" and asking friends, family, and interested parties to go there and nominate my book for publication (free and easy, all you need is an Amazon account). Expect this to happen within the next week or so.

On a related note: I commissioned a super-cool cover for my book and I'm very much looking forward to showing it to everyone when my campaign launches. See ya soon!

Why, It's a Major Award (Nomination)!

UPDATE: I didn't win, Ziggy Marley (son of reggae great Bob Marley) did. Honestly, though, it really was cool to be nominated and I am very grateful for that. RE

My apologies to my social media friends who have already seen this, but I wanted to make sure my blog pals were in the loop, too. I woke up Wednesday morning to a congratulatory email from Tim and Julie Cahill, Exec Producers of Littlest Pet Shop, telling me that I and composer Daniel Ingram had been nominated for an Emmy! How cool is that?!

I had no clue we'd even been submitted so it came as a complete and very welcome surprise. Here are the details:

2013 Daytime Emmy Nominee

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG – CHILDREN AND ANIMATION
“IF YOU’RE A GUY” Littlest Pet Shop, The HUB
Daniel Ingram, Composer/Roger Eschbacher, Lyricist

Again I ask, "How cool is that?!" The awards will be held on June 16th in Beverly Hills. Positive thoughts are appreciated as we're up against some pretty stiff competition. Here's a clip of the song:



One more time...HOW COOL IS THAT?!!!

I Get Interviewed

Want to learn more about ME, your humble host? Of course you do! Stephanie Moore Hopkins interviews me over on her Layered Pages blog and I have to say that I come off as charming, handsome, and interesting as one might imagine. Go now and be in awe of me and my massive forehead! I command you!

Special "Year of the Dragonfriend" Book Giveaway

I've decided that another Dragonfriend giveaway is in order since this is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac. Yes, add "clever marketing genius" to my list of attributes. Yup, that's what you should do all right. Sigh. Anyhoo, feel free to click on the link if you'd like to win a free copy of the book. It'll take you over to Goodreads where you can sign up and enter.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Dragonfriend

by Roger Eschbacher

Giveaway ends March 03, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

A Nice Gift from Amazon

For the time being, Amazon has decided to discount the Dragonfriend paperback by nearly 30%.

It surprised/alarmed me when I saw the price change on the book's page last night, but I was quickly assured by customer service that it doesn't affect author royalties which are calculated off the full list price. On the other hand, it does save you some decent bucks so if you're interested in owning an analog copy of my book, this may be the time to act.

Dragonfriend is Now on Smashwords

Set up a Smashwords account last night. It was pretty easy to do although they are sticklers for what they consider proper formatting. Not saying they shouldn't be, they just like things the way they like them. The good thing is that they lay everything out for you in their style guide and quickly bounce back an error report if their "autovetter" finds some formatting it doesn't like. All free, too.

So in addition to the Amazon and B&N accounts, thanks to Smashwords you can now read an ebook of Dragonfriend on these devices, too: Apple iPad/iBooks, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others.

And there was much rejoicing.

Win a Free Copy of Dragonfriend!

Well, as you might guess from this post's headline, I've just published my middle-grade fantasy novel, Dragonfriend. It's currently available at Amazon (print and Kindle formats), Amazon UK (Kindle format) and at B&N (Nook format). I'm working on setting up a Smashwords account, too, so check back later if you prefer to use them.

I've ordered a big ol' box of paperbacks to distribute to area libraries, beta & proof readers, reviewers, and Kickstarter supporters (I financed the setup of Dragonfriend through that excellent service) and should receive them sometime around Thanksgiving. This leads me to the paperback giveaway over on Goodreads (see the widget on the right). I thought it sounded like a fun thing to do (Hey, who doesn't like free books?!). Go ahead and enter if you think you might like to win a copy.

You might also notice that I've added a "My Books" tab in the navigation bar above. If you click on the tab you'll find a brief description of the book and links to the usual places. I'll try to keep it updated with reviews and reader feedback, too.

Here's a quick description of Dragonfriend:

If you think it was all good deeds and fancy ideals back in the days of Camelot, think again. Most people don't know this, but for a time things went seriously bad; Arthur was imprisoned, Merlin had vanished, and a vile demon had taken over the throne.

Young Leonard would have been shocked to learn any of this but right now all that concerned him was where his next meal was coming from. As page to Sir Ronald, a poor but kind knight, events at the castle took a back seat to a rumbling stomach. Oh sure, he held a secret dream that one day Sir Ronald would take a seat at the Round Table, but seriously, that was about as likely as Maid Glennys seeing him as anyone other than the dirty page of a low-ranking nobleman. Not gonna happen.

Everything changes when Leonard meets Mantooth, a seriously depressed dragon who's looking for a knight to end his misery with a swing of a broadsword. Wait a minute. If the dragon will allow Sir Ronald to slay him, his misery would be over, Sir Ronald would surely get a Round Table invite for such a brave deed, and Leonard might even climb a notch or two in the eyes of Glennys! Everybody wins, right?

Wrong. Leonard's plan backfires horribly when, on the day of the battle, Sir Ronald is arrested for "bravery without a license" and he and Mantooth are dragged off to Camelot's dungeons. Now Leonard must do whatever it takes to free his master even if that means doing battle with dangerous monsters, trying to outwit Camelot's dark overlord, or taking a bath!

As I mentioned on my other blog,  I couldn't be happier about the book finally being "out there." I started writing Dragonfriend back in 2007 and it's taken all of this time to get it to the point where I thought it was ready for primetime. Am I nervous? More than a little! I'm very pleased with how the book turned out and think it's a darned good read, but now it's up to the readers to tell me if they agree.

(note to readers: please agree)

Scooby Doo in "The Siren's Song"

Unhappy Fish Freak

Hey kids! I wrote an episode of Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated that'll air this coming Tuesday (6/14/11) on Cartoon Network at 7:30/6:30 Central.

I think it's a pretty cool episode with a fair chunk of the series wide story arc being revealed. That's one of the things I'm really enjoying about this Scooby manifestation -- we get to learn about the back story of "the gang" and that maybe all of these seemingly random monster events are somehow interrelated. Anyway, the show's producers have a lot to keep in mind since they're not just generating the typical Scooby Doo "monster du jour" story lines we're used to seeing.

In this episode the gang battles Fish Freaks, there's a fun Scrappy Doo reference, and Velma makes a "special friend." Check it out and let me know what you think!

Funded!

The Half-Castle?

As of last night, and to my utter amazement, the Leonard the Great: Dragon Friend project on Kickstarter became fully funded! To say that I am blown away would be epic understatement. I am so very grateful that you cared enough about my project to want to help. Thanks to you, a dream many years in the making will actually come true! Thank you! I am thrilled beyond measure.

What's next, you ask?

Well, the project can continue to receive donations (any additional funds will be applied to the next book), as Kickstarter rules require that I keep it open for the amount of time originally designated. In other words, there is no option to end the project early. I'll have to wait to get busy with the fun stuff (pro editing, etc.) until May 1st at 11:59p,  at which point they'll release the funds to my account.

However, I can use the remaining time to plan the fun stuff (which can be fun in and of itself) and I'll be doing just that. I'll keep you all posted on any interesting developments and, of course, when the rewards are ready to be shipped.

Again, thank you so very much for your support. I feel truly blessed!

Leonard on Kickstarter

I just launched Leonard on Kickstarter, a site dedicated to helping authors and other artists get patrons (they call them backers) for their projects. I'm obsessed with having my literary baby properly edited before publishing it on Amazon and this seemed like the perfect way to make that happen. Go on over and check out the PROJECT PAGE and, if so inclined, please consider giving a donation.

BTW, that's the progress widget for the project on the right and my "pitch video" up above. I don't look too dorky, do I? (please say no)

Are You a Thief?

Author Saundra Mitchell lays out a compelling argument for why "free books aren't free" and how "fans" with an overblown sense of entitlement might actually be killing the careers of (mid-list) authors whose work they claim to love. Here's a quote from her post. The parenthetical addition is mine:

"I’ve been very open about the money I’ve made and not made, to help give the writing community some perspective. So I’m going to be very open about money today. I’ve told you before that I made a $15,000 advance on SHADOWED SUMMER. In two years, I’ve managed to earn back $12,000 of that.

It’s going out of print in hardcover because demand for it has dwindled to 10 or so copies a month. This means I will never get a royalty check for this book. By all appearances, nobody wants it anymore.

But those appearances are deceiving. According to one download site’s stats, people are (illegally) downloading SHADOWED SUMMER at a rate of 800 copies a week. When the book first came out, it topped out at 3000+ downloads a week.

If even HALF of those people who downloaded my book that week had bought it, I would have hit the New York Times Bestseller list."

 I'm going to go all Lars from Metallica on this one. If you illegally download "free" copies of books, music, films -- whatever, from a torrent site or anywhere else, you are a thief. No matter what your reasoning may be -- lack of funds, not available in your region, laziness -- you are literally taking food out of the mouths of creative types who depend on royalties/residuals to earn a living.  Stop doing that and start buying the product! It's the right thing to do (a thousand blessings on those who support their favorite artists) and the career you help to save will thank you by continuing to churn out the books you love to read.

Note to People Who Read Books

Please buy some! Publishing is yet another industry that is really hurting and could use your help. People are being laid off, imprints are getting the ax, and book lists are sure to be pruned with even more vigor than usual. It's not a pretty picture.

As an aspiring novelist, I fully admit this post is self-serving. But here's the deal: When times are hard, publishers get cautious and cut way back on bringing along new talent, tending to go with their tried and true authors instead of those of us with question marks over our heads. That certainly makes sense from a business perspective, but totally sucks from the "trying to get a foot in the door" side of things. Speaking as my alter ego, Commander Obvious, the low sales trend needs to be reversed in order for them to feel comfortable again about taking on us new guys.

So this holiday season, if you're trying to choose between purchasing a Wisconsin Cheeseman Gift Tower and a good novel or a Kung Fu Panda plushy and a quality picture book, all I'm asking is that you help a novelista in need by dropping your dime on the books. Thanks!