Schaub received Oscar nomination for animation in Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Disney), along with nominations for BAFTA Award, Saturn Award and Critic’s Choice Award, and won the Golden Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects for his team’s work on the film.
HEAD ANIMATION on Sony Picture’s SURFS UP – recognized with two Annie Awards among its ten nominations including Academy Award nomination and four Visual Effects Society (VES) award nominations.
ANIMATION DIRECTOR on AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 (2014), CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (Disney), I AM LEGEND (Warner Bros.) and LEAD ANIMATOR on STUART LITTLE 1 & 2, EVOLUTION, CAST AWAY, GODZILLA, PATCH ADAMS and more.
ANIMATION DIRECTOR – Universal’s award-winning JURASSIC WORLD EXPEDITION (2019) VR EXPERIENCE. Exploring cinematic potential of virtual reality.
Website → https://www.dschaub2.com/
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/dschaub2writer
Goodreads → https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19662596.David_Schaub
This mystical adventure follows a young
adventure-seeker named Luther McCleron on a westward journey to learn
more about his Grandfather. A series of fateful missteps take Luther far
from his
A mysterious book of premonitions, an ominous crow, and ancient Indian drive the mystical tone of this world; conjuring spiritual forces to help steer Luther on his journey through this western “twilight zone.”
All the loose ends resolve in a satisfying story of redemption, loyalty and ascension while exploring the mysterious nature of fate and destiny. Was all of this a coincidence? Or are we guided by ancient “spirits on the wind” that nudge and steer us along our path to assure that we arrive safely at our intended destination in the end?
5 out of 5 stars
A fantastic and Immersive adventure for everyone.
What a wonderful audio book and what a
pleasure it was to be on this journey. Not only the adventure was
captivating but also everything around it. The sounds effect and voices
really bring it all together, you almost feel like you are right there
witnessing all this first hand. The production quality is something I
have never heard before. Very well done and I highly recommend it.
Amazon → https://amzn.to/2qsxtKC
Audible → https://adbl.co/2OjjleM
After your book was released, what was the first thing you
did when getting ready for your book launch?
Being new to all
this, we really didn’t think ahead toward the inevitable marketing task.
Between my writing partner (Roger Vizard) and myself, our primary focus was to
complete the writing project, and follow that up with the production of the
audio drama. Focusing on the creative was our first and only priority. We were just
playing it one step in front of the next, and certainly didn’t want to
interrupt the creative flow by getting ahead of ourselves. Only upon completion
of the project did we start pulling the social media campaign together. But as
you probably know – that process should have started much sooner.
In fairness to us
though, I should say that publishing was not our intended end game. This story
was written as a screenplay, destined to make its rounds through the Hollywood
circuit. Only after the project was complete did we have the idea of
self-publishing. The idea was to create an organic following – a groundswell of
our own with a real audience before circling back through the studios.
But if publishing is your goal from the outset, then I would
certainly recommend stirring the marketing pot as early in the writing process
as possible to build anticipation for your release. It never hurts to keep
those channels cooking.
After
that, what was your next step?
Once the audiobook was released, we were provided with promo
codes from Audible for the purpose of acquiring reviews. Reviews are starting
to come in now, and great to see how well it is being received!
Right now we are
“traveling” on the PUYB Virtual Book Tour. I’m enjoying the process of writing
the guest blogs, and doing interviews like these. It’s been a cathartic
experience, reflecting on the process, and sharing lessons learned along the
way. I want to express my gratitude to the blogspots like these who are
interested in hosting our stories, and helping us get the word out there!
Did you do anything different to spice up your website in
lieu of your upcoming book release?
I’m always keeping
the website up to date, and embellishing it as new developments occur. The
landing page for this project is a subset of my personal home page, so I try to keep everything
indexed in one place. Now that I am doing these guest blogs, I will be updating
the site to include these blog links as well. https://www.dschaub2.com/
https://www.dschaub2.com/other-projects
Did you ever consider using a PR agency to help you promote
your book or did you prefer the DIY route?
No PR agency, but
I wouldn’t rule it out next time around. Being blissfully ignorant, we took the
DIY route in our marketing campaign without realizing what a big job it really
is! But as with any outside help, you get what you pay for. In searching
around, you’ll find lots of PR enticements online. Just be careful. Remember
that for a reasonable price, you will get reasonable results… if that.
As amazing as your
project may be, no one is gong to care about your work as much as you do –
unless you can make it financially worth someone’s while to do so. I’ve been
disappointed by well-meaning marketers and spokespeople in the past. Unless you
are paying these people well, you simply cannot expect the same level of
service and commitment that you are providing for yourself. It would be great
to have the budget to fully engage an experienced marketer. But in lieu of
that, we are on our own to come up with our own creative strategies.
Were finding
reviews a top priority for you and, if yes, how did you approach that? Reviews are
definitely a top priority, and we are anxiously seeking more. The response has
been great so far, and we’d love to keep them coming in.
Given the
entertainment value - with a full cast and musical score – it’s a really easy
and fun listen for a frustrating commute in traffic (2 hr, 47 min) –
straight-up entertainment for the listener… no reading required! Here are the
reviews so far: https://tinyurl.com/audible-us
** So with that in mind ** we still have
promo codes available (US & UK) for anyone interested in a free copy in exchange for an honest review on
Audible.com ;-)
Feel free to reach me directly here,
while codes are still available: dschaub2@gmail.com
We’d love to have new listeners chime in, and get behind us on this journey!
What
are your views on social media for marketing your book?
Social media
offers enormous opportunities for authors. In hindsight, I would have jumped
onto the social media bandwagon much sooner. You definitely don’t need to wait
until your book is complete to start your promotional push.
If you already have a following,
it’s easy to build anticipation for your work-in-progress.
Upon release, it’s a simple matter
of unleashing it onto your loyal band of followers.
They will happily
devour what they have been eagerly anticipating. Seems like a no-brainer now!
What
social media has worked best for you?
Being visually oriented, I
personally found Twitter a little under-stimulating… so an Instagram feed is a
more practical solution for me. It’s a new account, so I don’t have the benefit
of years of engagement, but it’s slowly growing a following.
I’ve been uploading content every week - documenting our
journey from writing, to recording, toward our ultimate goal of producing an
animated feature down the road: https://www.instagram.com/moviemethods/
I thought it would
be entertaining to post the twists, turns and writing inspiration as we go. I’m
sure there will be lots of discoveries, insights and takeaways on the bumpy
road ahead. So please FOLLOW, and share the adventure with us. It’ll be a fun
ride, for sure!
Did you revamp your author’s page at Amazon in any way to
prepare for the launch ?
Nothing to revamp, but newly created
to support this project:
https://www.amazon.com/David-Schaub/e/B07XTR66VR
Did
you create a book trailer?
There is an audio trailer/sample at
Audible:
https://tinyurl.com/audible-us
We haven’t done a
video trailer yet, but hope to do so in the form of an animated short down the
road. In the meantime, I think the audio excerpt serves its function as a
trailer that sets the tone and mood for the wild and wacky adventure that
follows.
Did
you time your book launch around a certain holiday?
There was no
intended correlation to the holiday-season release. Timing worked out as it
did, so I realize we launched into some very busy holiday traffic. But the tour
has been extended beyond the holiday season, and wrapping up at the end of
January.
What
was the best money you ever spent on your book launch?
It’s hard to know at this early stage, as we are still
gaining momentum. I’d say the book tour makes the most sense, since we can get
word out through multiple sources this way.
Any
tips for those authors wanting to set up a successful book launch?
Take a step back,
and make sure your expectations are realistic. As noted earlier, we really
didn’t know what to expect going in. And if you think writing is a challenge,
wait until you get to the marketing part!
I think we are
somewhat caught up on social media now. I will continue contributing to the
Instagram feed and take advantage of other marketing opportunities that present
themselves along the way. With that in place, we’ll move forward on a slow burn
to get awareness up before circling back through the studio system – ideally
with a loyal band of supporters on our side. It is certainly a new approach
toward the goal of producing an animated feature,
but an angle worth exploring. Please join us in the charge! And thanks for your
interest in the journey!
https://www.dschaub2.com/
https://www.dschaub2.com/other-projects
https://www.instagram.com/moviemethods/
https://www.facebook.com/dschaub2writer/?modal=admin_todo_tour
https://www.moviemethods.com/
After your book was released, what was the first thing you
did when getting ready for your book launch?
Being new to all
this, we really didn’t think ahead toward the inevitable marketing task.
Between my writing partner (Roger Vizard) and myself, our primary focus was to
complete the writing project, and follow that up with the production of the
audio drama. Focusing on the creative was our first and only priority. We were just
playing it one step in front of the next, and certainly didn’t want to
interrupt the creative flow by getting ahead of ourselves. Only upon completion
of the project did we start pulling the social media campaign together. But as
you probably know – that process should have started much sooner.
In fairness to us
though, I should say that publishing was not our intended end game. This story
was written as a screenplay, destined to make its rounds through the Hollywood
circuit. Only after the project was complete did we have the idea of
self-publishing. The idea was to create an organic following – a groundswell of
our own with a real audience before circling back through the studios.
But if publishing is your goal from the outset, then I would
certainly recommend stirring the marketing pot as early in the writing process
as possible to build anticipation for your release. It never hurts to keep
those channels cooking.
After
that, what was your next step?
Once the audiobook was released, we were provided with promo
codes from Audible for the purpose of acquiring reviews. Reviews are starting
to come in now, and great to see how well it is being received!
Right now we are
“traveling” on the PUYB Virtual Book Tour. I’m enjoying the process of writing
the guest blogs, and doing interviews like these. It’s been a cathartic
experience, reflecting on the process, and sharing lessons learned along the
way. I want to express my gratitude to the blogspots like these who are
interested in hosting our stories, and helping us get the word out there!
Did you do anything different to spice up your website in
lieu of your upcoming book release?
I’m always keeping
the website up to date, and embellishing it as new developments occur. The
landing page for this project is a subset of my personal home page, so I try to keep everything
indexed in one place. Now that I am doing these guest blogs, I will be updating
the site to include these blog links as well. https://www.dschaub2.com/
Feel free to reach me directly here,
while codes are still available: dschaub2@gmail.com
We’d love to have new listeners chime in, and get behind us on this journey!
They will happily
devour what they have been eagerly anticipating. Seems like a no-brainer now!
What
social media has worked best for you?
Being visually oriented, I
personally found Twitter a little under-stimulating… so an Instagram feed is a
more practical solution for me. It’s a new account, so I don’t have the benefit
of years of engagement, but it’s slowly growing a following.
I’ve been uploading content every week - documenting our
journey from writing, to recording, toward our ultimate goal of producing an
animated feature down the road: https://www.instagram.com/moviemethods/
Did you revamp your author’s page at Amazon in any way to
prepare for the launch ?
I thought it would
be entertaining to post the twists, turns and writing inspiration as we go. I’m
sure there will be lots of discoveries, insights and takeaways on the bumpy
road ahead. So please FOLLOW, and share the adventure with us. It’ll be a fun
ride, for sure!
Nothing to revamp, but newly created
to support this project:
Did
you create a book trailer?
https://www.amazon.com/David-Schaub/e/B07XTR66VR
There is an audio trailer/sample at
Audible:
https://tinyurl.com/audible-us
We haven’t done a
video trailer yet, but hope to do so in the form of an animated short down the
road. In the meantime, I think the audio excerpt serves its function as a
trailer that sets the tone and mood for the wild and wacky adventure that
follows.
Did
you time your book launch around a certain holiday?
There was no
intended correlation to the holiday-season release. Timing worked out as it
did, so I realize we launched into some very busy holiday traffic. But the tour
has been extended beyond the holiday season, and wrapping up at the end of
January.
What
was the best money you ever spent on your book launch?
It’s hard to know at this early stage, as we are still
gaining momentum. I’d say the book tour makes the most sense, since we can get
word out through multiple sources this way.
Any
tips for those authors wanting to set up a successful book launch?
Take a step back,
and make sure your expectations are realistic. As noted earlier, we really
didn’t know what to expect going in. And if you think writing is a challenge,
wait until you get to the marketing part!
I think we are
somewhat caught up on social media now. I will continue contributing to the
Instagram feed and take advantage of other marketing opportunities that present
themselves along the way. With that in place, we’ll move forward on a slow burn
to get awareness up before circling back through the studio system – ideally
with a loyal band of supporters on our side. It is certainly a new approach
toward the goal of producing an animated feature,
but an angle worth exploring. Please join us in the charge! And thanks for your
interest in the journey!
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