Tag: Cybils awards

Posted in mentor texts, Picture Books, Research, Uncategorized

Where to Find those 10,000 Books

Posted on by beckylevine

So at some point in Outliers, I guess Malcolm Gladwell said a few things about putting 10,000 hours into something you want to do well. And possibly there is debate about not only what he said, but about whether he was right.

Whatever Gladwell actually said, how many times have you heard other writers, publishers, agents, your mother say that–to write–you need to read? A lot. Do you really need to read 10,000 books? Sure. Even more. I don’t actually think there’s a cut-off, a number beyond which you’ve gathered everything you need to know. I do agree that reading is critical to growing my writing skills and that a whole bunch of that reading needs to be in my genre.

I’ve talked here before about mentor texts, the picture books I go to when I’m stuck. I look for something the authors have done that I’m not doing yet, look for places they’ve cleared the particular hurdle I’m facing. I dissect, I analyze, I scribble notes. (No, not in the book!) And I am always looking for new mentor texts–books that tell a story as well as I’m hoping mine will some day. Where do I find these books?

I check out the picture-book section every time I walk into a bookstore. I browse library shelves, and I check out the books I find. I look at the websites of agents I’m researching, and I put their books on hold. I google things like “best picture books of the year,” and I put those books on hold. I read blogs by picture book writers, and…yep, I put more books on hold. Every couple of weeks, I take a pile  of picture books back to the library, and I pick up my next stack.

I’m looking for some new sites I can explore. So I thought I’d ask here for your suggestions–where to you go to look for what’s new and good? Thank you in advance!

I’ll start:

There you go! Got anything to add?

Posted in Uncategorized

Celebrate with Jen Robinson

Posted on by beckylevine

Today, at her book page, Jen Robinson talks about the fact that she’s now been blogging for eight years. Hard to believe, but then I also can’t believe that her little girl, “Baby Bookworm,” is so clearly not a baby anymore or that my son, for whom I have used Jen’s page as a great book resources, is heading to college next year. But, yes, okay, sure, it’s been eight years.

This is just a quick post to celebrate Jen and her blog. Jen’s Book Page was one of the first I found when I started reading blogs. Even though, as she says, Jen chose an engineering path and I totally did the English major-Victorian novels-lots of papers route, I connected with Jen over the fact that, as adults, we both still read kids books. A lot. Possibly even the majority of the time. Without a touch of embarrassment. And her passion about and commitment to getting kids reading and sharing the best kidlit with adult readers struck home for me, in a huge way. Jen has also led me to the Cybils awards site, from which I pretty much build my year’s reading list and where I return whenever I run out of something to ready (yes, it happens) or am stuck trying to find a book to gift. And I’m pretty sure Jen is the reason I started blogging, because–if I remember correctly–it was while I was leaving a comment on one of her posts that I thought, “Wow. This is a really long comment. This comment is practically as long as an actual blog post. Hmm. Maybe I should…”

Jen’s reviews are thorough, intelligent, and just detailed enough to get you intrigued without dropping any spoilers. She’s honest about her reaction to a book, sharing what she sees as pluses and minuses. In her post, she mentions the “reviews” she’s written about the books her daughter loves, even when Jen doesn’t always agree. I’m loving these posts, partially because they really show how kids’ tastes can differ from ours, but also because Jen’s thoughts so reflect what all parents go through, who–in trying to pass on their love of books–hit little heffalump traps along the way.

I’m pretty sure that everybody who reads my blog reads Jen’s, but in case you haven’t actually dropped in there yet, do. You’ll be welcomed into a wonderful world of books and reading. And stop by to tell Jen congratulations!

Happy Anniversary, Jen!

Posted in Blog Contest, Marketing, Promotion

Marketing Interview (& Contest) with Laura Purdie Salas

Posted on by beckylevine

In September of 2008, Laura Purdie Salas joined up with Fiona Bayrock to explore marketing and PR possibilities for two of their picture books that were being published the next year: Salas’ Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of Schooland Bayrock’s Bubble Homes and Fish Farts. And they decided to do this exploration publicly—at their LiveJournal community, Bubble Stampede. Over the next months, the two authors discussed their marketing goals, their fears, and their plans.

I asked Laura if she’d do an interview here, to talk about what some of those plans were, how they year and the release went, and which ideas worked better than others. Happily, she said, “Yes.” Read all the way through—Laura has provided a TON of specific, practical information.

And leave a comment. I’ll enter you all in a drawing for Laura’s book Stampede! I’ll draw the winner next Wednesday, September 2.

And on to the interview.

BL: How did you and Fiona hook up? What made the two of you decide to work on your marketing plans together?

LPS: When I posted one or two Marketing Monday posts on my personal blog, I told readers that I’d be sharing my book promotion journey. Fiona Bayrock and I knew each other from being on the NFforKids Yahoo group, and she emailed me to suggest we join forces and do a joint blog. I thought that was a fantastic idea and said, “Yes, let’s!”

BL: Why did you decide to do the planning publicly, on the community blog?

LPS: Well, I had a nice motive and an ulterior motive. The nice motive was that I like to share stuff on my blog, when possible, that is information and that’s hard information for beginners to find. My ulterior motive was that by sharing my promotion tasks, I’d be promoting my book, of course. Also I hoped to get feedback and ideas from some writers who were more experienced than me. And we did! Finally, I thought being public about it would help make me accountable and keep me on track.

BL: What were your biggest/basic marketing goals for Stampede!?

LPS: Here’s the list I was working from.

Interview/Reviews

  • Contact local media (personally & also through publisher’s publicist). Do again in summer with a back-to-school angle
  • Approach blog reviewers about sending review copy (give list to publicist)

ONLINE

  • Create a STAMPEDE website and give it some presence on my website
  • Create “billboard presence”—my word for a static online site/page that you don’t have to change a lot—on Facebook, Linked In, MySpace, Ning, etc
  • Update Flapjacket, Children’s Literature Network, and other sites that list my books
  • Do an ongoing marketing blog with Fiona Bayrock

Events

  • Book launch
  • Local book events with another author?
  • Attend IRA (International Reading Association) in May this year, here, in Minneapolis
  • Possibly attend ALA (American Library Association) in Chicago
  • Try to arrange to speak at some conferences in 09

Reaching out to Teachers/Booksellers

  • Teacher’s guide
  • Reader’s theatre
  • Authorless event kit? (A set of online materials a bookstore can print out to create a fun storytime with reading, activities, maybe a craft…all without too much work on the bookseller’s part and no in-person visit from the author.)

Reaching out to the Press

  • Create an online press kit
  • Update my bios
  • Create some resource materials (10 Great Back-to-School books, 10 Terrific Poetry Books, etc.) to share in press materials and also on Amazon
  • Write a back-to-school piece for news wire

Name Recognition

  • Guest-teach a couple of classes in the Whidbey Island Writers Association
  • Serve on poetry panel for CYBILS awards
  • Write a bi-monthly poetry column for Kid Magazine Writers
  • Attend local book club with media specialists, kidlit profs, and children’s book buyer for the entire Minneapolis metro area as members, etc
  • Anything that can bet my name in front of people and where I can slide a mention of Stampede! in there

Miscellaneous Stuff

  • Book trailer
  • Blog campaign to get people to request that their library buy a copy of the book
  • Have promotional items made
  • Campaign contacts to review the book on Amazon and B&N
  • Mail press kit to local media
  • Have postcards made as soon as cover is final and start handing them out now!

Mailings

  • Start updating contact list so that I can do mailing to schools, libraries, independent booksellers, and personal contacts

BL: What were your marketing fears?

LPS: In-person events scared me the most. I was losing sleep about a book launch. The idea made me so nervous. The other big fear was just that everything would fall flat. The more you put into it, the harder you try, the bigger our humiliation is if it all falls flat.

BL: Where and how did you gather your initial ideas about what a marketing plan might include?

LPS: The fantastic blog Shrinking Violet Promotions was a great starting point for me. Also, I had been saving emails and articles and all sorts of stuff for years in a folder marked Promotion. It was a “someday” folder…and someday came, and I really did use a lot of that information!

BL: What marketing to-dos went on your original list of things to focus on?

LPS:

  • Contacting the publicity department at my publisher
  • Building the microsite for Stampede!
  • Creating the book trailer
  • Figuring out a book launch

BL: Did you accomplish that whole list?

LPS: I did do all the stuff on that short list, though I ended up doing an online launch. It was a ton of work, but it was also lots of fun. The launch happened in April, but all the activities and comments are still live here.

BL: What was the best thing about marketing your book?

LPS: That’s a tough question, since marketing doesn’t come easily to me. Um…One was that putting so much effort into this really made me appreciate the value of my book. I risked my time, energy, money, and pride, knowing I might not get something in return—but felt like my book was worth it. Two was that by putting a lot of visible effort into Stampede!,I made my publisher aware that I was willing and able to promote my book. And that in turn made my publisher more willing to promote my book, like by sending me to ALA Chicago (and Texas TLA—Texas Library Association—next spring). This is a lot of money to spend on an unknown author, and I think (though I don’t know for sure) that my own promotion efforts indirectly lead to this.

So much stuff we do in marketing has no immediate, tangible result, so it’s hard to evaluate. But I do think impressing your publisher as a busy, effective marketer can only help!

BL: What was the hardest thing about marketing your book?

LPS: Handing out postcards or flyers or whatever at conferences—that is just so not me. Even as I’ve gotten more confident and a little more experienced, I’m still not comfortable with this. OH! And the other hardest part was in bookstore/signing events. Some were better organized than others, and some resulted in a few book sales. But I do not have a salesperson’s personality, and three hours out of too many Saturdays resulting in three books sold just got kind of old.

BL: With the book launched and “out there,” and looking back, is there something you now see as a must-do for writers?

LPS: If you’re not 100% comfortable with marketing, partnering up with another writer with a new book out is what I would consider a must-do! Teaming up with Fiona Bayrock for some online promotion at Bubble Stampede pushed me to do more. And for in-person events, which are what really intimidate me, teaming up with Dara Dokas (Muriel’s Red Sweater) was such a wonderful thing for me. The other must-dos, I think, are:

  • A website or section of a website devoted just to your book
  • Teacher-support materials (reading guide, reader’s theater, etc.)
  • Getting your book into the hands of reviewers (both print and blog)
  • Increasing your visibility in the writing community—don’t always focus on just one book; the more visible YOU are, the more people will recognize your name and hopefully check out your book(s)
  • Make postcards and/or business cards featuring your book cover and hand them out freely

There are a few things I never got to on my list, mostly because I ran out of time.

  • I never did any mailings
  • in-person launch (fear factor, more than time factor)
  • More billboard presence for my book on various online platforms

BL: Are there any other recommendations you’d give to writers whose book will be published in the next year?

LPS: I know I said bookstore events weren’t that successful for me. But it’s great to do them to build relationships with your local booksellers. I’m doing a reading at Red Balloon Bookshop in October, but they also hooked me up with an event at a minor league baseball game and recommended me to a school looking for (paid) author event. Booksellers have all kinds of connections with schools and organizations, so it’s smart to make them aware of you, your book, and what you might have to offer.

Start early. Some of this stuff takes a ton of time! And bookstores and other venues plan events for the future.

Don’t beat yourself up. I did as much as I could for Stampede!. I wanted to learn what works best for me. I didn’t get to everything, but I tried to just be proud of what I did do. And with my next book, I’ll be more selective, concentrating on the kinds of things that worked well the first time around.