Tag Archives: Vacation Hiro

Self-Publishing Journey: Week 6

Week 6: Live Events & Blog Tours

So now we are looking at the dreaded side of self-publishing for most writers: self-promotion. Writers didn’t used to have to deal with this. Your publishing company would toot your horn, promote your book, and you could show up very humbly and sign for adoring fans. Those days are gone, even for 99% of traditionally published authors.

I have a bachelor’s degree in public relations, so I know what needs to be done in this field. I’ve read some good books and follow some blogs of other authors and their journey. Some things have worked for us, some have not. What I can speak to specifically is promoting a book for elementary and early middle school age readers. It is a very specific market, and what may work for an adult book won’t work for me. I have done dozens of live events and set up blog tours for my first two books. Here’s what we have learned so far.

Blog Tours

Blog tours are an entirely separate beast from live events. When “Why Kimba Saved The World” released, I spent hours (I mean DAYS) setting up a blog tour. I screened carefully to make sure that the blogger wrote about children’s books and posted reviews consistently. Nearly everyone who agreed to take part in the tour did their part. I think there were about 10 of them. I made some great connections that I still keep in touch with, and we cross-promote each other. As far as all of that goes, it was a success. However, I don’t think any sales came from any of those posts. For “Vacation Hiro,” I set up a smaller blog tour, mostly of the sites who had already posted on “Kimba.” For Book 3, I did very little blog promotion. My big targets then were already established readers through social media and my newsletter.

I did get many, many reviews posted to amazon.com from those bloggers, especially for Book 1. That’s nothing to sneeze at (more on that in a later blog), but that’s not really the goal of a blog tour. You are supposed to be getting in front of new readers. I’m not sure blog tours, especially for kid’s books, work that way. At least not the ones you can set up on your own.

Paying for someone else to promote your books is an option on the blog tour front. The Mother-Daughter Book Review site has very reasonable packages, and they have a fantastic reputation. But it does feel rather like paying for a review (something I avoid), so I have not tried their services yet. That may change in the future.

When “Max’s Wild Night” comes out in May, I will definitely be in touch with bloggers, but the goal will be for reviews. The same will be true of “At the Corner of Magnetic and Main,” but it will be a whole new set of bloggers because this is an adult book. How much time I devote to finding them is questionable. I’ve made many connections through LinkedIn with those type of bloggers because I knew this book would come out one way or another. As long as it doesn’t become overly time consuming, I’m sure I’ll be working on connecting with them. I’ll try to coordinate the posts around the release date, but I’ll know more what to expect this time. If there are some sales, excellent. Mostly, I’ll be looking for reviews.

If you think a blog tour would be fun, go for it. There’s no harm, but you have to judge the amount of time you devote to it.

Live/Face-to-Face Events

Live events are by far our best sales venues for me, but it matters where we go and how much we have to spend to be there. We have learned, the hard way, that spending too much for any booth or table space will leave us disappointed. If we are going to have hotel costs involved, we are not going to make money. Promotion is all good and fine, but if you don’t sell enough books to cover costs you are not making money. That is our goal. This is a business for us, not a hobby. My time comes at a price. If I’m busy with something else, I’m not writing. That’s one of the things that has to weigh into every decision we make about events this year. Some goodwill and getting yourself in front of the right people is okay. Just watch how much you put into that. After the last two years of live events, we have reached some conclusions.

The War Eagle Fall Craft Fair was by far our most successful event. You can read my blog about it at this link. We sold nearly 100 books over the four days we were there, met lots of new and excited readers, and didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for the space. We made a nice profit. Perfect. But it is only once a year. There is a much smaller spring fair (and we did reasonably well there too), but it may not be held this year. Large craft fairs like this are big on our agenda for 2015. I’ve kept my ears open and made notes on ones within driving distance. There are a couple in Fayetteville I will be investigating and maybe taking part in. People coming to these events are ready to buy something and are looking for unique items they can’t just find at their local store. Indie books are a great fit for them.
Targeted events can be successful—events that have some connection with your book. My books are about cats, so I got a booth at a local Cat Fancier’s competition event. Click here to read about that one specifically. Sales were very good and it was fun to be a part of, however, I paid for two hotel nights so all profits were sucked away. When it is held this year, I may go again, but I’ll have to suck it up and spend four hours on the road each day. This is one the CFO across the hall and I will have to debate. If he can come with me, that may make it worthwhile. There’s also the question, though, of whether it will be all the same people again. I sold a set of books to over half of the vendors with cats in the show. If they are all there again, I have a smaller new audience. These are the kind of things you have to consider before you dive in to something a second time, but targeted events are good to explore as long as the booth fee is not excessive.
Big conferences like the Arkansas Reading Association and the Association of Arkansas Librarians were major flops. It’s not so much because I didn’t sell any books, but the huge overhead costs and hotel stays sucked any profit away and cost us more than we made. My hope with both was that I would stir up interest in school visits. Just one would have made the cost worthwhile. That may still happen, but none so far. Librarians are also mostly interested in hardcover books that are on the AR list. My books don’t fit either category. These events were not worth the time and money involved. Big companies like HBJ can throw money at events like this (and they did, believe me), but we cannot.
Author events at libraries are mostly a waste of time. Folks go to the library for free books. I’m not knocking this. I am at my local library every other week with books and DVDs for fun and research. You might meet some new readers. That’s a bonus. You might sell a few books. That’s a great goal. The table is usually free. That’s always a good thing. You just have to decide how much your time is worth. I have sat at library events for hours and not had a soul even walk by. If we do any this year, we will make sure the library is big enough to draw traffic and be worth using time I could spend writing or doing other promotional work. At the end of this blog I’ll share an exception to the rule from a couple of days ago. Library events are on the “maybe” list.
Anything that has a mass garage sale feel or fundraising for something where folks are hoping to get treasures for a dollar are not worth the time. They want massive deals. They don’t want books. I’ve done a couple. I did sell a few books, but mostly to the other vendors. It’s not worth the time.
Book store events were a waste. I did one author signing at an indie book store when “Why Kimba Saved The World” released. No one came. Along with consignments (I’ll cover that massive waste of time/money in another blog), don’t bother with book stores unless you have a significant local connection. I may try to set up something at a local book store when “At the Corner of Magnetic and Main” comes out because it is set in our tourist town and has that draw and connection. Otherwise, don’t bother with bookstores. There are better ways to spend your time and money.
School book talks are in our hopeful pile. I haven’t chased this line of events too much because self-published books are not going to have a big pull with public schools. Early in 2014 I spent a day at a private school where I had worked in Houston. I was already in town for a family visit, so no hotel cost. The students and faculty know me. We had a great time, I talked to separate age groups and could focus what I had to say, and they sent home a flyer that resulted in excellent book sales. It was very successful, but every element to help that along was in place. Just to wander into a public school where they don’t know me or my books would probably not result in much. I have been invited to speak to the 5^th graders at our local school where I substitute teach a day or two a week (though only with the prek – second graders). That talk would be totally about community goodwill. I doubt many of the kids would go out and get my books. Frankly, I’d probably donate copies to the classrooms. I already did that for one first grade classroom where I’ve spent a few days and there are advanced readers who are ready for them. This is definitely not on the “business” side of things, but it is personal and I think it’s still worth the time because it’s only a few hours and makes for community goodwill—and it’s just nice for the kids involved. Doing this beyond my own community would really take some consideration. As I’ve read from many other kid lit authors, don’t let schools take advantage of you. If you are a professional writer, your time has some value.
Workshops where I am a speaker is my big goal for 2015. I am actually a well-trained public speaker and have presented full-day conferences all on my own. As I continue to write and publish, I am starting to get some areas where I have knowledge and experience to share in this business. You know, like about self-publishing. I’ve become more involved with two groups in the Ozarks who bring speakers in for local conferences, so I’m watching how they make their choices. Speakers send them proposals. Who knew? Getting a packet of my own together and looking for appropriate small conferences to start out with is on the agenda. These events can pay well or not so much, but you will nearly always have a chance to sell your books. I’ve watched people come out of talks and go right to the speaker’s book table to make a purchase. It’s a personal connection. Again, big goal for 2015. Stay tuned!

One kind of live event we have not tried yet is an actual book release party. I will be doing a live book release event/party for “At the Corner of Magnetic and Main,” along with a Facebook/Twitter release event that evening. Again, because this book has a local connection I think we can have a fun party, and I can invite local friends, authors, and business connections we have in town from our Chamber of Commerce (we run a guest house too). We can have it right here on our property in our pavilion. Sales at the event would be great, but it’s more about goodwill and celebrating a book that has been in the works a few years and is set in our town. As long as we keep our goals (and costs) reasonable, it will be worth it. I’m sure you’ll hear more about all of this in September, when the big day comes.

Kimberling Library Author Day

Here’s a specific example of a live event that was worth the time, even if sales were not amazing. On Saturday the 7^th I took part in an Author Day event at the Kimberling Area Library (near Branson, MO). This was the first time I had done it, but I knew they were hosting 40 authors, having guest speakers (including Roy Rogers, Jr.), and doing lots of promotion. I also knew other authors who were taking part. There was no table cost fee, and it only took us 45 minutes to get there, so there was very little risk if it was a complete bomb. I’d still have fun hanging around with my author friends. This event also was the kind of local goodwill that is worth taking the time for. I know people on the planning team and wanted to help make the event a success. We also learned that this library, which is really nice and well kept, is totally run by volunteers and gets no tax money. Definitely a cause worth supporting.

Kimba and Hiro’s travel reps pose with the library sign. They were happy to get out and about after a few months off.

I shared a table with my friend Gwen, so that make the day even better.

I shared a table with my friend Gwen, so that made the day even better. Check out her book, “Letting Go Into Perfect Love” at amazon.com!

There was a nice turnout!

As far as library events go, this one was very successful. Dozens of people wandered through to shop for books. The speakers were well attended and enjoyed. I sold 11 books total, but that was more than many of the other authors there. We also had the oddness of three different people buying only Book 2, “Vacation Hiro,” because they liked the cat on the cover. That’s never happened before!

She is a beautiful cat!

I can only hope they will love it and want to read the whole series. I got names for my mailing list. It was all good. We made a donation of a part of our sales back to the library. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Now, will I do this event again next year? I don’t know. I understand that they want to have a variety of authors participate for the same reason I may not do it again right next year—there will probably be mostly the same people attending next year and they want to see new authors. I will have two new books out by then, so that may weigh into our decision and whether they want me back. It was certainly worth having done.

Book Festival Events

One kind of event I have my eye on is something like the Texas Book Festival. The booth costs are high, but people coming to that event have one goal: to buy books. That’s where authors want to be! I was all set to attend the Texas Book Festival in 2015 and share booth space with a writer friend who has done it before. Our books would line up well together. It was all planned. But then they changed the date to be the exact same weekend as the War Eagle Craft Fair—our biggest sure-thing of the year. It was just too hard to justify missing it, and we might upset the organizer and have her give our booth space to someone else—they are hard to come by—, so I had to back out of the festival. But I still have my eye on it for 2016. I’ll have seven books to my name by the fall of 2016, if all goes as planned and the creek don’t rise, so it may be worth getting my own booth. I have family in Houston and Austin, so no hotel fees. This is one we will have to wrangle with in the future. I can envision Scott’s brow furrowing already.

Is there a Missouri Book Festival? I’ll have to look into that. The Arkansas Book Festival is more by invitation only, so I’ll have to find out whose eye I need to catch for that one, but that would involve a hotel stay. That alone may take it out of the running. This is another area to “stay tuned.” I’m sure more events will present themselves this year that we will have to weigh and decide on. No waste of money is our 2015 goal. We will be taking fewer chances, but we also may miss out on some good stuff. It’s a very fine line to walk, as it is with any business. Promotion is good, but it has to have a valuable outcome to make it worthwhile. We have learned a lot so far. We may have a long way to go.

Any thoughts to share on what has worked for you as far as blog tours and events? Share with everyone in the comments section!

Next Week: Book Release and Production Scheduling

I kind of skipped over this one because I had a live event to talk about, so we’ll circle back to that one—a subject I am up to my eyeballs in right now for “Max’s Wild Night”—next time.

Book Birthday For “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge!!”

Today is officially the publication day and Book Birthday for “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge!” If you follow my blog, this book is not big news for you, and if you follow me on other social media you are more than aware that this is the big day. Book releases and Book Birthdays are not subtle events!

Click on the cover to get your copy from amazon.com now!

Personalized and autographed paperback are also available here at my website, so just look for the shopping cart on the right hand column or go to the Purchase Books page.

Today is also Samantha’s (aka Miss Fatty Cat) 9th birthday. She is not sure what all the fuss is about as far as the book goes, but she’s hoping for some extra food and love today. I’m sure “Leia” will take care of that. You can celebrate with special prices on “Why Kimba Saved The World” (FREE) and “Vacation Hiro” (99 cents) too.

Kimba is not too sure about this nonsense about a book that doesn’t have her image on the cover, but I have assured her that it is still all about her and the adventures that she has at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Convincing her that I should spend time on “Max’s Wild Night” where she will only be a side note is a different challenge altogether. Maybe we can distract her with Disney plush toys. Buzz Lightyear was waiting for me this morning on the floor outside my office, so he must have gone for a wild ride. To infinity and beyond, indeed!

I’m really grateful to the bloggers who have supported today’s book launch. I didn’t reach out to as many this time, but most that I contacted answered the call at one time or another in the process. Some have already posted reviews, and I’ve shared them. Today Chris at The Story Reading Ape share a nice interview with me and information about all three books, and Johanna Rae shared a separate interview at her blog. There are a couple of others scheduled that have not been published, so I’ll just have to share them when they come out.

Summer is busy with our guest house business, but fall is when the book tours and fun really get going. There is something nearly every weekend, and I’m so excited to get back out and share the Cats in the Mirror series face to face with new readers and talk with fans. On Sept. 20th & 21st, “Leia” and I will be in Joplin for the Cat Fancier’s show, and September 27th we will be at the Springdale Library for their annual author event. I’m sure I’ll be blogging about that cat show! I’m also participating in two blog tours for other authors this month. Stay tuned!

July Updates

July promises to be an interesting month around here. “Mindy” moves into her own apartment at the end of the month in preparation for starting her junior year at the University of Arkansas, so there is much purchasing of kitchen items at the dollar store and sorting and packing going on. Her beloved cat, Tabitha, is going with her. I always knew this day would come, so “Slinky Steps Out” will begin to write itself as we see how the most skittery cat on the planet handles life as the only cat in the building.

“Leia” is practicing to take her driving test in mid-August, and around here that means driving on hairpin turns with tourists around every bend. As often as I stomp, there is still no brake on the passenger side of the car. “This too shall pass” keeps me going. And don’t even get me started on how much laundry goes with running a guest house. My poor washer is looking forward to fall as much as me. But it gives me freedom to indulge in my self-publishing habit, so I shouldn’t complain.

I’m also enjoying docent duty at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Finally got my official shirt!

“Mindy,” enjoying an educational game. She loved the fur samples, though the chewed up boomer ball is always a hit.

Two bobcats were released into a brand new grass habitat the morning I was there, and the staff is busy “crashing the compound” and tearing down the old concrete cages today as I write. I can’t wait to see the transformations they have in store.

For the Cats in the Mirror books, I set up a booth at the July 4th celebration on Holiday Island and had fun meeting some new readers. Events like that are not really a hot spot for big book sales. Most people are just there to enjoy the free events. But it was a beautiful day and we are still glad we went. We weren’t able to stay through for the fireworks this time, but that’s high on our agenda for next summer.

“Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” is available now at amazon.com and directly from me (from the store link on the right of this page). I don’t have the matching bookmarks just yet, but they should arrive any day. Book 3 is sort of in a holding pattern while I wait for bloggers to get to the book and post their reviews. Don’t forget to post your reviews at amazon.com too! It really does make a difference. That’s why authors are always nagging you for them. I refuse to pay for reviews (and you’d be shocked to know how many reviews you read are paid for), so everything I get comes from fans or awesome bloggers who want to support indie authors. “Vacation Hiro” would love some review love! If you read it and enjoyed it, you can post one by clicking here.

My big “author thrill” recently was to have a complete stranger ask at the library if they had a copy of “At The Corner of Magnetic and Main.” She had read about it in the paper a while back and wanted a copy. Awesome! The manuscript is getting some revision/expansion action over the summer, and I’m almost done, but the traditional route to publishing just takes a really, really, really long time. It’s especially hard on those of us who self-publish and are used to just rolling when we are ready. Based on the time frames for the agent and editor who are interested in “Magnetic and Main,” it could be winter before I decide to continue pursuing that route or just call on my amazing team and publish it myself. You will be the first to know!

I also want to take a minute to give a shout out to an adorable book I read last week.

Click on cover to see it at amazon.com.

The author contacted me about doing a book swap for reviews (indies do this quite a lot), and I was excited to find that this book is full of beautiful illustrations and delightful stories. I highly recommend this for elementary school kids, though it may need to be a read aloud for the younger ones. Some of the phrasing and words are clearly British, but I think that’s half of the fun. David and his son are reading “Why Kimba Saved The World” right now, and I sure hope they are enjoying it as much as I did their stories. Here’s a link to my full review at amazon.com.

There may not be any more updates here until more events and promos and activities get rolling in August. Once I get the girls off to their respective schools and the guest house calms down a bit, then there’s more on the writing front to get excited about.

Have a wonderful July!

Docent Day & Miss Fatty Cat Book

Today I hung out with Thor for several hours. Yes, Thor. No, not the one with the big hammer, though he is almost as impressive. This Thor.

Thor the Lion
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

Today was my first official day as a docent at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, and so I spent the morning hanging out with Thor and talking to guests about him and BamBam the grizzly bear, who was just a few feet away. It was hot, so Thor looked like this very soon.

Thor in the heat.

I had a tent for some shade, so it wasn’t so bad. I’ve gotten used to seeing Thor and the other big cats, but it was fun to hear little kids (and some adults) encounter him for the first time. It gives you a healthy respect for why having one of these cats in your home is not a great idea. Actually, it’s a TERRIBLE idea. I could show you the bowling ball that Brody the lion bit in two. Here’s a boomer ball that Indie the tiger made short work of.

That took her four days. Solid plastic. 32,000 pounds of bite pressure should never be underestimated.

That took her four days. Super-thick plastic designed for big cats. 32,000 pounds of bite pressure should never be underestimated.

Now if the refuge can just meet their goal of getting all of the animals out into grassed enclosures in 2014. Thor has waiting long enough. I’m looking forward to being back at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge over the July 4th weekend, but publishing & promotion work does not stop over the summer. Just last night we attended a circus-style event in Basin Park here in Eureka Springs.

There were fire stunts…

And a cutest dog contest. Tristan thought our table was the best place to hang out.

and a cutest dog contest. Our friend’s dog Tristan thought our table was the best place to hang out. Especially my daughter’s feet.

Most of my book events are in the fall, but it’s fun to attend some things in town as well.

Most exciting is that Book 3 of the Cats in the Mirror series, “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge,” is available at amazon.com for a soft launch for friends and family. I don’t have any copies available to autograph and send out yet, but if you want to read it as an ebook the files are ready and waiting for you! Click on the book cover to visit the amazon.com page.

You can also try to win one of 5 free paperback copies through Goodreads. Click here for the giveaway page.

The official launch date is set for Miss Fatty Cat’s birthday on September 12. There will be some discounted offers on the first two books, but the ebook price on Book 3 will be the same for a good long time. Grab it now. You won’t be missing out on a deal later. And, of course, post a review if you enjoyed it! When you see paperbacks hit the $9.99 mark, that will be their price unless amazon chooses to discount it. Or you can wait a couple of weeks to order a signed copy right from me. Coming soon!

The Arkansas Book Reviewer had this to say about Book 3:

“Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge is a fun and charming tale that will have readers questioning their own cat’s sly looks and supposed unassuming demeanor. Cat lovers of all ages will love this latest addition to the series set in the Ozarks of Arkansas! Recommended for all ages and libraries! Another 5 Star for Dendler!”

You can read the whole review here at her blog.

Other recent media attention has included a nice interview at Cheryl Carpinello’s blog and a great review of “Vacation Hiro” from Erik the Great at This Kid Reviews Books. Several reviewers and bloggers are lined up for posts surrounding the September 12th release, and I love that they are following the series and ready to support it.

That’s all the excitement for now. I hope you are having a wonderful summer and enjoying some stress-free vacation time. Maybe you should read a good book… about alien cats…

Much Ado About Kimba & Hiro

Paperback formatting is complete for Book 3 in the Cats in the Mirror series: “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge.” The cover reveal will be coming shortly before I set up some giveaways at Goodreads, and we are spot-on schedule for the September release. The full book cover work is being done now (thank you, Lesley), and I’m ready to begin formatting on the kindle version. That should be interesting!

I’ve also been busy with some author events. May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th I was at the War Eagle Spring Craft Fair with Kimba & Hiro’s stuffed touring reps and books to share with visitors.

Kimba & Hiro took a tour of the grounds. Guest thought they were adorable.

War Eagle Mill & Bridge are fantastic tourist sights.

We were there and ready to share our stories!

Scott made his first official Pringles duck lips for the season. He doesn’t sit still well.

Tracy Adams was next to us with her pottery. What talent! Of course, I went home with a new pot–but sadly not this one. Someone beat me to it when I wasn’t looking. We traded merchandise and everyone went home happy, but I owe Tracy a copy of “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge.”

Spring at War Eagle is only about 30% as busy as the fall festival, but we earned our stripes and were able to get booth space for the Fall Craft Festival in October. I’ve attended it before, and it is PACKED! All three books will be ready by then, so we will be there and ready to roll. I hope we get to be next to Tracy again. Nearly everyone stopped at her booth. You can find her in Branson, MO, at Peter Engler’s Design at the Grand Village Shops.

Kimba and Hiro tagged along with me for my Ozark Writer’s League (OWL) meeting on May 17th in Branson. Several members went home with copies of the books, and two have already posted 5 star reviews at amazon.com–because every writer knows how important those reviews are. So grateful!

Kimba & Hiro meet Jan Morrill

I reviewed Jan Morril’s book “The Red Kimono” a few months ago, and it was fun to get to share her with Kimba and Hiro during a quiet moment at the OWL meeting. They learned a little bit about what life was like for Japanese-Americans who were banished to internment camps during WWII. Jan also has a new book of Haiku poems available called “Life: Haiku By Haiku.” You can find out more about her great books at her web site.

Kimba and Hiro (and me too actually) got to officially meet Pamela Foster. I think I blogged about her hysterical book “Clueless Gringos In Paradise” a while back. Our book tables were next to each other, so the cats were able to get in a special reading of her new book “Ridgeline.” It doesn’t even have an amazon.com link yet, it’s so new!

Pamela Foster treating Kimba & Hiro to a reading of her new book. Bigfoot was tired and needed to take a nap, I guess.

The May meeting is also when the OWL fundraising event is held, and I was able to get my hands on the one item that really caught my eye. I love this painting, and it now hangs on the wall next to my bed and greets me each morning.

Artist Sue McCaniel with my new painting.

I took advantage of a pitch session with an agent who came to the meeting and was blessed to hear those magical words: “Send it to me.” Three Cheers!! The manuscript she’s interested in is my adult spiritual/paranormal book that has been in process for about two years now: “At The Corner of Magnetic and Main.” The only catch is that she wants it to be MUCH longer. I guess I know what I’ll be up to this summer. I’m not a fan of padding a story just to reach some publisher’s required length, but I will spend some time looking at where I can naturally expand the story.

Taking part in the Kid Lit Blog Hop last week was a blast. I actually won two books and am looking forward to reading (and reviewing) them. If you are ever interested in what I’m currently reading, you can send me a friend request at Goodreads. I never say no to friend requests on public forums!

That should get things caught up for now. Today begins a bit of a diversion for me. In order to transfer my teaching certification to Arkansas, I have to take a class in Arkansas history. I would love to be qualified to teach some adult ed or community college courses, so that will be accomplished before mid-July by taking one online through Northwest Arkansas Community College. It is a shortened summer schedule class and may require a good deal of time. That will probably mean less blogging, but I’m sure I’ll keep some updates coming with Book 3’s release so soon. With that class, our hopping guest house business, Book 3 creation to finish, and edits on “Magnetic and Main,” I will have plenty to do. Needless to say, summer is not a vacation time for me. I’ll catch my breath in January.

Hope your summer is filled with warm memories–and a big glass of grape juice.

Favorite Middle Grade Books

I’m thrilled to be taking part in the Kid Lit Blog Hop for Children’s Book Week!

There is not much dearer to my heart than books for kids. During my early marriage, my husband was always furious about how much money I spent on picture books when I went to teaching conferences, but we still have 90% of those books on the shelves or in the attic–waiting for the next generation of our family to enjoy them.

For this blog I thought I’d focus on middle grade books because it is a genre that is often confused, misunderstood, or blurred into the young adult group. It is also the genre of books that I currently publish with my Cats in the Mirror series. At the end of this post I’ll give you some recommendations of my own and those shared by friends and former students, but first let’s be clear on what I mean by middle grade books.

Middle grade book are specifically designed for elementary age students–around ages 8-11. The print is larger and easier to read, the vocabulary simpler, and the book itself is normally not very long. I limit myself to 35,000 words for my middle grade books. Middle grade readers will avoid a book simply because it looks too long.

Listening to agents and editors over the years, I’ve clarified that middle grade also focuses on main characters who are in elementary school and worrying about the problems that go with being that age. As with my books, the characters are often animals as well. If the characters in a book are worrying about puberty, boys, or middle school and high school issues, you have made the jump into the young adult genre. Middle grade genre is not the same as middle school age. That’s very confusing, but I don’t make the rules. Middle school (ages 10-13) is where kids begin to make that transition into reading longer, more complicated books, but not all of them will be ready. Those middle school years are often a mixed up time in more than what they are reading, but by 7th grade most kids are leaning toward vampires, shifters, and darker themes.

In general, middle grade books also tend to have themes that are lighter, funnier, and more upbeat–unless you want to win a Newbery Award. Then something awful has to happen or someone has to die. It’s rather like winning an Academy Award. Again, I don’t make the rules, but these are things you should be aware of when simply picking books off a list of award winners.

“The One And Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate is a perfect example. The print is large, the vocabulary is appropriate, but the subject matter is actually quite dark/depressing and includes discussions about horrible things that poachers do to gorillas. A large part of me thought the book didn’t need to go there. The story was wonderful and thought-provoking enough without a few sentences that made me cringe, even though I was already well aware of the horrors it mentions. Newbery Award winners are traditionally like this, so just use caution if your child is tender of heart. I’ve never heard quite as impressive a collective gasp as I did in the movie theater during “Bridge To Terebithia” when a certain horrible event occured. Clearly, they had not read the book. It’s an amazing story, but be ready to talk with your child or students about it.

Here are some of my favorites from days gone by that would qualify as middle grade, as well as recommendations from friends–trying to avoid the obvious ones that you can find on any published list:

It’s probably not terribly shocking that one of my favorite books was “Socks” by the outstanding Beverly Cleary. She is the epitome of a middle grade writer, and I would recommend all of her books. They are light and fun and reach elementary school kids perfectly. The Ramona series, everything with a mouse on a motorcycle, and “Henry and Ribsy” are delightful.

Not sure how I missed out on them since ballet was my life, but I didn’t learn about the shoe book series until I saw the movie “You’ve Got Mail.” My daughters loved them. I hate to draw lines, but I would say the series falls firmly into the girly section of things. Being from a different era, the shoe books don’t have all the trademarks of a current day middle grade book as far as vocabulary and print size, so it would be best for a stronger reader.

“Tangle of Knots” by Lisa Graff

“The Spy Catchers of Maple Hill” by Megan Blakemore

Big Honey Dog Mysteries by H. Y. Hanna

Wayside School Series by Louis Sachar

“Frindle” and anything else by Andrew Clements

“Castle in the Attic” and “Battle of the Castle” By Elizabeth Winthrop

Time Warp Trio Series by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Indian in the Cupboard Series by Lynne Reid Banks

“City of Orphans” by Avi

“Privateer’s Apprentice” by Susan Verrico,

“Liar & Spy” by Rebecca Stead,

“The Shadow Collector’s Apprentice” by Amy Gordon.

“The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster

“From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” by E.L. Koingsburg

“Charlotte’s Web,” “The Trumpet of the Swan, and ” Stuart Little” by E. B. White

Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Maniac McGee” by Jerry Spinelli

“Sarah Plain and Tall” by Patricia MacLachlan

“The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Sleznick (slipping into the young adult genre)

Elsewhere Series by Jacqueline West

“The Hero’s Guide To Saving Your Kingdom” by Christopher Healy

The Keepers by Lain Tanner

Please feel free to post your own favorites in the comments section so everyone can find them!

PRIZES!!

I will be randomly selecting two winners from the comments on this post to receive free copies of both of my award-winning middle grade Cats in the Mirror books (either paperback or ebook). Last entries to be considered will be at midnight on May 18th. I don’t use a service for this because it will require you to share information you might not want to, so be sure to agree to follow the other comments on this blog or check back to see if you won.

Winners will be notified on May 19th.

You can also add both books to your “to read” library at Goodreads by clicking on their links here:

“Why Kimba Saved The World”

“Vacation Hiro”

Many thanks go out to the friends and students who helped me compile the list of favorite books: Kim Piddington, Ruth Outland, Tori Ellithorpe, Lori Kilkelly, Janet Anderson, Leanne Raymond, and Michelle at Reading is Better Than Real Life.

And thanks to all of you for taking part in the Kid Lit Blog Hop!!

Are you a children’s book or teen literature blogger, an author, a publisher, or a publicist looking to share copies of a fabulous book? Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews are joining forces to provide you with the opportunity to take part in the Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop 2014, featuring links to giveaways for fabulous children/teen’s books, gift cards, cash, or other prizes. What better way to celebrate Children’s Book Week?

Jeep Festival Fun

Our first big spring event this year was the Jeep Festival on Holiday Island on Saturday, April 27th. It was the Holiday Island Chamber of Commerce’s first time to host this event–and a rainstorm came through for the beginning hour or so that may have kept some visitors and vendors away–but we were not dissuaded. Once the skies cleared, some every day and some amazing jeeps showed up, and we had a delightful time meeting new friends from the island area.

We spent the day under a giant helicopter. Can you see Kimba & Hiro?

There they are!

That helicopter and all of the Veterans statues and memorials around us made me think of my grandfather (WWI) and my father (WWII) and both of my nephews who are on active duty right now. Pat & Andy argue over who is crazier. Andy jumps out of airplanes, and Pat repels out of helicopters. Since you couldn’t pay me to do either thing, I think they should call it a tie. I’m grateful that someone is willing to do it and serve our country, so they both win.

It started out rainy and very chilly. The kitties and I wrapped up in the tablecloth, but the sun came out soon.

There were fun activities going on all around us. Even an old-style fire truck was available for kids (and cats) to play on.

One of the jeeps there looked like an old army jeep, but the owner said not a single part on it probably ever saw action. Ah well.

The owner thought we should all get inside for a photo too.

These jeeps were crazy and did all sorts of tilting and had wheels going every which direction. We kept expecting them to transform into a dinosaur. Kimba was glad it held still during her photo moment.

Lynn from Eureka Springs KESA 100.9 did a quick radio interview with me.

Lynn Worley from Eureka Springs KESA 100.9 fm did a quick radio interview with me.

Kimba thought she should get a few words in too, though she doesn’t know much about jeeps.

Kimba tried for a selfie with the helicopter. It was pretty impressive.

Overall, it was a fun day with beautiful weather. We even had the honor of sending off two copies of “Why Kimba Saved The World” with the Elk’s Club ladies for a part of their annual distribution to 700 first graders in the area. Happy to help!

It was also great training for our busy upcoming weekend at the War Eagle Spring Craft Fair on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (2nd-4th) from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. This will be our first time participating there, so come out and say hi.

In totally unrelated news, I’m thrilled to have been featured by The Fussy Librarian on Monday of this week. She requires very tight standards for the books that are featured, and we love that “Why Kimba Saved The World” was considered up to snuff. “Vacation Hiro” will be featured separately on another date in the near future.

I’m also very excited that I have nearly mastered the InDesign program, and print formatting of “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” is well underway! Once that is complete, Book 3 still needs another pass by my editor, and probably another pass or two by me and my tech writer mother, and then advanced reader copies (ARCs) will start to go out to reviewers who have already taken on the first two books and been so supportive. The plan is to have ARCs out in June! Then we start formatting for the kindle version, but that’s a whole ‘nother pile of fur for another day.

Hope you enjoyed our Jeep Festival photos, and be sure to check out The Fussy Librarian and sign up for her email recommendations!

Lots of Updates & Binky the Space Cat

Last weekend’s free KDP days for both Cats in the Mirror books was a HUGE success. Over the five days amazon allows for this cycle, there were 14,002 copies of “Why Kimba Saved The World” downloaded and 1,642 copies of “Vacation Hiro” downloaded. Just amazing! The big difference in numbers between the two books is based on the Bookbub promotion ad that ran only for “Kimba.” I didn’t really care for the blurb that the ran with the ad (something about Kimba wanting to live free in the wilderness??), but I still give the ad credit for a huge chunk of those downloads. I also tweeted about the freebie days until my fingers were about to pop off–and apologized to Kimba and my followers several times along the way. Both of our sets of twitter friends were very generous in their sharing and re-tweeting, and we really appreciate it! In the afterglow of the freebie days, “Kimba” is sitting in the top 50 cat books for kids on amazon.com. Those Warrior books take up nearly all of the positions above her (there are so many of them!!), but it’s good company to keep.

Only time will tell what the long term results are from offering the books for free. Will some of those 14,000 people go and buy a copy of “Vacation Hiro” now? Will any of them ever actually read the books or post nice reviews? I’m already seeing one of the downsides to freebies. Someone posted a one-star review at Goodreads for “Hiro.” She didn’t leave any comments, didn’t review “Kimba,” and has never posted a rating for any other book (yes, you can see lots about readers on their profile pages). Very odd. Comes with the territory. We will see if she responds to my message politely wondering why she disliked it so. A huge part of me wonders if she even read it. That’s life for any author, and you just have to roll with it.

On the brighter side, both books were just featured at Because Reading is Better Than Life’s web site, along with an author spotlight for me. Sandra Bornstein also did a nice review of both books at her web site. I’m not seeking out a lot of reviews right now, but it’s nice when a blogger and I run into each other in cyber-world and he/she is willing to tell readers about my series.

In that same spirit, I want to share a book series that I just ran across and have fallen in love with: Binky the Space Cat. Ashley Spires does a delightful job of both the art and story in the graphic novels, and I was genuinely laughing out loud several times with each book. It cracks me up that Binky “poots” all the time. Kimba would rather fall off the back of the sofa than be caught tooting, vain girl that she is. The idea of cats in space drew me to check out Ashley’s books, but they are totally different from my take on alien cats. Binky books are great for middle grade kids, but I loved them as well. Highly recommend. You can find out more about Ashley and Binky at her website.

Adorable book series Meg recommends.

Weather permitting, I will be at the Holiday Island Jeep Festival this Saturday (26th) with books and toys to sell. We now have official stuffed Kimba and Hiro mascots and will be looking for photo ops to share with you later. I imagine a jeep or two will be involved. Have a great weekend!

FREE Books for Kids on Kindle April 17-21

In celebration of Kimba and Hiro’s 7th birthday on April 18th, both of my kindle books for kids will be free from April 17-21. I’ve never done a free kindle day before, and I don’t know when I’ll do it again, so be sure to grab an extra copy or share one of each with a cat lover or child in your life. These books would make great Easter gifts or just a special treat for anyone you think would enjoy these free books for kids.

Click here to get your free copies!!

I understand that not everyone enjoys reading on a kindle. I’m with you on that one. But giving away free kindle copies is the only way to be able to share thousands of books at no expense to the author. I’m forever putting freebies on my husband’s kindle (much to his dismay), and I’m getting better about reading that way–along with the stack of paperbacks on my beside table. Especially with a series, free kindle days are a wonderful way to introduce readers to books they wouldn’t find otherwise. We’ll see how it goes.

We are thrilled that BookBub has accepted “Why Kimba Saved The World” for an ad during this sale. If you are not familiar with their email promotion service, check it out here. I receive the middle grade promos and have found some great authors that way. They are very particular on what books they promote. “Kimba” was rejected several times before it was accepted. I think the Mom’s Choice Award helped push it through. Whatever the reason, this freebie promotion will go out to 20,000 middle grade readers through their service, and that’s super exciting. Kindle books for kids with low prices is such a great way to give them lots of reading options. It is the future, so we may as well embrace it. Free books for kids are always welcome!

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed weekend–whether you are celebrating Easter or Passover or just looking forward to warmer spring weather. And Happy 7th Birthday to Kimba and Hiro! It seems like only yesterday they were newborn kittens abandoned in a box.

Babies!!

Writing Process Blog Hop

I’m thrilled to have been tagged in the Writing Process Blog Hop by wonderful author Jan Morrill. You can connect with Jan at all of these links.

www.janmorrill.com

www.janmorrill.wordpress.com

www.theredkimono.com

www.haikubyhaiku.wordpress.com

If you move quickly, you can even click here to get in on a free copy of her new Haiku collection at amazon.com.

As a part of this blog hop, my job is to answer some specific questions about my writing process and then pass the next blog stop on to another blogger. Here are my answers to the questions.

1) What am I working on?

I have several projects in the air right now. Book 3 in the Cats in the Mirror series is in the final stages of my own revisions/editing, and “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” will be heading to a professional editor sometime in the next week or so. The cover art is already complete, so it is down to more of the final touches and formatting/production process at this point. It is well on schedule to release in September of 2014, if not a bit sooner for fans of the series. While that book is with the editor, I will be refocusing on an adult book called “At The Corner Of Magnetic And Main” that is set here in Eureka Springs. An editor at Delacorte/Random House had been interested enough to want to read the full manuscript, but the time frame for that exclusive has run out. In April I’ll be talking with a couple of smaller houses to see if there is any interest from them. I also want to start work on adapting a picture book manuscript into a middle grade book. “The Brave, Frail, and Delicate Princess” has been in and out of my desk drawer for years, and that’s the direction it seems to be headed at the moment.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

If we stick with the books that are published, the middle grade Cats in the Mirror series, I would have to say that I’m not aware of any other alien cat books like them out there at any age level. Certainly alien cats are nothing new, but mine are based so specifically on my real cats and have photos of them throughout the books. I did quite a lot of research on what is available before I committed to self-publishing the series, and I think they are quite unique. The reader enters the world of the cat like in the Warriors books, but there is a whole science fiction element and the ultimate struggle that Kimba and Hiro face between loyalties to their loved humans and the obligation to their cat family.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I rarely sit down and decide “I’m going to write about book about X.” Over many years as a freelance writer, I just learned to jump on the ideas and subjects that come to me each day. My first book, “Why Kimba Saved The World,” evolved over a few years. The story ran around in my head and kept getting bigger and bigger. Living with Kimba provided ideas daily. Once during the process I just sat down for three hours and thought about “what ifs” for the story. That brought it to where it is now and developed her one story into a whole series of stories and characters. The idea of “Magnetic And Main” slapped me upside the head, and I had it outlined and the first scene written in 24 hours. Doing an adult book was not in my plan at the time, but you have to jump on those inspirations when they come. At least write them down. Writer’s block in not a problem for me. Having the time and energy to write everything I’d like to is the problem.

4) How does your writing process work?

I’m not big on serious outlining, but I do like to know where the story is going. I usually write in scenes, like a movie. I know X is going to happen, and I know X is going to happen, but I’m not always sure how all of that is going to end up at Y or the whys and motivations for it all. Once I have some framework done, I go back and fill in the pieces and adapt what now needs to be changed. With “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge,” I found I needed to make lots of adjustments because when it came right down to it the “why” for some of the characters didn’t end up being what I thought it would. I don’t think I’ve ever written anything straight through from start to finish. Even articles and short stories or contest essays are more a piecemeal process.

Getting that first draft down is like pulling teeth for me. As Dorothy Parker says: “I hate writing. I love having written.” I have to make myself sit down, and I time my writing sessions or set a word count/scene goal. For “Vacation Hiro” I actually went away on a retreat for several days. I knew exactly what was going to happen in the story, but getting it typed up was giving me trouble. I held up in a rental condo through our time share system for four days and just pounded it out–that good old 5,000-6,000 words a day. Then I was very happy because it was all there and ready to mess with. Revising and editing and making the story better is the reward, not to mention having the actual book in your hand to share with an excited reader.

Well, I hope you learned a little bit about me as a writer. Now I tag my friend Cat McMahon of Cat’s Stories. She has her writing fingers in several different pies.

Here’s a little bit about Cat:

Author of the Road Trip Photo Adventure Series, Cat McMahon is a wordsmith who enjoys outdoor discovery, culinary exploration, her cats, and making memories with her family; she lives in the craggy wilderness off the slopes of the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest USA.