Alison Pearce Stevens

WIP Wednesday

2012-02-01T12:06:00.000-06:00

Whew! I'm nearing the end of revisions on Thunderstruck (and I mean serious revisions, as in cutting nearly 5,000 words, changing the voice, and adding a character). So naturally, instead of finishing, I've been working on other things.

I've got two articles about critters nearly ready to go (just waiting on an expert review for one of them), and this morning I sent off a picture book manuscript that I've been working on for two years (hey, it rhymes and it's fiction; it's taken a while to get it just right).

And a bit of good news--I received a contract for an article with Highlights! I have now earned enough money from my writing (this year) to buy a couch for the basement, so Koda doesn't sit on us while we're watching movies. *throws confetti*

February's off to a good start!

And in other news, it's sunny and almost 60 degrees out and tomorrow is Groundhog Day (not sure what that is? Read this. Even if you do know, you should read it anyway!).

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What do you think, will Punxsatawney Phil will see his shadow tomorrow? Is winter already over for the year?

Author website unveiled!

2012-01-27T06:00:00.040-06:00

Well, I haven't gotten much done since we added a dog to the household, but I did put the finishing touches on my author web site, a place where you can find bats and blue jays and flower flies, oh my.

Are you ready? Drum roll please... my NEW AUTHOR WEB PAGE, designed by my wonderful writer friend (and awesome web designer) Astrid Paramita.

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Please go, then come back and tell me what you think! (If there are issues with readability, they're fixable, and I'd like to know about 'em.)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

New arrival

2012-01-20T06:00:00.004-06:00

This week is one of change. We've been thinking about getting a dog for a while now, but the local Humane Society has very few and those that come in are usually gone the next day. So when my husband pulled up their web site and found this guy, we knew we had to act fast.

Meet Koda (who, incidentally, looks a bit like Yoda). He's adjusting to life in our family with terrific speed, and we're just so glad to have him. Somehow, it feels like a home, now that he's here.

Do you have pets? What's your favorite thing about them?

Vote for the Net

2012-01-18T10:15:00.000-06:00

I couldn't figure out how to make my blog black and still recover it afterwards, so consider this black. I am against censorship and broadly-written laws that would enable censorship. That does NOT mean I am in favor of internet piracy or copyright infringement, but SOPA and PIPA are not the answer to those problems.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Let politicians know that they'll feel heat from the voters if they stand against a free Internet and freedom of expression (click on the image below).

12x12 in '12

2012-01-12T06:00:00.036-06:00

I love watching my friends' successes. I get caught up in the excitement. Every now and again there might be a twinge of envy, but honestly, I'm just so thrilled for them. They've worked hard to be where they are and their successes are hard won.

Such is the case with one of my wonderful critique partners, Julie Hedlund. Julie's been working hard to build her blog (very successfully, I might add), and she just launched the 12x12 in '12 challenge to write 12 picture books in 12 months. She's got well over 200 participants. to kick it all off, Katie Davis just released her first 2012 Brain Burps About Books podcast featuring... Julie.

Click that last link and listen up, folks (even if you don't write PBs). There's a lot of great information here! Congratulations Julie!

Zen moments

2012-01-09T10:06:00.000-06:00

I just had to share this incredible time-lapse photography. Take three minutes out of your day to watch the beauty of nature. With thanks to Stephen Messer, who first passed this along.

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

What's in a name?

2012-01-02T06:00:00.042-06:00

Happy New Year!

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Bruce Coville wrote about resolutions versus goals on Facebook yesterday, and it really hit home.

He said he sets new year's goals, rather than making resolutions. Why? Goals provide you something to work toward. They keep you moving forward. Resolutions? Not so much. With resolutions, you either keep them or you don't. Very few people keep their resolutions, certainly not throughout the entire year. Bruce argues that by making resolutions, you are setting yourself up to fail.

Perhaps it's all semantics, but I like the idea of setting achievable goals. Writing them down and checking my progress as the year progresses. It seems like a more realistic approach to self-improvement (which is, after all, the purpose of resolutions, is it not?).

My goals?

Revise Thunderstruck to get it just right and query, query, query.
Write up that picture book that's been rattling around in my head for the past 18 months.
Get my articles into at least three new magazines.

There are others, but they're pretty lofty, so I think I'll keep them for myself.

What are your goals for 2012?

Life's little surprises

2011-12-21T06:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, as I drove down our street, I noticed a huge stack of firewood in one of the driveways. Firewood! We need some. I hadn't met these neighbors yet, but their garage door was open. I thought if I saw someone outside, I'd stop and ask where they got it.

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A few hours later (I still hadn't seen them), someone rang our bell. It was a couple--neighbors from down the street who wanted to introduce themselves and extend a last-minute invitation to their annual Christmas party.

The neighbors? The ones with the firewood (weird coincidence, isn't it?). He's the principal of a local school, she's a teacher in the school, and I met one of their colleagues, who teaches sixth grade language arts. When I told her I write for children, she wanted to hear every part of my story--what brought me to writing, what I like writing most. She told me she'll tell some of my story to her students after the holidays.

And as we got ready to leave, the principal and language arts teacher asked if I do school presentations. Not yet. But they're on my list of things to start doing.

I think a door just opened.

Has life delivered any little surprises to you lately?

SOPA

2011-12-18T21:31:00.002-06:00

First, I want to make it clear that I am against copyright infringement. It's a serious problem in need of a solution.

If you've heard of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act; note that links to a pdf of the actual bill), you'll know that the bill is, in theory, designed to do just that. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't do much to actually stop online piracy (find out why not). But it would have profound implications for how we use the internet. In many ways, it would provide a broad blanket to censor social media sites.

Find out for yourself; make up your mind about it, but do so quickly. If you're against it, the time to act is now.

Please Vote!

2011-12-13T15:07:00.000-06:00

I don't normally post on Tuesdays, but time is of the essence. One of my wonderful critique partners, Julie Hedlund, has entered one of her picture books in the MeeGenius contest, and she needs your help.

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A Troop is a Group of Monkeys is a fun look at animals, words, and the world around us. (Three things that are dear to my heart.) Not only will you enjoy the rollicking rhyme, you'll learn new vocabulary. Does it get any better?

Please take a moment, go here to read her story (it's short!) and click "like" (if you like it, of course, although I can't imagine anyone NOT liking it).

Oh, and did I mention Julie is holding a contest? Check it out and spread the word. I've read several of this woman's stories, people, and she's going to be big. So let's help her get there with an eBook contract from MeeGenius!

Traditions

2011-12-12T06:38:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend, my boys and I made Christmas cookies. It's a tradition from my childhood, when my sister and I would head over to Grandma's house (along the ~~river~~ creek, near the woods) to bake at least half a dozen different kinds of cookies.

I always looked forward to the day we measured, mixed, pressed, rolled, cut out, decorated, and baked. And I always ended the day with a tummyache.

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It was a particularly poignant way to spend the weekend, because Grandma died this fall. And it struck me how powerful traditions can be.

They keep us connected to the past.

They give us a thread that connects us to the future.

They can be as simple or elaborate as we want them to be.

We can create new traditions as our lives change.

In many ways, they define us.

What are your favorite traditions?

Time Warp

2011-12-09T06:54:00.000-06:00

Wow time flies! November's gone and we're already a week into December. It's been a busy few weeks.

I wrote over 50,000 words of Spirit for NaNoWriMo, earning myself this lively little badge:

Thanks for all the words of encouragement while I was doing it!

And we enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving weekend with my parents, sister, and her family. It was the first time we've all been together for Thanksgiving in over - well over! - a decade. Also the first time I've hosted. I am so thankful to be close enough to join them again. I'm also thankful that my first attempt at a turkey turned out like this:

Post-NaNo has been a scramble to catch up on other things, namely articles and a non-fiction PB that I'm really behind on. But one article is ready to submit, another has a solid first draft, and the PB is... next on my list.

Oh, and I had the distinct pleasure of signing another contract with Highlights!

Am I focusing on the good? Yes, yes I am. Is Spirit a wonderfully formed first draft that will require little work? No. I will, in fact, have to completely rewrite it. Did I get rejections? Yep. But I am focusing on the happy moments. I want to savor them.

How have you been?

On your mark, get set...

2011-10-31T06:37:00.001-05:00

NaNoWriMo doesn't start until midnight tonight (although that's already here for some folks!), but I realized there is no way I will be able to interrupt my regularly-scheduled novel-writing to blog over the next month. Nope. Just isn't going to happen. Not if I want to hit 50,000 words, that is.

My goal is to finish Spirit (a multicultural MG adventure) by midnight November 30. Please stop by to track my progress and leave words of encouragement!

If you're NaNoing, too, please buddy me (I'm Alison Stevens). We can keep each other going!

And now, a word about those who have made this venture possible:

Beloved Husband, for never once questioning whether I can do it.
My oldest son, for teaching me the mind-jogging exercises they do at his school.
My youngest son, for his hugs.
My writing friends, virtual and IRL, who are attempting this with me.
My critique partners, who won't get my November critique until December.
My 8th-grade typing teacher, without whom I would not be able to type at lightning speed.

The countdown continues. Let the games begin!

Scattered

2011-10-27T06:00:00.054-05:00

These days, my mind is completely focused on either kid-related stuff (Halloween parties, costumes, conferences with teachers, costumes, book orders, costumes, fund-raisers, costumes, and pumpkin-carving; did I mention costumes?) or writing-related stuff (queries for magazine articles, tightening Thunderstruck, planning for NaNo).

Maybe focused isn't the right word. Scattered, perhaps.

To give you an idea, I was outside during the incredible northern lights display Monday night but so focused on sorting the recycling that I completely missed this:

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So today's post is short and sweet, with a bit of fun to get you ready for the weekend.

And I'm off to finish some last-minute projects before November 1!

Commitment and a great way to pay it forward

2011-10-24T06:00:00.020-05:00

Last year, I planned to participate in NaNoWriMo, but it didn't happen. This year, when two writer friends asked if I was going to join them in the month of insanity, I waffled. And then I decided to commit.

Why share this with you? Largely because it means I will have even less time available for blogging than I've had over the past few months. As a result, my schedule is going to change to twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) for the foreseeable future.

Now for a bit of news. If you weren't aware, Authoress at Miss Snark's First Victim is holding another Baker's Dozen auction. The adult entries are now closed, but MG/YA entries can be submitted on Nov. 1 and 3. In the mean time, check out Write Escape and help my delightful new CP, Linda (Escape Artist) provide some feedback to help writers polish their first 250 words.

Have a wonderful start to your week!

Zombified

2011-10-21T07:04:00.000-05:00

We've been out enjoying the gorgeous fall weather lately, with lots of walks around a nearby park. We keep coming across caterpillars that are making their way to a safe place to pupate for the winter. Naturally, my boys have to carefully move them off of the path and out of harm's way. There are enough squished ones, already.

Many of the caterpillars are covered in stiff hairs. They practically sprint across the path. But another is slow, confused, trying to dig a hole. It has a smooth, velvety-looking body. No hair. But each and everyone of this kind has something else.

Not the best photo, I'm afraid.

See those little white things behind the head? Know what they are? They're wasp eggs. This caterpillar was parasitized by a parasitoid wasp. What, you ask, is that? A wasp laid its eggs on the caterpillar. When the eggs hatch, the wasp larvae will consume the caterpillar, eventually killing it.

The crazy thing is, the wasp eggs seem to have changed the caterpillar's behavior. Every other caterpillar was headed for high ground to spend the winter. All of the parasitized ones were trying to dig into the rocky path. Very un-caterpillar-like behavior.

Wasps often dig burrows where they stash a caterpillar with eggs on it. Parasitoid wasps don't disable their kids' future meal; they let the larvae take care of that. But something about the eggs must mess with the caterpillar's brain, changing its behavior in a way that will help the wasps, not the caterpillar.

It's been zombified.

Are there other zombies in nature? You bet. Entomogenous fungi do it, too. When the fungus takes up residence inside an insect's body, it eventually consumes the body tissues. In the process, it alters the insect's behavior.

All that white stuff is the fungus. (source)

The zombified critter climbs up to an exposed perch. Not the best place for an insect (too easy to spot by things that want to eat it), but the perfect place for the fungus, which releases spores on the wind.

Even rabies zombifies animals by putting them in attack mode. What better way to spread to new hosts than by hiding out in saliva and driving the current host into a frenzied, froth-mouthed state of attack?

Watch out for zombies this Halloween. You never know where they might turn up.

What is your favorite spooky critter?

Contests and prizes and wishes, oh my!

2011-10-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

Hi and welcome to my new followers! Friday's blogfest was a lot of fun!

Due to nightmares and scary shadows (in my children's rooms, not mine), I didn't get much sleep last night, which is why I'm late posting today. In fact, I wasn't going to post at all, but then I came across these awesome contests. They're both so great, I had to share!

Dear Editor is giving away a Free first 20 pages critique. All you have to do is go here, check out her awesome book trailer, and enter!

And Shannon Whitney Messenger, who announced an incredible three-book deal last week is celebrating with the contest of all contests. She's going to grant wishes! So just in case you missed it, go check it out!

And enjoy the fun start to the week!

Pay it Forward blogfest

2011-10-14T07:00:00.053-05:00

This blogfest is the brainchild of Matthew MacNish at the Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment. The purpose is to highlight three blogs that we think are worth following.

Julie Hedlund at Write Up My Life. Julie's blog always brightens my day. Her posts are insightful and fun to read. Every Sunday, she posts about gratitude. It's fun to see what she's grateful for, and a terrific reminder to stop and give thanks for the wonderful things in my life, as well.

Christie Wright Wild at Write Wild. Christie is the picture book pro, and her blog is a terrific place to find posts about anything having to do with picture books, PB authors, and the writing process.

Mercedes M. Yardley at A Broken Laptop. Mercedes is the most extraordinary of people: kind, supportive, strong, and talented. She provides windows into her personal life on her blog, and I am constantly amazed by her tenacity. And her writing rocks!

I'm looking forward to seeing the other must-read blogs. You can find the rest of the blogfest participants at the Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment or at Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog.

Have a great weekend!

Inspiration

2011-10-12T06:41:00.005-05:00

Alex asked if I'd be willing to share my ideas for NaNo... well, no. not really. (Sorry Alex.)

But a funny thing happened after I'd figured out the gist of the story. I knew (generally) where it would take place and what the conflict will be, although I'm still figuring out who the characters are. I was tossing around ideas, and then I picked up the August edition of National Geographic. This was on the cover:

Taken by Paul Nicklen at National Geographic

A white black bear, also known as a Kermode (Ker-MODE-ee) bear or spirit bear. And I knew. This bear is a part of the story, too. Can't wait to see where she takes me.

If you're looking for inspiration (or just beautiful photos), check out the National Geographic photo gallery.

What inspires you?

Carving out time

2011-10-10T06:52:00.000-05:00

I have too many projects and not enough time! (Does anyone else have this problem?) Several ideas for magazine articles, three new picture books to work on, and over the weekend, a fabulous idea for a novel popped into my head, which leaves me three weeks to do research before I dive into NaNoWriMo.

That's the plan, at any rate. Last year, I planned to do NaNo but spent November revising an ms after a request for a partial by an agent. End of October is the time frame for me to hear back from the two agents who have requested partials of my latest novel, so the whole NaNo experience may be postponed once again, depending on what they say.

But that voice! It spoke to me, as though this new character were standing just behind me, talking into my ear. I've got to do something with it. It wants its story told.

Are you going to participate in NaNoWriMo this year? Why or why not?

What's in a name?

2011-10-07T06:42:00.000-05:00

My writing tends to go in stages. I'll work for two months on a novel, then my mental pendulum swings back over to the non-fiction side and I'll crank out several magazine articles and a picture book or two. Then it swings back to the fiction side for edits... back to non-fiction... You see where this is going.

Lately, I've been in a non-fiction phase. I think this is probably because I'm querying my novel, and I have an editor waiting for a rewrite on a non-fiction story (my critique group has it right now). So I'm filling the time with fun stuff for magazines.

One of the things I love about writing for kids' mags is that they're often looking for fun stories about animals. One of the critters I've written about recently is this guy:

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Pretty cute, isn't it? It goes by many names, including fat dormouse, edible dormouse, and Siebenschläfer (seven sleeper).

Now, without googling it, why do you think it has those names?

Bones

2011-10-03T07:00:00.012-05:00

About a year ago, I told my husband that I wanted to write a book about bones. One that highlights their homology across species. Or in more kid-friendly terms, one that shows how the same bones are in the same places and do very similar jobs in lots of different kind of animals.

For example, A bat's wings are membranes stretched between their incredibly long finger bones. A whale's flipper has the same bones but much shorter, stouter, and crowded together. They have the same single upper-arm bone, two forearm bones, set of rock-like wrist bones, and elongated hand/finger bones that we do. They have simply been modified through time to suit their particular use.

Then one morning, my husband said, "Hey, look at this!" He pointed to a Science book view: BONES. "Looks like you had a good idea."

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Yep. Good idea, too late. It was beautifully done by Steve Jenkins. So beautifully done, it won a Caldecott Honor Award. I have been wanting to get my hands on this book ever since, and we finally got a copy last week.

BONES is truly stunning. The illustrations are cut paper but are so realistic they look like photographs. (After teaching general zoology for several years, I've seen my share of animal skeletons up close and personal, and these are extraordinarily life-like.) Some pages show different hands and feet. Others have different animals shown to scale, so it's easy to compare the femur (thigh bone) of an elephant, a human, and a cat. Or the ribs of a human, sloth, turtle and python (all 200 of them).

The text explains, in clear language, the various jobs of bones, from support and movement (via joints) to making blood cells.

It is exactly the book I wanted to write, illustrated in a manner I could never have done. And I am thrilled to add it to our collection. If your kids get Scholastic book club orders, look for it there in paperback. You'll learn a lot and love the illustrations, too!

Have you ever had an idea only to discover it had already been done?

Instant Gratification

2011-09-30T07:00:00.091-05:00

Instant gratification doesn't happen very often. Not in science or writing. The best scientific experiments raise more questions than answers, and I don't think I've ever written anything that I didn't revise at least three times. And then there's the process of submitting: waiting... w a i t i n g . . . w a i t i n g.

I've been doing a lot of that lately. Waiting. By the end of last week, I was trying to make myself write something, anything, just to take my mind off of the seven different submissions I've got out there.

Over the weekend, October peeked its head around the corner and waved. Hmm. One week left in September. If I wanted all those plants I'd bought to survive the winter, I needed to get them in soon. Time to put my weeks of landscape planning into action.

So we did. Beloved Husband and I (with the help of the kids) dug up the grass between our fence line and the sidewalk. Then we hand-tilled the (extremely hard, clay) soil underneath. We removed the soil, put the grass back in upside-down and covered it up with the soil that had been under it. (Following all this? There will be a quiz later.) It took two three-hour sessions to prepare ⅔ of the fence line.* (If you're wondering why we put the grass in upside-down and buried it, it will decompose and become compost. It also saved us having to figure out what to do with it once it was out.)

Have I mentioned that we're the crazy new neighbors in our conservative, midwestern neighborhood? We're the weird people from Germany who mow with an electric lawn mower. (Two months ago, when Beloved Husband first used it, our normally polite neighbors actually stopped and stared). But last week, one of our neighbors bought an electric mower, which meant we'd gone from crazy to trend-setting. Until we started digging, that is.

The next day, I set out my plants and started putting them in the newly tilled strip. Among comments from passersby about how much work I had cut out for me, I planted several kinds of native grasses and perennials - plants that, once established, will be drought tolerant and need less care than the grass did. They will attract beneficial insects like bees, lacewings, ladybugs, and butterflies. The grasses (when fully grown) will provide cover for birds that eat the pesty insects. And there will be flowers blooming in all different colors throughout the spring, summer, and fall.

Unlike my daily activities, I got to experience the (almost) instant gratification of seeing a project reach completion. it was hard work, but well worth it. And it provided the added benefit of taking my mind off of all those things I'm waiting on.

Oh, and the neighbors love it. Several asked what the different kinds of plants were. I wonder how long it will be before we go from crazy to trend-setting yet again?

* To do the rest of this strip and convert several other bits of lawn to garden areas, we're going to do it the easy way. Power landscaping tool rental, here we come.

What gratifying events have you experienced lately?

Multicultural perspectives - Bamboo People

2011-09-26T07:00:00.037-05:00

Mitali Perkins writes across culture. Her stories bring to life the struggles kids from different races, cultures, and backgrounds experience when they are immersed in a world dominated by people who are different.

Bamboo People is a powerful example. The first half is told from the perspective of a Burmese boy who is recruited, against his will, into the Burmese army. The second half is told from the perspective of a Karenni boy, one of the tribal people the Burmese are persecuting, living in a refugee camp in Thailand. Just imagine what happens when their worlds collide.

One of the extraordinary things about Bamboo People is how easily the reader can identify with both boys. You get inside their heads, see the conflict from both sides, come to understand why the Burmese and Karenni behave the way they do. This book not only opens a reader's eyes and mind to current world events, it also provides a window of insight into why events unfold as they do.

And yet this is a middle grade book. The characters are dealing with war, yes, but they are also dealing with issues of friendship, budding romance, and finding their place in the world. It's a remarkable book, hard to put down, and one I highly recommend reading.

What books with multicultural perspectives have you enjoyed? Do we need more books like these?

Doing it right

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

On Monday, I wrote about Livia Blackburne's thoughts about blogging to reach your audience. Her post dovetailed with a brief social media session Mitali Perkins held at Chautauqua. Mitali's had me thinking ever since. Specifically, I've been wondering about this:

How can you contribute to children's writing in a way that sets you apart?

Lots of writers blog about writing. It helps us to connect with other writers, and perhaps to the intended audience. But if someone has the option to follow what a well-known, established author writes versus someone just starting out, which would they choose? As writers, we need to create our niche in the blogosphere.

Mitali suggests brainstorming (free write in a journal) what you want to contribute. Ideally, you do this before you even begin your blog, but you can always modify your content as you go.

Blog about things that serve kids and parents. What are you passionate about? Are there topics that come up again and again in your writing? Themes that weave through your work? Blog about those kinds of topics. Discuss related children's books or activities; provide them with resources.

Mitali does this at Mitali's Fire Escape: a safe place to chat about books between cultures. She blogs about writing, but she also writes posts about the issues that appear in her books. She provides resources for readers, so they can find out more about a topic or even find a way to help. These posts are for kids, parents, and teachers - the audience.

Me? I'm passionate about science, nature, and grappling with complex problems that don't have a black and white solution. It's important to me that everyone see both sides of an issue (which happens all too seldom these days). All of those things come up in my writing. To reach my intended audience, Mitali said I should blog about other nonfiction books, fiction books that cover similar kinds of topics, and science-y activities that kids and parents can do together; things they can do to make a difference.

How do you let your intended audience know about your posts? Send out provocative twitter posts that link to the blog post, and reach out to the audience you want to reach. Mitali has lists of people involved in the issues she writes about. Find your audience. Let them know you're there. Give them a reason to stop by.

For me, that means you will be seeing new kinds of posts. Posts about terrific books, posts about important subjects, posts about things kids (and teachers and parents) can do to get involved. I will also write a bit about writing (there's still lots to share from Chautauqua), but that won't be all I blog about.

How will you change the way you blog?

Embracing Failure

2011-09-21T07:00:00.016-05:00

This is a couple of years old, but the messages are so important, I thought I'd share them. J.K. Rowling on the fringe benefits of failure.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." -Plutarch.

How will your imagination inspire change?

Audience

2011-09-19T07:00:00.003-05:00

Last week, Livia Blackburne (who is also a scientist by day), wrote this insightful post about why bloggers blog. It struck a chord with me, because I've thought about this since I began blogging.

Isn't the point of blogging to help you reach your audience? As Livia points out, platform logically applies to people who write non-fiction; people who are experts in a subject area and can easily reach their intended audience through a more personalized venue like a blog. And when they write a book? Their audience is already there. Chris Guillebeau at the Art of Non-Conformity is a terrific example.

But what about writers of fiction? Many of us seem to follow other writers. This is a terrific way to network and gain support from other writers, but are these the people who will buy your novels? To some extent, probably, since we need to read in the genre, but it's only a small portion of the intended audience.

So what should we blog about? Livia's follow-up post gives excellent insight into how to tailor your blog and your posts to your intended audience.

What do you think about blogging? Are you reaching the right audience?

Hooking teachers and librarians

2011-09-14T07:00:00.060-05:00

One of the terrific things about Chautauqua was having a chance to meet with lots of teachers and librarians (on the faculty and among the attendees) and hear what they look for when they select trade books for the classroom and library.

Guess what? It's not just about content. (Obviously that's important, but content alone won't do it.)

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Most teachers at the elementary level choose books that complement their curriculum. Fiction or non, the books need to dovetail in some way with the concepts that are being taught. And if the books connect different areas? Even better. (Think multicultural issues and geography, for example.)

How do you know whether your book will complement the curriculum? Do a google search for "state curriculum standards." Start with your state, then check out others. How do they compare? Can you make a case in your query/cover letter that your book could be used by schools in a number of states?

How books are written is also important: books that assume background knowledge kids don't have will NOT be used in the classroom. Background needs to be built into the text, so the readers can understand without having to fetch a dictionary.

Illustrations? They're terrific! But they need to appear on the same page spread as the relevant text. If the reader has to flip a page (or two) to find the illustrations, teachers will skip the book. Make the information easily accessible to your readers. Ask to see page proofs and make it clear that you want a layout that enhances readability and retention of information.

Teachers and librarians also need to teach study skills. How? By choosing books that have a table of contents, a glossary, an index, and a list of additional resources. List of possible discussion questions? Bring 'em on! Anything to make a teacher's life easier will be greatly appreciated.

If your book would work well in the classroom, be sure to mention how it addresses these kinds of things in your query letter. Many schools use the SQ3R reading method. Describe how your book can be used in this way. Not only will you impress the editor reading your submission, you vastly increase the chances of getting your books into schools and libraries.

What is your favorite book that was/is used in the classroom? Why?

Resonance

2011-09-12T07:00:00.007-05:00

Have you ever finished a book and felt that the end somehow wrapped up the entire story in a way you couldn't quite put your finger on? Something subtle? Chances are, the author created an ending that resonated with the beginning.

The same is true of magazine stories (fiction) and articles (non-fiction); in fact, the resonance is often more noticeable in a thousand words or less. It's that clever ending that returns to the premise from the opening paragraph. Pick up an issue of Highlights magazine, and you'll see what I mean.

It turns out, that resonance is intentional. It is one of the things editors look for in the articles and stories they evaluate. If you write for Highlights or other children's magazines, check for this before you submit.

Resonance isn't just for short pieces of work. Sara Grant, author of the recently released Dark Parties, incorporated resonance into her novel and recommends that other authors do the same. This isn't the answer to the big question posed on page one, rather something quiet... something that provides emotional satisfaction for the reader. It brings the work full circle.

What examples of resonance have you seen lately?

Writing engaging nonfiction or historical fiction

2011-09-09T07:05:00.001-05:00

I attended sessions for both fiction and nonfiction writing at the Chautauqua workshop, and over the coming weeks, I'll share some of what I learned from those workshops here.

The biggest point to come up in the nonfiction sessions? Nonfiction can—and should—be presented as a story. No boring facts, no encyclopedic recitation, and for heaven's sake, no passive voice! When you present information in an engaging fashion, the audience will continue to read and be more likely to retain the information.

Fact or fiction? Born 1596, died 1722? (source)

Ever take a class that you hated? Science or history, perhaps? There's a good chance you didn't like it because you were forced to memorize facts. But if that information had been given to you as part of a story—part of a bigger picture—I suspect you would have felt differently about it.

For most of my life, I hated anything having to do with history. Why? Because every history class I took focused on names and dates. It was mind-numbing. There was nothing about it to make me care. So when I started reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series and got interested in the history of Scotland, my mom (who loved history) was shocked. She thought I hated history. Well... I did. But not when it was part of an interesting storyline. Funny how that works.

Now the Outlander series isn't nonfiction. It's historical fiction. And that's probably the greatest draw for historical fiction. It's factually correct regarding events that took place in the time period, but with the flexibility of a fictional story to string those events together. Thorough research and accurate portrayal is just as important in a piece of historical fiction as it is in nonfiction.

With nonfiction, you have to be careful. You can't make up quotations; you must have references to back up everything you say (although this is true for historical fiction as well: Carolyn Yoder at Calkins Creek requires documentation for every factual event included in the story). It's easy to get carried away by your efforts to paint a picture and accidentally overstep the bounds. A good editor will call you on it.

With care, writing as a story works for any kind of nonfiction. (biography, nature, history, science). Make it engaging. Make it active. And watch your audience grow.

What are your thoughts about writing (or reading) nonfiction? Does the format matter?

Chautauqua notes

2011-09-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

I'm back! My apologies for the longer-than-expected hiatus. The move took much more out of me than I'd anticipated, but yesterday the movers took the boxes away, and I promised myself I'd get back to blogging. So here I am.

First, thanks to Christie Wright Wild for the Pot-o-gold award! I am honored that you find this blog full of interesting and helpful content. :)

And I know you're all dying to hear about the writers workshop... Chautauqua was fantastic! If you have an opportunity, I highly recommend it. The faculty were fully engaged with the attendees, and the staff maximized the number of opportunities we had available to speak with them. I'm delighted to say that I've made real friends with some of the faculty members (and many attendees), and I'm not sure you can say that about many other conferences.

Most of the week had workshops; three concurrent sessions at a time. There's something for everyone, from writers of picture books and early readers to MG and YA; from fiction to non. If, like me, you write in more than one genre, it was nearly impossible to decide which sessions to attend, and they were all incredibly informative.

In addition to the scheduled sessions, faculty held "lunch and learns" - informal meet-ups during the lunch break during which the faculty would talk about a particular topic. Use of social media? Spend the lunch hour with Mitali Perkins. Classroom presentations? Hang out with Sneed B. Collard, III. What does a 9 3/4 year-old want in a book, anyway? Harold Underdown and his daughter are there to give you some insight. I learned just as much from these lunches as I did from the official curriculum.

But probably the best part of the Chautauqua experience is the one-on-one mentorship. Each attendee submits a piece of work (first ten pages of a novel, PB manuscript, or magazine article), and they are paired with a faculty reader/mentor to work on it. You get two meetings with your mentor, so you have time to make changes and look at revisions. I was paired with Andy Boyles for one of my nonfiction PB manuscripts, and he offered some terrific advice for improving it.

And did I mention the food? Or the enormous bag of books that you bring home with you? The delightful attendees? The superheroic ability of Jo Lloyd, coordinator for the Highlights Foundation, to leap tall buildings and not get flustered in the face of things like two-day power outages? The gorgeous setting in the Chautauqua Institution? It was truly an extraordinary experience.

Want to attend? I know you do. :) Yes, it's a pricey venture, but the Highlights Foundation offers scholarships that make it reasonable. I hope to see you there in future years!

And if you're too impatient to wait until next year, check out the Founders Workshops. (Some of these are next on my list.)

So... that's what I've been doing. What have you all been up to while I've been away?

Marketing Monday - Katie Davis (part 2)

2011-07-25T09:00:00.008-05:00

Tip: keep in mind when you are creating your user name when creating your channel that that name will be the name of the channel, which is one reason I wanted to get rid of my previous channel.

Here is what Darcy, the book trailer maven, says about creating your own channel:

“Katie is right, you need your own YouTube channel. Take a look at her channel, here and mine, here.

“In April, 2010, Anthony Bruno reported that “fans are more engaged with videos posted to individual artists’ Web sites.” Of course, they are talking mostly about music videos, but we can probably generalize this to book videos. They report that “29% of the videos streamed on artist and label sites are watched in their entirety, compared to only 12% from aggregation services.” Warner Music Group, then, doesn’t license content to places like Vevo.com. The company, instead, drives fans to artists’ sites through custom-branded channels on YouTube. A third-quarter study in 2010 confirmed the importance of individual artists’ channels.

Creating your own channel

“If you need another reason that you should create your own YouTube channel, listen to this.... You want your book trailer uploaded on your account, so you can control the settings. If you had help from a book trailer company, ask them to send you the video and let you upload it yourself. Otherwise, you’ve got to return to them for any revisions to the descriptions. For example, if you get a fantastic review that you want to add to the description, you can’t do it if you don’t have control. Upload it to your own channel. “Take the time to customize the look of your channel to match your website or the book cover, your choice. Notice that both Katie’s and my channel have the same color schemes as our websites.

“Another advantage of creating your own channel is that it allows you to monitor viewer statistics. YouTube Insight is YouTube's external facing analytics and reporting product that enables everyone with a YouTube account to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload to the site. Just log on, then click Account >My Videos>Insight.

“As of the last quarter of 2010, Facebook and Twitter generate the most engaged viewing audiences for online video. So, once you get your video up–Tweet! Facebook it! (Which, of course, means you need a following on Facebook and Twitter too!)”

Tip: You don’t have to only do videos that are book trailers. I started my Video FAQs to both help people who come to my site as well as create some search engine juice. I made this kindergarten video that helps incoming students who might be a tad nervous about the big step. It also, of course, has images and phrases from my book, Kindergarten Rocks!, but isn’t about the book.

Thanks for all the terrific, thought-provoking information Katie. And see everyone else on YouTube!

* * *

Children’s author/illustrator Katie Davis has published nine books and appears monthly on the ABC affiliate show, Good Morning Connecticut, recommending great books for kids. She produces Brain Burps About Books, a podcast about kidlit, a blog and monthly newsletter. Katie has volunteered in a maximum security prison teaching Writing for Children and over the last dozen years has presented and keynoted at schools, writing, and educational conferences. This year she served as a Cybils judge and has also judged the Golden Kite, smartwriters.com, and Frontiers in Writing awards. Recently Katie was selected to be on the Advisory Board for the Brooke Jackman Foundation, a literacy-based charity.

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

Marketing Monday - Katie Davis (part 1)

2011-07-18T09:00:00.061-05:00

Katie Davis, author/illustrator of nine picture books, including Kindergarten Rocks!, I Hate to Go to Bed!, and Who Hops? uses podcasts and video to promote her books. Podcasts? Video? But that sounds so... hard! Katie wrote up a terrific, two-part blog post about how to use YouTube to help promote your books. So check out her advice below, check out her webinars, and come back next week for more great information on this underused method of book marketing.

The following post was inspired and partly excerpted from her upcoming eBook, How to Promote Your Children's Book: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets to Create a Bestseller, available soon at http://www.katiedavis.com.

There are so many things we can do to market our books, and in the 15 years I’ve been in this business, I’ve learned a lot, but the thing that has been intriguing me most lately is using video. YouTube is yet another social media site, and let’s not forget, the second largest search engine out there. It’s important, and it can gain you fans and readers.

YouTube
Why should the cute babies, stupid cat burglers, and people doing things they shouldn’t (back to the stupid cat burglers) get all the attention? You can easily harness the power of this incredible social media site for the benefit of your business. It’s easy to forget that YouTube is yet another social media site, isn’t it? But that’s exactly what it is, as you can “friend” people and follow them, by subscribing to their channels.

There are a few ways to use YouTube to enhance your business. Remember, too, YouTube isn’t the only video site out there, though sometimes it certainly seems that way! In fact, on Teachertube I’ve had almost 20,000 views of my videos, which is tens of thousands more than on YouTube! But we’ll talk about the behemoth for this instance.

One great thing you can do on YouTube is to link to your other videos in YouTube. This will lead a viewer to your next video, or an update if you need to post that. Here is a video I’ve uploaded to YouTube which I also added “talking bubbles” to, which as anyone who has ever read any of my books knows, I rely on for communicating subtopics and tangential information. What could be better?

Power-invoking step-by-step process to enhance your videos on YouTube:

Log into your channel (read further to find out why you need to create your own channel).
Look at the “Video Owner Options.”
Hit “video annotations.”
See lower left where there is a speech bubble icon and two other icons. You can also add a note or a spotlight.
Type in your message. Select time within movie you want that message to start.
Preview.
Play around with the speech bubble “tail.”

Check out how I utilized the power of this enhancement here, but make sure to watch till the end for the insertion of the link, because that’s the way you can get more people to go to your channel! Here is a video of how I learned to do all this.

Another way to get people to subscribe to your channel is to add a little 5 second video clip to every movie you upload, showing how to subscribe to your channel. It’s like hypnosis – they see it in front of their eyes, and follow suit! Ever since I created mine and added it to just two videos (so far!) I’ve gotten a more steady stream of subscribers. Here is one short video I where I used this method.

Thanks, Katie! Lots of great how-to information! Next week: why you need to set up your own YouTube channel.

* * *

Children’s author/illustrator Katie Davis has published nine books and appears monthly on the ABC affiliate show, Good Morning Connecticut, recommending great books for kids. She produces Brain Burps About Books, a podcast about kidlit, a blog and monthly newsletter. Katie has volunteered in a maximum security prison teaching Writing for Children and over the last dozen years has presented and keynoted at schools, writing, and educational conferences. This year she served as a Cybils judge and has also judged the Golden Kite, smartwriters.com, and Frontiers in Writing awards. Recently Katie was selected to be on the Advisory Board for the Brooke Jackman Foundation, a literacy-based charity.

Overcoming adversity

2011-07-16T12:37:00.000-05:00

The Chautauqua Writer Workshop kicks off this evening with the opening banquet.

My scheduled flight gave me just enough time to change before it starts, so I spent much of last night debating whether to pack my dress in my suitcase or whether to figure out a way to carry it on. I had this horrible, unshakable feeling something would go wrong, most likely that my luggage wouldn't arrive, given a short layover in O'Hare. How important was the dress?

Turns out it doesn't matter, because the thing that went wrong wasn't with the luggage. It's with the flight. It was canceled.

Instead of madly dashing through O'Hare, I'm sitting in Omaha waiting to start my journey. I'll arrive four hours late and miss the banquet completely. But at least I'll be there in time to socialize with the other people staying at my hotel, familiarize myself with my schedule and other orientation materials, and, most importantly, to begin the workshop itself tomorrow morning.

All thanks to the heroic efforts of my husband, who spent an hour on the phone getting me rebooked this morning.

So here's to an amazing week. I'm sure it will be all the better simply because it actually happened.

Life in 300 square feet

2011-07-12T09:00:00.016-05:00

We (my husband, two children, and I) have spent the past four weeks living in small spaces: the two weeks before the move in a small one-bedroom apartment in Berlin, the last two weeks in an equally small one-room hotel suite. As the woman in Julia Donaldson's A Squash and a Squeeze would put it, it's titchy for four.

So what have we been up to since returning Stateside? Lots o' things...

we bought a car (we hadn't planned to)
we spent four hours in the ER with our 3-year-old (hadn't planned that, either)
we decided against the house we were sure we wanted before we moved and wound up looking at about 25 more
we refereed countless numbers of fights between two boys who could use a little more distance from each other
we discovered that the Great Plains can be hot and humid and rather miserable at times, and, consequently, came to accept the necessity of air conditioning
we went to the Farmer's Market, discovered burpless cucumbers, and sampled real maple syrup by the spoonful
we spent time hanging out in the (THE!) indie bookstore in town
we had decent margaritas and Mexican food for the first time in years
we went for walks in the nearby park and watched the curious fireflies check out our curious children
we found a place to call home

And on Saturday, I head to Chautauqua for the Writers Workshop! I can't wait to get my head back into writing. It's been far too long.

Check back on Monday for the first part of a terrific guest post by Katie Davis--Marketing Monday at it's finest!

Gratitude

2011-06-24T07:01:00.000-05:00

We're just about to move from Europe to North America, and given how hectic the past six weeks have been, I am incredibly grateful for a number of things.

Internet access!! (for the first time in weeks—it's been killing me)
My son is napping and the construction workers outside took a break. Peace and quiet for the first time all week.
Not having to pay rent for July when we won't even be here. (Long story, but it almost happened.)
The housing manager offered to paint our old apartment for us. (For once my lack of skill paid off—he saw how inept my painting was and quickly offered to bring in someone who could do it right.)
The movers had mad 3-D Tetris skillz and managed to fit all of our stuff into the shipping container, even though we were sure something would have to stay behind.
The washing machine didn't break until our last load of laundry.
The people who were buying our washer and dryer (knowingly) took the washing machine anyway.
The army of friends who have watched our kids, fed us, and schlepped us (and our stuff) around Berlin.
My children's excitement about the move.
Discovering a trail at the end of a lake that led into the Grunewald yesterday morning. I spent the morning soaking up the forest, since there's nothing like it on the Plains.
Having had the opportunity to live in Europe for five years.
Living in a place that inspired my latest novel and prompted me to start writing again.
Finally getting an acceptance letter from Highlights.
My signed copy of Possum Summer, which I'm saving for the plane ride.
Only five more days until I get to read it.

I hope you're all doing well. Sorry for my absence from the blogosphere, but I hope to be back soon!

Marketing Monday - Jen K. Blom

2011-05-30T02:00:00.002-05:00

Marketing Monday is back! (There are more in the works, I promise, but all of the wonderful authors who are contributing their experiences seem to be just as busy as I am these days. Lucky for them, they're not about to make an intercontinental move. It's not an experience I recommend.)

Today, I'm thrilled to feature a personal friend, Jen K. Blom, whose contemporary middle grade novel, Possum Summer, is just now coming out.

I've heard reports that people in the U.S. have received their copies. I'm still waiting for mine. *taps fingers* *checks clock* *sighs*

Possum Summer sold out quickly on Amazon, in large part due to Jen's great promotional activities. In fact, her marketing is what gave me the idea for this series. So here's a bit more about how she (and Holiday House) marketed Possum Summer.

What has Holiday House done to promote Possum Summer?

Holiday House has been great! They've promoted Possum Summer everywhere, and recently my little book is at BEA, being shown to all the great Booksellers out there! They also helped with the marketing idea I had (called the Showdown, see below) Holiday House FTW!

What is the Great Oklahoma Animal Showdown? How did you come up with this idea, and how did you manage to coordinate it from another continent? (And how is it going so far?)

The Showdown is going great so far! I wanted to address my readers directly, but I also wanted to have a sort of party for my book that included them. So I thought: why not Oklahoma, where I grew up? Why not the public school system, which left me so many positive (and negative) memories? All my great teachers? They deserve the notice. So I worked it up.

The book is in the schools (as of June 1) and will be featured on 918moms.com here soon. It was a bit of a headache getting everything settled from a continent away. :-) My sister and her kids *waves* did the hard manual labor of sending out the envelopes I sent out, and putting stamps on them. Holiday House was AMAZING on this front, really working with me to fine tune the competition and even the CEO, Mr. John Briggs, had extremely helpful suggestions! They really are amazing.

What role do you see social networking playing in your marketing and promotion efforts?

TBH, not much with the kids. More with reviewers, who could read and review my book, and librarians and parents. I find a huge amount of people I interact with online are other writers, but they're parents too, and they're searching for a book for their kids that excites them, makes them cry, and helps them out. I'm hoping that Possum Summer fits that bill!

How long will those who haven't pre-ordered have to wait before Amazon restocks? ;)

HAHAHAHAH The LATEST you'll have to wait is June 1 (I hope)! I was astounded that it sold out so quickly! It is all a dream. :-D

* * *

Thanks for sharing your experience, Jen, and congrats on the new release!

Jen K. Blom writes about animals, the land, and kids, not necessarily in that order. Her debut, POSSUM SUMMER, is available now.

Just the thing to give to a kid to start their summer of reading off right! (Available from your local indie, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Book Depository!)

Seen the book trailer yet?

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

Top Agent

2011-05-24T07:32:00.000-05:00

My son's birthday is next week, and he's been asking for a Top Agent. Funny, I want the same thing. Except his looks like this:

source

And mine will look a bit more... lively. Interactive. Requiring less imagination to become animate. (But just as willing to scale walls.)

I'm participating in Sara Megibow's How to Hook an Agent with Your Query Letter webinar on Thursday (followed by personalized feedback from an agent on my Top Agent list--can't go wrong with that!).

Fingers crossed that my son and I both get our wish!

How's your writing/querying going?

What writing taught me about parenting

2011-05-20T02:00:00.030-05:00

You would think that reading parenting books would teach you about parenting, but I've actually learned just as much from my books about writing. A few examples:

Show Don't Tell Or, in parenting parlance: actions speak louder than words.
Keep it simple Don't use language that your audience doesn't understand. Use short sentences and clear wording to get the point across (I wish my students would do this).
Everything should happen for a reason Otherwise known as natural and logical consequences (we need to use these a LOT in our house).
Don't lecture your reader Or your kids, any more than you have to. They tune out words, which is why #1 and #3 are more effective.
Don't underestimate your audience Think they won't remember that you promised them a new book if they were good at the store? Think again.
Try not to criticize The kids, your partner/spouse, or yourself. Focus on the positive.
Let your character's think Your kids, too. They'll thank you for it.

What else can we learn about parenting from writing?

Insanity. And a blog award.

2011-05-17T02:34:00.000-05:00

The past ten days have been a blur of sorting, donating, cleaning, painting, and otherwise trying to de-clutter our apartment and get it ready for other people to see. To give you an idea of just how crazy it was, it took me 12 days to read Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid. Normally, it would've taken me two. So during those precious moments when I DID have time to read, I felt like this:

But now the apartment is so clean it sparkles. When I told my five-year-old this, he asked if I'd sprinkled glitter everywhere. At least he didn't ask if it looked like vampire skin.

And in the midst of all that cleaning, I felt anything but stylish, and yet Julie Hedlund, critique partner extraordinaire, gave me the Stylish Blogger Award. Thank you Julie! It came at a time when I needed a little pick-me-up.

Out of curiosity, what are the "rules" about passing on an award you've already passed on? Do you do it all over again?

Nightmares

2011-05-10T02:00:00.065-05:00

I anticipated that my kids would have nightmares once we actually moved. Uprooting them from everything they know and moving them thousands of miles away to a location with a very different culture is a highly emotional experience; just the kind of thing to trigger nightmares (source).

What I didn't anticipate was their starting so soon. A good night's sleep has become a thing of the past. At least once a week, one of the boys wakes me with a nightmare. I guess the stress is getting to everyone. I've been fortunate not to have nightmares, but maybe that's because the others wake me, and once I'm awake, I can't shut off my brain and go back to sleep. Hard to have a nightmare if you're awake!

While I'm lying awake at night, I wonder how I might make use of this in a future story. What circumstances lead to nightmares? How can those circumstances lead to bizarre dreams for a character, and how can I make that dream an essential component of the story?

According to the Mayo Clinic, nightmares can result from any of the following.

stress Stress may be caused by everyday events (school stress, bullying, work) or bigger events (a divorce, death of a loved one, a move). (This is clearly the issue for us.)
a traumatic event Nightmares are one of the classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Did anything really traumatic happen to your character? If so, there ought to be nightmares afterward.
illness When people are sick, particularly if they have a high fever, nightmares can dominate their sleep. One of the best examples of this that I've seen is in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. In one of the later books, the main character, Claire, becomes deathly ill, and we experience the illness through her dreams and altered perceptions.
drugs Both legal (some antidepressants) and illegal (barbiturates and narcotics) drugs can cause nightmares. What is your character going through? Are drugs involved? (Probably not if you're writing for children!) Make the experience real for your audience by incorporating nightmares.

And don't just include nightmares for effect, put them to work. Make your character's brain pull together pieces of what's happening around him/her into a frightening experience that not only illustrates the psychological issues, but also provides the reader with important information about the character or story line.

That's what I'll be thinking about when I'm wide awake at 3am.

Have you incorporated dreams or nightmares into your writing?

Awards

2011-05-05T01:55:00.038-05:00

I'm posting less often, these days. The big inter-continental move is next month, and between dealing with that, trying to polish and submit my current middle grade novel, and preparing for the Writers Workshop at Chautauqua, my time is precious.

But, I need to thank two people for three awards that I've received over the past few weeks. Deirdre at A Storybook World awarded me both the Powerful Woman Writer Award...

and the Creative Blog Award.

Thank you, Deirdre, for the gorgeous awards (she designed them herself). I haven't been able to determine that there are rules for passing these along, but I may do so anyway. But that will be fodder for another post.

Thanks, too, to Elizabeth Mueller, for the zebra:

A to Z was great in terms of discovering new blogs. It also taught me that I just can't blog six days a week. I am in awe of those of you who do.
How do you get anything else done?!?

Marketing Monday - Hilary Wagner

2011-05-02T02:34:00.000-05:00

Whew! After an intense A to Z April, Marketing Monday is back!

Today, I am thrilled to feature Hilary Wagner, a middle grade author whose debut novel Nightshade City has already enjoyed terrific success!. If you're a children's writer, chances are, you are familiar with her blog posts or tweets.

Hilary has also been a terrific resource for other authors through SCBWI and in an interview for the CBI Insider.

She's fun, she's incredibly sweet, and she... well, she loves rats. What's not to love? ;)

What did Holiday House do to help promote Nightshade City?

Holiday House has deep ties in schools and libraries. Even now, more and more libraries get my book every week. It's so exciting. It's even at several libraries in Singapore, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands!

Among other events, Holiday House had me speak at the NCTE ALAN workshops in November at Disney World. That was a big honor and certainly something to mark off the bucket list. I'm happy to say I'll be on the NCTE Holiday House panel this year as well, to speak about my latest book. Anytime Holiday House has me and other authors speak, they always set up a dinner party too, wherein myself and the other authors get to sit down with Educators and professionals in the publishing industry to talk about our books and help spread the word, not to mention have a great time! They've truly been great and not knowing what to expect as a debut author, they surpassed everything I could have hoped for as far as marketing me.

What did you do to market your novel? When did you start getting the word out (and how)?

Well, I'm in an on-line writers group--not a critique group, but a group of writers who support each other through the whole process. So, as a group, anyone with a book coming out gets a blog tour and we are all part of it. We all write for different age levels, but that doesn't matter, spreading the word is spreading the word!

I did work with a book publicist as well. Through my publisher, my book got into Barnes & Noble and other retail stores, but I really wanted a strong Indie presence. I worked with my publicist to design postcards that went out to a huge list of independent booksellers. It worked too! Just the other day, I was at a local Chicago indie bookstore who said the reason they ordered my books was because they received the postcard!

I'm also pretty involved with social networking (twitter, facebook, blogging) and not just to push my book, but to make friends. The on-line writers' community is vast and truly supportive of one another. I've met wonderful writers, who've become good friends and great supporters of my books. It's also been a great way to land speaking engagements. Many of the panels I've spoken on and school visits I've been invited to have all been a result of some form of social networking.

Also, if not involved already, I suggest every children's writer joins the SCBWI. My local chapter (Illinois) is very active. I've made so many friends and I actually get to meet them in person! I was just on an SCBWI panel last month in Chicago, talking about social networking for your book, so your question is quite timely! It's such a wonderful resource for meeting fellow writers, joining critique groups, finding SCBWI meet-ups in your local area. I would be lost without them!

You have a quote from Rick Riordan on the cover. (Wow!) Do you think that helped Nightshade City gain some attention from fans of Percy Jackson?

I sure hope so! I was literally in shock with my agent read the quote to me. She was walking down the street in NYC and I was sitting in my office. I screamed out loud and everyone came running! What an honor! Apparently, Mr. Riordan's children had read the final manuscript and like it so he read it too! It's truly amazing how these things happen in life.

Nightshade City is in its second printing, a CBC Best Book, a Crystal Kite Finalist, and a Goodreads Choice Award Finalist. What do you think led to this success? (aside from the fact that you wrote a terrific novel)

I would think it's all the "terrific novel" part, ha, ha! Honestly though, I think much of it is getting the word spread about your book. It's a very organic process. I suppose you can compare it to how a rumor gets started, but with a bit of luck it's a good rumor in this case! ;)

What advice do you have for other authors who are just starting to think about promoting their books?

Well, when you first start out it's a little overwhelming. You don't need to join every social networking site or have three blogs going, posting every day. You just need to figure out what works best for you. I'm active with my blog, but really only post once a week. That's what works best for me. It's doable, I can manage it, and I don't feel pressure. It took a while to grow my readership--it won't happen overnight, so don't get discouraged. IT WILL HAPPEN! Just keep consistent with your posts, follow others in your field (usually they'll follow back), try and respond to folks who comment on your blog and have fun.

I'm also pretty active on Twitter and Facebook, but I use it more for fun than anything else. About 95% of the people I'm connected to are fellow writers and it's fun to joke and be silly with everyone, talk about our "regular" lives, as well as talk about our writing and publishing. The key is to be yourself! No one wants you to constantly blab about your book and your book alone. Frankly, it's annoying and a good way for people to drop you as a connection. To me, it is perfectly fine to talk about your book, provide links, etc, just don't make that all you are. Let me know you, because I'm sure you're wonderful and then of course, I'll want to support you and buy your book! ;)

Thank you, Hilary!! The White Assassin, Hilary's sequel to Nightshade City, will be released in October. Don't miss it!

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

Z is for Zoology

2011-04-30T02:00:00.001-05:00

A few fun facts from the zoologist (that's me):

This animal has the same number of vertebrae in its neck as you. (How many might that be?)

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This animal can eat up to 600 insects in one hour. (source)

Photo by Merlin Tuttle (source)

This animal everts its stomach (its stomach comes out through its mouth) to release digestive enzymes that pulverize its prey.

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What's your favorite animal?

Y is for Yes

2011-04-29T02:00:00.021-05:00

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It finally happened... an editor wants to publish my work. It's not the very first "yes" but it's the first one that will lead to a paycheck (small though it might be).

One of my non-fiction articles is going to be published in Boys' Quest magazine. (In 2012.)

It's amazing how one little "yes" brightens the bio section of a cover/query letter and gives that little push to keep writing.

What keeps you going?

X marks the spot

2011-04-28T02:00:00.015-05:00

Ah, a lovely view. Just the kind of thing my muse enjoys, particularly when she spots that stegosaurus-looking thing on the ground.

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What do you think you would find if you had a chance to explore?

W is for Writers, Wine, and Weather

2011-04-27T03:57:00.000-05:00

Last night, we had a writers' night out.

Four hours at La Cocotte, five courses of fabulous French food, each course with a paired wine, while a thunderstorm raged outside.

It was a delightful evening.

And it was the last time the four of us will be able to go out like this. We'll miss you, Amber!

I'm over at The Rapscallion today, go check it out!

V is for Voice

2011-04-26T02:00:00.008-05:00

Voice is one of those aspects of writing that plays a big role in getting attention from agents and editors. If you've stopped to look at successful queries, you'll find that both the query letter and the ms have voice. It's the voice that grabs attention and cries out “read me”.

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I'm a pretty nice person (or so I like to think; others may call me on this). I believe strongly in helping others, I've signed the charter for compassion, and yet when I write, the characters whose voices come through most clearly are the nasty ones. The selfish ones rule the roost. Is it some hidden part of me that I try to squirrel away? If so, I hope it only comes out on paper. But it makes me stop to think.

Where does voice come from?

U is for Unprepared

2011-04-25T02:00:00.068-05:00

The end of the alphabet completely snuck up on me. So I am completely unprepared for the letter U.

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But since today is World Malaria Day, here's a little something to consider.

Half of the world's population—3.3 billion people—are at risk of contracting malaria. (source)
Between 300 and 500 million people contract malaria each year, and one million of those die. (source)
650,000 children under age 5 die of malaria each year; that's 65% of total malaria deaths and the third leading cause of under-five mortality. (source)
Malaria contributes to the continuing cycle of poverty in developing nations. (source)

Ready for some good news?

Malaria is caused by a protozoan parasite transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. (As an interesting tidbit: only female mosquitoes bite; males eat pollen and are an important part of the ecosystem.)
Anopheles mosquitoes are active at night, biting while people sleep. (source)
Bed nets can cut incidences of malaria by at least 25%. (source)
You can donate a bed net and save a life for as little as $5 through Malaria No More or Nothing But Nets.

Think of it as paying it forward. You don't suffer from malaria; help others to achieve the same goal.

T is for Thanks

2011-04-23T02:00:00.036-05:00

Every day I stop to think how incredibly thankful I am for what I have in my life. Wonderful and supportive family and friends, a roof over my head, and lots of love from the people who matter most. But I rarely take the time to thank people individually for being the wonderful people they are.

Time to fix that.

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Beloved Husband: for his unflagging support, even when he reads my horrendous early drafts. Thanks for being a wonderful husband and father to our kids.

My critique partners: Julie Hedlund, Megan K. Bickel, Juliette Wilk, Valerie Larson-Howard, Christie Wright Wild, and Kellie DuBay Gillis. Thanks for all of your wonderful feedback on my work. I don't know what I'd do without you.

My Berlin writer friends: Jen K. Blom, Astrid Paramita, and Amber McPhee. Thanks for the support, encouragement, and girls' nights out.

My 8th grade typing teacher: Yep, you read that right. In 8th grade, I wasn't so keen on my fifties hold-over teacher. She was strict and, well, she kind of scared me. I never in my wildest dreams thought that thirty-minute drills filling pages with pqpqpqpqpq (moving only the pinkies) would ever, EVER come in useful. But they did. Because I can now type fast enough to keep up when my muse is on a roll and the story is flowing. And it's all thanks to her.

There are others. Lots and lots of others. But I'll tell them in person. :)

What (or who) are you thankful for?

S is for Show Not Tell Crusader Challenge

2011-04-22T02:00:00.035-05:00

The Challenge, as described by Rachael at Rach Writes...

Show Not Tell Crusader Challenge: In 300 words or less, write a passage (it can be an excerpt from your WIP, flash fiction, a poem, or any other writing) that shows (rather than tells) the following:

you're scared and hungry
it's dusk
you think someone is following you
and just for fun, see if you can involve all five senses AND include these random words: shimmer, saccadic, substance, and salt.

Here we go...

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As I swallow the clear, sweet water, I see it, reflected in the shimmering surface of the lake: blond hair. I strain to see more, but everything below the man's neck disappears into the tangle of plants behind him. He glances up.

Electricity charges through me and I back out of view, keeping an eye on him through the leaves. He appears to be talking to someone.

I have to get out of here. I don't know who he is, but he knows where I am. Moving as quickly as possible, I head for the far end of the lake.

Staying on animal trails, I move easily though the vegetation. I can make it, I just need time.

A shout makes me jump. How could he go so far so fast?

Ducking, I dart into shrubs that have more substance. The pungent scent of damp earth fills my nose as I work my way through the undergrowth, stepping as lightly as I can.

Branches crash and I freeze.

Just uphill lies a fallen tree, the trunk flanked by saplings and ferns. Their leaves might cover me if I stay low.

“There!”

My eyes go saccadic at the shout. I have to hide. Now.

Heart thumping, I step over the plants, careful not to break any twigs. I lie down, pulling clammy, rotting leaves over me. The forest is getting darker, as the sun sets on the valley. Please, please let me look like a shadow.

Not a minute later, twigs snap as one of the men creeps near. I breathe through my mouth, trying to keep quiet. A rivulet of sweat runs over my lip, dripping saltily on my tongue. He comes into view, still, listening.

My stomach grumbles and his head whips around.

* * *

There you have it, 294 words; a modified bit of my current WIP, as it turns out. After all, saccadic isn't a good word to use for middle grade. :)

Now, go check out the other entries!

R is for Revision

2011-04-21T02:00:00.021-05:00

For the longest time, I didn't know how to go about revising. I can line-edit, but I didn't know how to go about tackling the big picture.

Last month I attended a revision workshop hosted by SCBWI Germany/Austria. They brought in Sara Grant (co-founder of Undiscovered Voices and editor at Working Partners), and her Revision Game workshop was FABULOUS! I learned a ton.

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I can't share everything Sara taught us, but here are a few snippets to get you started.

Figure out what's at the heart of your story. What's the meaning behind it? (What point were you trying to make? Why did you write it?) Now read your story with this in mind. Did you tell the story you wanted to tell? No? Revise accordingly. Get rid of anything that doesn't get at the heart of the story.

Create a time line. You probably wrote over weeks, months, or even years, and it's easy to lose track of the day of the week/time of day in the story. Is the timing consistent?

Check for duplications, action (too much? not enough?), exposition (too much? not enough?), dialogue, and setting. Make sure your readers know where the scene takes place and who is talking, but don't overuse attributions.

Read the story for each character (read only that character's scenes). Can you track the character's emotional arc? Do you even need this character? If not, can you combine it with another underused character to make one stronger/more relevant character?

Once you've got the big stuff figured out, it's time for micro-editing.

(If you're a member of SCBWI, see if you can get your region to host a workshop. Sara lives in the UK, but her debut novel Dark Parties comes out in the US in August, so she might be in the neighborhood if you're state-side. Seriously, look into it. I can't recommend it highly enough.)

What do you do first when you start to revise?

Q is for (how not to) Query

2011-04-20T02:00:00.010-05:00

[note: I have spent a LOT of time lately researching how to write an outstanding query letter... you know, the kind that will rise to the top of the slush pile. In particular, I have relied heavily on the extremely informative and always reliable Querypolitan for advice. So here is my carefully crafted query letter with first page of MS...]*

Dear ~~Editor~~ Mr. A ent,

Did you ever wish you could wake up to find yourself on another celestial body? To meet creatures you never dreamed existed? To ma ically understand every word of their bizarre lan ua e? And to join forces with them to figh the dark forces of the universe? Cissi the elephant does all of this in Moons of Shambala, my 80,000 word debut middle rade novel.

I am thrilled to submit "Moons of Shambala" for your perusal. It has the amazing potential to be the next Harry Potter, and I'm sure that ~~Matt Damon~~ Ben Affleck will jump at the chance to play the role of ~~Cissi~~ the Shambala leader.

I have taken the liberty of translating the story into Shambalian (a lan ua e I have created over the past ei ht years), and I have included the first few pa es for your deli ht and entertainment. (Please excuse the missin --letter between f and h--my keyboard is missin that key.)

I look forward to hearin your enthusiastic response.
Sincerely,
A. Stevens

Moons of Shambala

Cissi rolled over. She couldn't et comfortable. The cushion felt lumpy and she squirmed. Then she si hed and opened her eyes. No way to sleep, she thought rumpily, as she rolled to her side and lumbered to her feet.

Cissi rubbed her eyes with her trunk and looked around. She asped. Nothing looked right. Her cushion was a rock! Cissi swung her reat head from side to side and spotted a blue and white orb in the sky. She asped again. It was Earth!

Wait, she thought. Am I on the moon? Is this a dream? She rubbed her eyes a ain and blinked furiously. She pinched her ear with the end of her trunk.

"Ow!" Nope, I uess I'm not dreamin . Now what?

As Cissi stood helplessly in the reat crater, she heard a sound. She turned to see some purple creatures with antennae and five le s walking toward her. Their iant compound eyes reflected the li ht of the earth, litterin as they came nearer.

"¤Þξ æ Ð§¤ω," the leader said as they drew near.

Cissi was amazed that she understood. "ζÝ," she replied. The leader lanced at a slightly taller individual to his left and they nodded.

"ζÝ ξÐæ," he said, and the Shambalans turned to leave. Cissi followed behind, curious to know how they thou ht she could help.

* This post is from the archives.

In your opinion, what's the biggest mistake an author could make when writing a query?

P is for Patience (or lack thereof)

2011-04-19T02:00:00.010-05:00

My children are a constant source of inspiration. They are also extremely strong-willed, stubborn children. I love them to death, but we're in throes of the terrible threes (I don't know why people complain about the twos--they're nothing compared to three), and I can only hope to survive until Snuggle Monkey turns four.

Every now and then the poetry muse hits, often after something my boys have done. I wrote this last year around Easter. Hmmm. I detect a pattern...

I Want to Run Away

My children test my patience almost every single day.
Some days it gets so bad, they make me want to run away.
Run off to join the circus, where I'll train the dancing bear.
Or maybe to the city, to sell fancy underwear.
No, retail's not for me, instead I'll travel 'round the world.
Outracing storms and tidal waves with massive sails unfurled.
I'll go on a safari and I'll sleep up in a tree.
I'll fend off greedy pirates, search for treasure in the sea.
I'll climb upon the pyramids, go see the Taj Mahal,
commune with some orangutans and walk on China's wall.
I'll ride a Russian rocket, yes, I'll take it straight to Mars,
then further out to space to see Orion's eighty stars.
I'll travel 'round the universe, but come home when I'm tired
from all of the adventures that my children have inspired.

What about you? What inspires you? What tests your patience to the limits? (And how do you cope?)

O is for Open-mindedness

2011-04-18T02:00:00.043-05:00

When I was in high school, and everyone was worried about whether they'd be accepted by their preferred college or university, my English teacher told us, "You carry your campus with you."

What she meant was that it didn't really matter where we ended up; what mattered was our attitude. If you decide you will be happy in a new place, you probably will be. If you decide you're going to be miserable, you probably will. Very wise words, indeed.

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When my husband was first offered a job in Germany, I was really resistant. I had never been there, and all I knew of the country was what I had learned in my history classes. That meant I learned about World Wars I and II (lesson? U.S. good, Germany bad), and about how the U.S. had rescued West Berlin during the Russian blockade during the years of the cold war (lesson? U.S. good, Russians and East Germany bad). Not exactly the best way to start a new life in a foreign country.

But despite my worries, we did it (I reminded myself of my English teacher's wise words over and over again). And you know what? I have been happier in Berlin than I had been living anywhere else.

And now we're gearing up to move to somewhere in the Midwest. I won't tell you where. (If you know the U.S., you'll say, "Oh. *long pause* Really?" and if you don't, you'll say, "Where? I'll have to look that up.")

When Beloved Husband first interviewed for this job, I had the same reaction. I was resistant. But then I stopped to think: the city we will be moving to meets just about every criteria I had said I wanted in a permanent home (the only thing missing is mountains). And, given my experience moving to Germany, my preconceived notions have been WAY off-base before.

So I think we'll be happy there. Because we decide to be happy, wherever we are.

Are you open-minded about new places and experiences? How do you carry your campus with you?

N is for Networking

2011-04-16T01:33:00.000-05:00

One of the benefits of blogging (and twittering and facebooking) is building a network of contacts in the publishing industry. (But then, you already knew that.)

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How does networking benefit you? A few things I have learned from other writers (and agents and editors):

They're a great source of information. For example, Dear Editor is holding a giveaway for a FREE Fiction Edit (for Adult, YA, or MG). Deadline to enter is April 21.

As much as we all want an agent, things don't always go swimmingly with an agent, and new associations must be made.

I discovered the Writers Workshop for children's writers hosted by the Highlights Foundation and held each summer at the Chautauqua Institute. Intensive sessions with major players in the children's publishing world. Wow!

I discovered that the Highlights Foundation offers scholarships to help defray the cost of said workshop. (Thank you Toby!)

I learned to apply for things (like said scholarship) even if I didn't think I had a chance in the world of getting them. Sometimes you do.

Sometimes, editors don't want to buy the book you proposed; they want you to write something else, and they'll buy that.

Release dates change, sometimes just days before the originally scheduled date.

Writers are amazing, supportive people, and I'm proud to call many of the people in my network friends.

What benefits do you see in networking?

M is for Making the Most of the Moment

2011-04-15T02:00:00.057-05:00

We have a limited amount of time left in Berlin. We will be moving this summer, a big, inter-continental move. It's a stressful thing, moving. Uprooting the family, removing ourselves from our home, our friends, and the lives we have made here.

It's exciting to look forward and bittersweet to look back. But what I'm trying hardest to do right now is live in the moment.

Of all the places I have lived and the many seasons I've been through (including autumn in New England), spring in Berlin tops them all. Everything is in bloom, a procession of color that started a couple of weeks ago. First the purple of the early-spring crocuses, followed quickly by the yellow of the forsythia and holly grape. And then come the pink cherry blossoms, purple lilacs and the pink and purple azaleas. The air is, quite literally, perfumed with the scent of flowers for six to eight weeks.

I am soaking up every moment of it, reveling in every breath of sweet air (when the wind doesn't blow the scent of manure from the neighboring farms), because where we're going, it won't be like this.

How do you live in the moment?

L is for Laughter

2011-04-14T02:00:00.003-05:00

I don't have a car, so I either walk, ride my bike, or take public transit. I thoroughly enjoy the first two, the last one, not so much. But it becomes tolerable with the aid of a good book.

A couple of months ago, Beloved Husband and I discovered Christopher Moore's books, and they have become my favorite distraction from the tedium of waiting for the bus. They're irreverent. They're entertaining. And they are the only books I've ever read that regularly make me laugh out loud.

When you start laughing for no apparent reason on the bus, people get worried. They shoot you a glance, curious but not wanting to make eye contact. They fidget, looking around for another open seat. And those poor people who are in the window seat, penned in by the crazy laughing woman? They ooze up against the window, as if hoping the glass might suddenly release them from their hell.

And that gets the giggles going all over again.

What's your favorite source of humor?

K is for Key

2011-04-13T02:00:00.005-05:00

If you had the key to this door, what do you think you would find on the other side?

J is for Jog

2011-04-12T02:00:00.029-05:00

No, I'm not talking about jogging. I don't do that if I can help it (when we first moved to Berlin, my son thought people only ran to catch a bus).

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I'm talking about jogging your mind, jostling your muse, getting the creative juices flowing. How? Go for a jog. Or a walk, a bike ride, a run. Get out of the house/office, get some fresh air (avoid city streets; if you're deep in thought, you might as well wear a target for muggers, not to mention the hazards of crossing if you're not really paying attention to traffic).

Aside from the obvious health benefits of physical activity, it enhances creativity.

You don't have to go for a hard run or spend an hour at the gym. Moderate activity (a brisk walk) stimulates creative function in the brain immediately after you finish the activity AND for a good two hours after. (For real: check this out.)

Wrestling with an idea? Haven't seen your muse in a while? Go for a walk (jog, run, bike ride) when you'll have some time to write afterward. When I'm struggling, I sit down to write in my journal after a walk, and the problems, more often than not, resolve themselves.

And your back will thank you.

How do you overcome creative block?

I is for Irony

2011-04-11T02:00:00.013-05:00

Ever picked up a crayfish or lobster and had it flip its tail? Yep, it's trying to get away.

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In the wild, they avoid predators by scooting backwards into some kind of small space. This escape behavior is so important, they (shrimp, lobsters, and crayfish) have a nice large muscle that evolved for just that purpose.

I'm sure you're familiar with it. But when you see it, it looks like this:

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We eat the very thing the shrimp (and lobsters and crayfish) have evolved to avoid being eaten. Talk about irony.

What's your favorite dish? Is there anything ironic about it?

H is for Hook

2011-04-09T02:00:00.045-05:00

The stellar opening. It's what hooks a reader and keeps them reading. It's what gets an agent or editor to request a partial or even a full. Bad beginning? Your novel isn't going anywhere.

But where do you begin? And how do you craft an opening that hooks your reader? I really struggled with this until I read Hooked by Les Edgerton. Entertaining to read and overflowing with examples, Hooked can help you avoid writing three chapters that you'll end up cutting later on. (If you need those chapters to explore your chosen characters and/or world, that's another matter.)

Things to seriously consider:

The inciting incident Your story is made up of incidents. But which one is the true inciting incident? (The inciting incident is the trigger that sends your MC through a life-changing series of events.) How can you tell which one is the right one?

The initial surface problem The inciting incident exposes the initial surface problem. Surface problems will be the meat of your story, the action your character takes to deal with the trouble in his or her life. And through these events, we come to learn the story-worthy problem.

The story-worthy problem How will your character change over the course of the novel? The story-worthy problem is almost always an internal struggle of some sort, and that struggle moves along through a series of surface problems that the character must face.

Setup and Backstory How do they fit into your opening, and how can you segue from the current scene into a bit of essential background information?

And then he explains how to fit all those pieces into a solid, engaging beginning that will hook your reader and keep him or her reading to the end. I can't begin to explain it all here (and would probably be breaking a few laws if I did), so I'll leave it at that. If you're struggling with your beginnings, I highly recommend this book.

What are your favorite writing resources?

G is for Goals

2011-04-08T02:00:00.003-05:00

I think setting goals is helpful to put things into perspective. Sure, you want your novel published RIGHT NOW, but let's be realistic. Publishing is slow. It takes most people years to write and polish their novel before it's ready to go to the presses.

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Those years can feel like a never-ending race, yearning to cross the finish line that never appears on the horizon. So how to avoid the inevitable sense of discouragement. That feeling of, "I'll never get there?"

Setting a series of goals can help you measure your progress. Not just the "I want my book published" end goal (if that is your end goal), but a series of goals that will move you along in a stepwise fashion.

This isn't my idea. I got it from Jack M. Bickham, who mentions it in The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them). He recommends using a five-year plan. Start with where you want to be in five years. To achieve that, where will you be in four years? And in three? In two? At this time next year? And then, what can you do this week, even today, to move you forward?

If you set a series of goals, you can make them small, things you can accomplish in a reasonable period of time. How long will it take you to write the first chapter? Or to do research? To figure out how the story weaves together?

By taking things one step at a time, you will be able to measure your progress, even when you feel you aren't getting anywhere. A series of goals helps keep discouragement at bay. And it gives you lots of reasons to celebrate along the way.

What are your writing goals? Over the next five years? For this year? Today?

F is for Follow Faster

2011-04-07T02:00:00.001-05:00

One of the things that drives me crazy about blogging is the unbelievably slow process of following and commenting. I don't know if it's the time of day, the pull of the moon on the electrons flowing through the computer, or frequent storms of vermicious knids, but I quite often find that when I want to follow a new blog, Blogger won't let me. If it does, I am required to wait at least fifteen minutes for said request to process, and I usually give up before it finishes.

But guess what? I found a shortcut. And it works for following Wordpress blogs, so all the blogs you follow can be in one place, rather than having some posts showing up in your inbox. Copy the URL of the blog, then go to your Blogger dashboard and scroll down to your Reading List. Under the Blogs I'm Following tab, click on Add. Paste the URL, click Next, and you're good to go. If you choose the follow publicly option, your avatar will still show up on the person's blog, so they'll know you're there.

This takes 15 seconds, rather than 15 minutes. And then you have an extra 14 minutes and 45 seconds to write something.

Does Blogger do this to you? Or is it just me?

E is for Edit

2011-04-06T02:00:00.030-05:00

I've been doing a lot of editing lately, on the first (now second) draft of Thunderstruck and on some non-fiction articles and picture books, as well.

First, start at the macro level. Why put your effort into line edits when you have to turn around and cut the whole scene because it doesn't work, after all? Wasted time and effort (if good practice).

I'll post more about the macro approach to revisions when we get to R, but for today, here are some things to consider when editing your work.

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Show, don't tell Hopefully everyone knows this by now, but it can be easy to tell without realizing you're doing so. Did you tell the reader a character is angry, sad, puzzled, happy, irritated? If so, you're explaining too much. Their words and actions should get their emotions across.

Use beats in place of speaker attributions I've been reading Roald Dahl's The BFG to my son lately, and each and every line of dialogue has a speaker attribution (Sophie said, the BFG said). I find it distracting and usually end up not reading them aloud. My son doesn't ask "who's talking?" He can tell from the words and the exchange who it is.

Read your dialogue. Can you tell who's talking without the attribution? If you have more than two people, maybe not. But if you have only two people, and if those two people have distinct voices, it will be easy for the reader to follow along without the distraction of attributions.

Instead of attributions, use beats. Do the characters DO anything during the conversation? Not scratching their heads (unless they have lice) or looking around, but movements that provide some punch and a bit of insight into their emotional state. You don't want to overuse beats, since they can detract from the tension of a scene, but beats are a useful component of dialogue.

Read aloud I always read aloud when I'm editing. Why? Because sometimes sentences that seemed okay on the page sound terrible when read aloud. The rhythm of the sentence is off, the word choices poor. In my case, the sentences may be out of order, and reading aloud helps me figure out how they would flow better.

And if you want your work published, you may be asked to read it some day. You don't want to get tongue-tied reading your own work.

Check for white space Flip through the manuscript. Is there a lot of white space, or do you have page after page of description? White space indicates action; a story that will move along quickly, and will therefore be of greater interest to readers.

If you're looking for a good resource to help with editing, I highly recommend Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King. They include lots of great examples and exercises to help you put their advice into practice.

How do you approach editing?

D is for Daylight

2011-04-05T02:00:00.024-05:00

Berlin is at 52 degrees north latitude. That's just 14 degrees south of the Arctic Circle. And it means that we go from 7 hours, 39 minutes of daylight on winter solstice to 16 hours, 50 minutes on summer solstice.

Over the course of six months, we gain over 9 hours of daylight.

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This time of year is the best: we gain four minutes a day. So by this time next week, the day will be half an hour longer. It happens so fast, it's noticeable. Almost as if we can watch the world wake from its winter slumber.

What's your favorite thing about spring?

C is for Chris Barton (Marketing Monday)

2011-04-04T02:00:00.030-05:00

For those of you who are new here (welcome!), I periodically run a Marketing Monday feature. Most of these are "case studies" of authors and what they (and their publishers) have done to market their books. If you're interested, you can see the others here. Today's installment is a little different.

When I contacted Chris Barton (author of The Day-Glo Brothers, Shark vs. Train, and the soon-to-be-released Can I See Your I.D.?), he replied that he didn't have time to write up a post. But, gracious Texan that he is, he didn't leave me empty-handed.

Last August, Chris did a Writer's League of Texas panel on book marketing. And it's all available on YouTube. So here is a ton of great information from a group of publishers: what they do and what you as an author can expect to do to market your book.

It's a 12-part series; if you're interested in the rest, go here for part 4.

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

B is for Berlin

2011-04-02T02:00:00.029-05:00

For nearly five years, I have made my home in Berlin. It's a vibrant city and I love it here. A few of my favorite things:

The Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor)

The Berliner Dom

Buddy Bears

The Berlinale

There are lots of others, but they don't all start with B.

What do you like best about your city?

(Yesterday's Fact or Fiction? Fact. I think. I heard the account from a trusted source, but when I did some research to add some realism, I couldn't find anything about alligators caching.)

A is for Alligator (Fact or Fiction Friday)

2011-04-01T02:00:00.023-05:00

Today's the start of the A to Z Challenge! And yes, as little time as I seem to have, I'm jumping into the fray.

The stench hit first; the rot of decaying flesh filled her nostrils, snapping her out of unconsciousness. She tried to move, lifting a hand in the darkness to find slime coating the walls that surrounded her. The air was dank and oppressive, filling her lungs with a physical presence her body tried to reject.

Coughing, she rolled onto her side and nearly passed out from the pain. Testing with her left hand, she felt the break in her upper right arm, the lower piece of bone jutting forward. She couldn't remember how it had happened.

How had she gotten here? She tried to remember as she sat up and clawed at the muck with her good hand. She had leaned down to collect a sample of water from a pool in the swamp... There was a big splash and then... Nothing. It was blank.

She got her feet beneath her, slipped, and slid onto her hip. Her arm hit the wall and a wave of pain washed over her.

She fought back panic as she tried again, holding a tree root with her good hand for balance. For some reason, she knew she had to get out quickly. Had an overpowering feeling that something was coming back for her.

Her movements opened the mat of vegetation that covered the hole, and cool air rushed over her. She gulped the fresh air and tried not to gag as the breeze shifted and the stench rose again. She had to get out.

Using her left hand, she reached as far above her as she could, grabbed hold of a low-hanging cypress branch, and scrabbled up the slick walls. The lure of fresh air and the threat of something she couldn't quite recall drove her on. After several minutes of struggling, she lay on the spongy surface, staring up at the distant sky.

And then she heard it, the deep staccato of an alligator call, and it all came rushing back, filling her body with a surge of adrenaline like an electric shock. She had leaned down to collect the sample and the splash... the splash was an alligator. It had grabbed her arm and pulled her under water, rolling over and over to kill her. But somehow she had not only survived the death roll, she had been cached for later. Mating season. That was the only explanation.

A tail hit the water nearby and the woman struggled to her feet. She had to get out before the alligator returned.

What do you think? Fact or Fiction?
Last week: Fact. (down to the three-story drop, bounce, and run)

Multiple perspectives

2011-03-30T02:00:00.001-05:00

First, sorry for not having Marketing Monday feature this week. My scheduled author had to do some last-minute edits so that the ARC of her next book will be out on time. Hard to compete with that! I'll feature her in May, after the A to Z Challenge (since her initials don't fit with any of the Mondays in April).

source

I didn't post on Monday because my life is about to enter a tail spin, and I really wanted to finish revising my WIP before that happens. So I was working. Really. Hard.

And now I'm trying to figure out the best way to proceed. You see, this novel has chapters from more than one character's point of view. The secondary character provides important information about what's happening in the story; information the MC can't provide. But for this approach to work, each character has to have a unique voice. Therein lies the challenge.

Now I have the storyline where I want it, and I plan to go through only the chapters from the MC's POV to check the voice in those. Then I'll do a second pass with the chapters from the secondary character's POV. Beyond that, I don't know how else to approach it.

Have you ever written from the POV of multiple characters? How did you ensure that the characters' voices were distinct?

Fact or Fiction Friday: what the squirrel?

2011-03-25T03:00:00.000-05:00

Some Fridays I practice writing my non-fiction in an interesting way or my fiction realistically. Can you tell whether this is fact or fiction?

Tap-t-t-tap.

The sound came down the hall. I set the dish towel on the counter and poked my head into the hallway, listening.

Again: tap-t-t-tap.

What on earth could it be? I was alone in the apartment, no dog, no cat, no pet of any kind. But it sounded like small nails on the hardwood floor.

I stepped into the hallway to investigate, passing the eating area on my way to the living room.

Tap-t-t-tap. Swish.

I paused. It was definitely coming from the living room. Had a bird gotten in? They stopped on the balcony to visit the feeder I'd put out there. And there was that hole in the lower corner of the door frame, where someone must have kicked it too hard.

I peered around the corner into the living room, expecting to see a sparrow or maybe a starling sitting on the floor. Instead, I saw a fat body covered with gray fur: a squirrel. How on earth had it gotten up to the third floor? There wasn't a tree anywhere near the building.

"Chuck-chuck-chu-chuck." It gave an alarm call and twitched its tail, watching me as warily as I watched it. Maybe it would go out on its own. We stared at each other for several minutes. Maybe not.

Stepping into the living room, I held my arms wide, hoping to corral it back through the hole in the door. Panicked, it turned away from me, headed for the door and swerved at the last second, racing around the perimeter of the room, past me, and down the hallway.

I chased after it, staying close to the right side of the hallway, forcing the squirrel to the left. It took the nearest exit into the eating area, where it leaped onto a chair, then up onto the table, scattering the newspaper across the room.

I stood in the doorway. It was trapped in the room, but how would I get it out? I had to get it back to the balcony door in the living room. Using a chair, I blocked off the rest of the hallway (definitely did not need a squirrel in my bedroom). Then
I eased my way into the dining room.

The squirrel twitched its tail, turning slowly to keep an eye on me as I circled the table. When I was on the far side, I moved quickly, shooing it off the table and back into the hallway. For a moment, it hesitated, and I thought it might leap over my barricade. But the other direction was clearer, and the squirrel took off with me close behind.

It paused in front of the door. Somehow I had to get it out, but based on what had happened last time, I knew it wouldn't go through the hole. I wasn't up for another chase around the apartment. From the looks of it, neither was the squirrel.

How to open the door from a distance?

"Chuck-chuck-chu-chuck!"

Yeah, I'm working on it.

"Chuck!"

The chair! I grabbed a chair from the eating area and carried it at a snail's pace into the living room. The squirrel tensed, and I fully expected it to either race between my legs or to jump up onto the chair legs I was holding over its head. Holding my breath, I nudged the screen door open by its wooden frame.

Nothing happened. The squirrel just stood there, as if completely mesmerized by the chair floating over it.

I shifted my foot, and it jumped. Onto the screen, where it hung for a moment before it jumped again--over the balcony railing and three stories straight down.

I dropped the chair and ran outside, wondering if it would survive. It bounced once, shook itself, and raced off to the nearest tree.

I took the bird feeder in. It wasn't worth the trouble.

What do you think? Fact or fiction?

Second Crusaders Challenge: The Dare

2011-03-23T03:00:00.022-05:00

This is my entry for the Second Crusaders Challenge. Our mission, should we choose to accept it:

Write a flash fiction story (in any format) in 100 words or less, excluding the title. Begin the story with the words, “The goldfish bowl teetered” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional, and not part of the judging criteria), see if you can write the story in your own genre (eg if you’re a horror writer, write a horror story; a romance writer, a romance story, etc).

The Dare

The goldfish bowl teetered. I threw myself to the right, trying to keep it balanced. Stupid dare. Why did I let them talk me into carrying it on my head? What was I thinking? I was only two minutes down with three to go, and half the water was already spilled on my shoulders. Dumb fish would be high and dry by the time I was done. If it didn't go crashing to the ground. I could picture it flopping around, orange turning red in a bunch of broken glass. Max'd kill me. Stay steady. Don't let it die.

I'm just under the limit at 99 words, and this definitely in my genre (middle grade, not non-fiction science; I did watch a boy swallow a live goldfish in science class once, but he didn't balance the bowl on his head).

That was fun—thanks for the challenge, Rach! You can see the other entries at Rach Writes...

Ringing in spring with prizes

2011-03-21T03:00:00.044-05:00

It's finally spring!!!

source

First a quick note: I finally realized I can't possibly keep up the Marketing Monday every single Monday. People have other things to do, and I can't push them to fit my schedule. I will, however, post them as often as I can. (Tune in next week for sure!)

And then to some overdue business: prizes for the Super-Snooper Blogfest! I apologize for the delay, but it was worth the wait.

I ended up with exactly 30 participants, which called for a second prize. Only another copy of Snoop: what your stuff says about you seemed appropriate, and Sam Gosling graciously contributed a second copy.

And guess what? He happened to come to Berlin (hence the delay in getting these out), so now THEY'RE BOTH SIGNED! How cool is that?

So this is how it worked. I wrote down the people who had participated, using their number under the Mr. Linky gadget (some people listed themselves more than once, so I used only the listing that took me to the entry). Then I used random.org's true random number generator to choose two winners.

Drum roll, please... the prizes go to:

Trisha at Word + Stuff

Teralyn at A Writer's Journey

Trisha and Teralyn, please send me an email at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com with your shipping address, and I'll get your prize out ASAP!

And to everyone who participated but didn't win, I wish I could send you each a copy. Thanks so much for making the blogfest such a success!

Foresight

2011-03-18T03:00:00.008-05:00

A few years ago, in my online Ecological Issues course, I had a student who took me by surprise. We were discussing various energy alternatives, and I was trying to give them a balanced view (each and every option has benefits and drawbacks; there is no panacea). This student ranted against nuclear power. In each and every post, he was vehemently against it.

Now such strong opposition to something is unusual in college students (in my experience). I usually find myself trying to pull them out of a state of apathy. Keep in mind, the class was online, and I had never met my students. So it wasn't until this particular student turned in his final paper at the end of the semester that I understood.

He was from Japan. He was vehemently anti-nuclear because of the earthquakes there. What if, he argued, there was a big one? What would happen to the reactors?

And now we watch, hoping the emergency teams may somehow manage to prevent a complete meltdown. People who survived first the earthquake and then the tsunami are now at risk of high doses of radiation. A slow, painful, alternative. Talk about foresight.

You may have heard, but Rachael Harrie, Marieke, Luna, Tessa Quin, and Amanda Milner have started Write Hope, a charity auction to support relief efforts in Japan.

Write Hope's mascot Nozomi

If you have something to donate: ARCs, critiques, or anything else kidlit, please donate!

And if you don't, please participate in the auction. All proceeds will be donated to the Save the Children emergency relief fund for Japan.

WIP Wednesday

2011-03-16T02:51:00.130-05:00

Last Friday I hid away in a hotel in the foothills of the Alps and finished the first draft of Thunderstruck. I was scheduled for a critique of the first chapter with the fabulous Sara Grant (a commissioning editor at Working Partners and co-founder of Undiscovered Voices) the next morning, and it was my personal goal to have the MS done before I met with her.

It wasn't a smooth ride. Oh no, that would be way too simple. A smooth ride? I wouldn't bother writing about that here. Doesn't make a good story, you know.


source (this isn't where I was, but I didn't take pictures, and this is lovely, isn't it?)

I was madly typing away, at the height of the story's climax--exciting things happening to my MC, who was fighting for his life--my fingers flying over the keys, and then--

The screen went black. At first I expected it to flicker and come back up. But the dying sound of the fan and lack of power lights told a different story. Either the computer had decided it simply couldn't take any more excitement for one day, or the gods I'd been writing about really didn't want this story told. (Yes, I seriously considered both options.)

I developed a sudden case of asthma* the air rasping through my throat as it tried to reach my lungs.

You see, I had done something that seemed like a good idea a few hours before. Originally, I had the working document on a memory stick (I had borrowed Beloved Husband's laptop for the weekend). But surely, I thought, the file would be safer on the hard drive. Fewer chances for error when saving. I'd just back up to the memory stick. So I saved it to the hard drive and worked from that. But hadn't backed it up since making the little switcheroo.

Jumping up from the chair, I said a number of rude words. Maybe the power had gone out?** I checked. The lamps worked and the little light on the power cord was on. Only the laptop wasn't working.

*insert f-bomb here*

Okay, stay calm. Turn it on, maybe it will just reboot.

Disk error. Press any key to restart.

Okay, I can handle that. I hit a key.

Disk error. Press any key to restart.

Maybe I hit the wrong key. Try another one this time.

Disk error. Press any key to restart.

I'm starting to notice a pattern. Click.

Disk error. Press any key to restart.

And again...

Disk error. Press any key to restart.

*repeat f-bomb word* *several times* (I don't swear often, but this seemed an appropriate occasion.)

Disk error. What were the chances of my most recent version still being there when (if?) I got the thing running again?

Laughing semi-hysterically, I shut it down. Then I wrote down an outline of everything I could remember from the last six (yes six) chapters. Everything I'd written since I'd relocated my working document. And then, in the wisdom that crisis imparts, I decided that maybe some unseen force wanted me to enjoy the sunshine in the Alps, rather than sit at a desk all day.

So off I went, to wander around in the forest. The trees soothed me. I wandered down a narrow path and happened upon a pond, still covered with ice. It sat at the top of a hill, and I followed a meadow down, down, through marshy, boggy lowland, then up a trail on the far side. A deer heard me coming and leaped away through the trees.

Despite my disaster, all was right with the world. Maybe the computer would be okay when I got back.

After two hours, I returned to the hotel and stared at the laptop. Dare I try to reboot? Could I handle another Disk error message? Would I be able to finish the ms before morning?

I opened the laptop, hesitated, then pushed the power button. Lights flashed, the computer whirred and I waited. I'm not sure I breathed while it booted up, but boot it did. And all I'd lost was the last two pages.

I wrote them better the second time.

*I don't have asthma, but now I know what it feels like.
**I was not thinking rationally; I later realized that even if the power went out, the battery would have kept the laptop going.

Because I was single-mindedly focused on writing, I didn't learn of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan until I had finished the manuscript later that night. And I felt like a fool. My crisis was nothing, absolutely nothing, in the face of what was (and still is) happening there. The people of Japan are in my thoughts and prayers.

So what about you? What's the worst (writing-related) catastrophe you've experienced?

Marketing Monday - Susanna Hill

2011-03-14T03:00:00.054-05:00

Since last week was the My Favorite Picture Book Blogfest, it seems fitting that I have picture book author Susanna Leonard Hill on the blog today.

Susanna has published several picture books, including The House that Mack Built, Punxsutawney Phyllis, No Sword Fighting in the House, and Can't Sleep Without Sheep (among many others!), and her latest book, April Fool, Phyllis! comes out on April 1.

On top of all that, she put together a terrific post filled with great ways to get PBs - and other books for children - into the hands of teachers, librarians, and, ultimately, the kids for whom they were written. Read on for more...

When my first book was published in November of 2002 I was over the moon. I was a published author - a dream come true! It never even crossed my mind that I would have to market or promote it. I assumed the publisher would do whatever was necessary to garner interest in my preschool pop-up title.

Even back then, I was wrong. My book had been published by a division of one of the biggest publishing companies in the US. They publish a staggering number of titles in a year, and their marketing budget is funneled toward big names and blockbuster books and titles they really want attention for, not little preschool pop-ups by first time authors :)

Since then, I have been lucky enough to have 8 more books published, 3 more with the original publisher, 3 with another publisher, and 1 each with 2 other publishers. The different publishing houses have approached the marketing of these books in different ways, but I learned early and I learned well: no one has more interest in promoting my books than I do. (And actually, that may not be quite fair. The publishing houses are always interested in having their books do well, but their time and budgets are limited, and since I am not J.K. Rowling, the power of their marketing dollars does not usually extend to me.)

The market has grown increasingly competitive, and publishers' marketing budgets are shrinking.

So I started thinking about things I could do to gain some notice for my books. There are so many talented authors and illustrators out there, so many fabulous books. How would consumers, from teachers and librarians to parents, even know my book existed?

Here are a few things I came up with:

I started a website
I compiled a mailing list of local schools and public libraries
I made a flyer (on Microsoft Word!) and mailed it out to my new mailing list
the flyer included the title and cover of my book and a nice review, my website and contact info, and the fact that I was available for school and library visits.
I printed up business cards
I did several school visits for free while I was learning.
Some people may be naturals at getting up in front of large groups of kindergartners, but I am shy (one of the reasons I like writing!) and I had no experience with large groups of children, even though I had plenty of experience one-on-one and with small groups. I knew I had a lot to learn, and I was more comfortable learning knowing no one was paying me. It was enough, in the beginning, to gain the experience and have a chance to sell books.

On school visits, I usually read one of my stories and show the kids the process a book goes through from the original idea to what you see on the library or bookstore shelf. I tailor the amount of detail I go into on this to the age of the group.

For my first book, The House That Mack Built, I built a board with little velcroed on trees, a river with a popsicle stick barge, and brought a handful of construction vehicles that matched the story so I could show the kids how the feller and skidder took down the trees etc...

For Punxsutawney Phyllis and April Fool, Phyllis! I have a groundhog puppet who tells about groundhog facts and groundhog day, and even sings a song she made up. :) I also have a puppet for Can't Sleep Without Sheep, and songs for Airplane Flight, Freight Train Trip, and Can't Sleep Without Sheep.

With 1st and 2nd graders, I often share the first book I wrote when I was in 2nd grade. I always leave time for Q&A.

As time went my, I grew more comfortable with school visits, and I had some new titles published. So I did a few more things:

I continued adding to and updating my mailing list, including nursery schools since a lot of my titles are intended for preschool
I updated my flyer every year, making sure all new titles and covers were included, and adding a list of schools I'd previously visited and a couple of testimonials that people had been kind enough to send unsolicited. (one thing I didn't do, and that might be helpful, was to ask for recommendations. For you, it might be a way to get more testimonials more quickly.)
I started a FaceBook fan page
I started a blog
When I go on school or library visits now, I always bring a clipboard with a page where people can sign up to be notified of new publications, book news etc.
I started making book trailers for my new releases on imovie
I started making and sending promotional postcards
I asked my illustrators for coloring and activity pages which they and I both post on our websites for teachers and parents to share with kids
I made classroom guides for several of the books to make them easier for teachers to incorporate into their curriculum
I have made an effort to engage with other blog writers and been interviewed on literacy and children's literature sites
I have made an effort to attend conferences which teachers and/or librarians attend
I am a member of The Author's Guild, SCBWI, The Children's Literature Network, and The Reading Tub.

My books are in schools and libraries, in part by virtue of the fact that 3 of them are published by a house that sells directly to that market, but also because I have painstakingly built a list of teachers and librarians to whom I can send announcements of new titles, and made an effort to cater to their needs by creating classroom guides and activities they can use.

I find and schedule all my own school and library visits. With one exception where the publisher supplied them, I (or my illustrator partner) have made the promotional postcards for all the books I've sent them for.

I am probably forgetting things! But if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! You can contact me through my website, www.susannahill.com or my blog, http://susannahill.blogspot.com.

Susanna Leonard Hill wrote her first story titled, “The Girl and The Witch”, when she was five years old. Born in New York City, she graduated from Middlebury College with a double major in English and Psychology and holds an M.A. and an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology and Special Education of Children with Learning Disabilities from Teachers College, Columbia University. She worked for many years as an educational therapist, but is now a full-time mom and author. Her published works for children include Punxsutawney Phyllis, which was chosen for the Book Sense Children’s Pick List Fall 2005 and the Amelia Bloomer Project Feminist Books For Youth List 2006, as well as The House That Mack Built, Taxi!, No Sword Fighting In The House, a Junior Library Guild Selection, Not Yet, Rose, Airplane Flight!, Freight Train Trip! and Can’t Sleep Without Sheep. Punxsutawney Phyllis and the April Fools is in production for 2011. Susanna lives on East Mountain in Poughquag, NY.

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

My Favorite Picture Book Blogfest

2011-03-10T02:00:00.001-06:00

I'm deviating from my normal Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule this week for two reasons. First, I am taking a few days off, enjoying the Alps and a bit of peace and quiet (something I don't often get with two boys) before taking part in an SCBWI revision workshop on Saturday.

Second, one of my critique partners, Megan K. Bickel (The Write-At-Home Mom), is hosting the My Favorite Picture Book Blogfest today. Even if you don't write picture books, you've read them. You may read them to your kids every night, or at the very least you remember important ones from your childhood.

My absolute, all-time favorite picture book is The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss.

Why do I love it? I love the way the words roll off my tongue to reveal the way our actions impact the world around us. Little things we don't stop to consider.

"Look Lorax," I said. "There's no cause for alarm.
I chopped just one tree. I am doing no harm...."

And yet our actions build to have an ever-greater impact on the world around us. The Lorax creates a fictional account of something that affects every single person every single day.

I read this book to my students (I teach at the university level) because the message is so profound. We take just a little more each day, whittling away at the resources nature has provided us, and the slow destruction is difficult to see.

And at that very moment, we heard a loud whack!
From outside in the fields came a sickening smack
of an axe on a tree. Then we heard the tree fall.
The very last Truffula Tree of them all!

That's what happened to a thriving society on Easter Island, and now we know them only by giant stone heads, the Easter Island equivalent of gigantic thneed factories.

Dr. Seuss was way ahead of the curve in terms of environmentalism. He published The Lorax in 1971.

What about you? What was (or is) your favorite picture book?

And head on over to The Write-At-Home Mom to see the other entries. (I'll do that when I get home on Sunday.)

Multitasking

2011-03-07T02:00:00.004-06:00

Just like every other mom on the planet, I multitask. Of course, I can only actually DO two or three things at a time (dust and search for lost legos and try to follow my son's description of the dragon he saw fighting a ninja tiger. He saw it. Really.). Ask me to do more than that, and my carefully balanced stack of tasks topples to the ground. And I have to scramble to pick up the pieces.

Why do I share this? Because I've been dealing with sick kids, a traveling husband, and school closings while trying to finish my WIP for an upcoming revision workshop. They've put me way over my multitasking limit, and I forgot to schedule someone for today's Marketing Monday.

But if you're looking for some great marketing advice, check out Raquel Byrnes's tips on putting together a media kit. Next week, we'll be back to the regularly scheduled program.

A word about prizes...

2011-03-04T02:00:00.072-06:00

Wow! Thanks to everyone who participated in the Super-Snooper Blogfest! The entries were great, and it was a lot of fun to figure out the people behind the stuff. And since we had 39 people participate, I have to come up with a second prize, so I have no prize announcements today. (Sorry.)

In fact, it might take a little while before I know exactly what the second prize will be. But I'm working on something. It'll be great, and I'll be sure to let the winners know as soon as I've got it all worked out.

If you didn't catch the entries for the blogfest, check them out here. They're lots of fun!

Super-Snooper Blogfest

2011-03-02T02:00:00.061-06:00

Today is the Super-Snooper Blogfest!. Instructions are to describe a setting that tells us something about your character's personality. Characters can be of any age, living in any time or place. But don't tell us about the character, tell us about his or her stuff. We'll get to know the character from what you write.

My entry:

Sticky notes covered every millimeter of the computer monitor frame. Most were yellow, a few pink or green, each with an important note on it: events, dates, inspirational sayings and little bits of wisdom. Every two seconds, the screen saver flashed a new photo. The same face appeared in each, always with at least one other person: at parties, on the beach, in the mountains, under the wide tent of a hang-glider. Many of the same faces filled frames that littered the nearby bookshelves, obscuring the few books that lay jumbled in a heap. Swim goggles hung from the corner of one frame, a snowboard leaned against the bookshelves, and the harness of the latest bungee jump spilled out of the bottom-most shelf.

What kind of personality do you imagine this character has? What part of their stuff gave you that impression?

As I mentioned, I have a copy of Sam Gosling's Snoop: what your stuff says about you to give away. Each participant will get one entry in the drawing, and the randomly-selected winner wins the book! Check back on Friday to see if you're the lucky winner, and go see what others wrote!

Marketing Monday - Donna Gephart

2011-02-28T02:00:00.063-06:00

Today I have middle grade author Donna Gephart, who not only agreed to share her experiences, she wrote up this fabulous post within a few short hours of my request.

Donna has two books published, with a third due out next year. She's full of terrific insight, so let's begin!

Now that I’ve sold three novels, I wish I could talk to myself when my first book came out. I’d tell myself, “Stop freaking out!”

“People will read the book. You will get amazing e-mails from young fans, teachers, librarians and old boyfriends. You will even win a couple lovely awards.”

To you, dear reader, I say, “Do what feels comfortable. Say, “Yes” a lot. Let people know about your book and about you as a speaker, then move on and write the next book. If contemplating marketing and promoting gives you hives, think about the process as connecting and giving.”

Here are some examples from my experience that may be helpful:

School Visits:

When a friend told me a local middle school library was desperately in need of books, I gathered a bag of books our kids were not using as well as copies of my two novels and headed over there.

The librarian and I hit it off immediately. She was friendly and enthusiastic and really appreciated the donation of books. When she found out I did school visits, she invited me to give a (paid) presentation to the entire sixth grade class (about 400 students) and sign books at the school’s book fair.

A win for both of us.

Since that time, I’ve gone in to help her encourage reluctant readers to find books they’ll enjoy.

Media Attention:

A friend, Janeen Mason, suggested I contact her friend, Marilyn Bauer, who writes a local arts column blog for an area newspaper.

Marilyn is lovely! After she wrote about me, a reporter from that paper read my novel, How to Survive Middle School, enjoyed it and wrote a review in the newspaper, saying my book was good for both children and adults. (He even posted the review on Amazon.)

A parent read that review and told her group about me when they were looking for a keynote speaker for an event they were hosting. I spoke to that group about surviving parenting a middle schooler.

Another time, I wrote to a local reporter, telling her how much I enjoy her weekly “Meet Your Neighbor” feature. I’d been reading and enjoying it for years. The reporter asked if I’d consider being featured in the newspaper.

Of course I agreed.

After that article came out, I was contacted by several area schools about author visits.

Blogging:

I’ve been blogging since 2007.

A favorite feature is my 6-1/2 list – a cleverly disguised guest blog. Here are a few examples:

1. Erin Murphy and author Audrey Vernick give great tips about how to elevate quiet books.

2. Cynthia Leitich Smith discusses How to Promote Your Book Like a Pro

3. Cynthia Lord shares tips on creating great school visits.

Don’t blog in a vacuum. Follow and comment on other blogs. Doing guest blog posts is a great idea because it gives you the opportunity to connect with new readers. Thanks, Alison!

Your Book is Your Best Promotion Tool:

When you hear the advice, “Write the best book you can,” there’s a reason. Once your book comes out, it must stand on its own merits. Take my word for it, you’ll be glad you spent that extra time revising.

My first book, As if Being 12 ¾ Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President! had a lot of support from Random House. They flew me to Philadelphia to meet with influential librarians at a cocktail party during ALA. They promoted the book in print. They even gave out “Vote for Mom” buttons at a few large shopping malls across the country.

With all that support from Random House plus all my promotional efforts, the book did NOT break any sales records.

But instead of spending all my time and energy promoting that book, I did exactly what I was supposed to do. I wrote the next book.

ARCs of How to Survive Middle School were sent to reviewers by Random House. That’s it. I sent out an e-mail letting people know my book was out. And not a whole lot more.

Guess what?

How to Survive Middle School got starred reviews right out of the gate. It landed on the Texas Lone Star Reading List.

Before long, I got the happy news that it had gone into its FIFTH printing and sold out its advance. And it hasn’t even been out a year.

That had very little to do with what I or Random House did to promote it.

It was the book not the promotion that made those things happen.

So, here are my 6-1/2 tips for you:

1. Write the best book you can.

2. Spend as much time as needed to revise and polish your book.

3. Instead of thinking about what you’d like to get (book sales), think about what you can give — your time, advice, expertise, etc.

4. Connect in ways that feel comfortable and meaningful. Blogs, FB, Twitter, School Visits, Library Workshops, Articles for Magazines — whatever works for you.

5. Don’t be shy. Let your friends, family and colleagues know about how excited you are about your new book. Give out your business cards liberally. Include your book and Web site/blog information in your signature line on every e-mail you send out.

6. If you’re introverted, get thee to Shrinking Violet Promotions.

6-1/2. Here’s the most important advice. My agent reminds me of it every now again. Don’t get so caught up in worrying about sales and marketing and promotion that you neglect to do the most important thing for a long, healthy writing career: WRITE THE NEXT BOOK.

Donna Gephart tries to remember to WRITE THE NEXT BOOK from her home in South Florida. Her newest book, Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, about a girl determined to get on the TV quiz show, Jeopardy!, comes out in 2012. Visit Donna online at www.donnagephart.com and click on the hamster icon to view a hilarious singing hamster YouTube video.

Awards!

2011-02-23T02:00:00.082-06:00

I am rather embarrassed to admit that I was given an award about three months ago that I have not yet claimed. I think it's about time to rectify that, particularly since I just received another one (only two weeks ago--I'm trying, people, I'm trying)!

So, thanks to Megan K. Bickel for the Versatile Blogger award!

Isn't it lovely? My favorite color!

(Very belated) thanks to Megan for the award (head on over to join her for her the My Favorite Picture Book Blogfest on March 10). And now, seven things about me:

When I picture my dream home, all I see is a huge garden. And some chickens.
I have been attacked by a whooper swan, a bronze-winged duck, and a family of nene geese (all within a matter of weeks).
When we were in Budapest over Christmas, I dropped a plate in the sink of our hotel bathroom and broke the sink (the plate was fine, the sink cost us 15000 forints).
My office chair is an exercise ball.
Because I work in English (and we speak English at home), I speak only enough German to get by, despite having lived in Germany for almost five years.
I don't own a car.
My most prized possession is a signed copy of Catch-22.

And now I pass this award on to:

Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming
Susanna Hill
Catherine Johnson at Kangaroobee
Nikki at Raising Marshmallows
Robyn Campbell at Putting Pen To Paper
Elizabeth Mueller
Janina R. Williams at My Road to Freedom, A Chicago Freelance Writer's Guide
Jeanne Kraus at Captive Audience
Barb Best at Barbs Blast
LadyJai at Snippets from my mind
SA Larsen at Writers' Ally
Deniz at The Girdle of Melian
Samantha Verant at Life, Love & Living in France
Faith B. at Literary Coldcuts on Toasty Buns
Ali Cross
Margo Berendsen at Writing at High Altitude

And then I got the Stylish Blogger Award! (Cuz I am clearly so very stylish. Or something.)

Thank you Mask! I'm supposed to say seven things about me. Hmm. Do the above seven count? I say yes, but I will pass this on to a different set of wonderful bloggers:

Donea Lee at The Queen of Procrastination
Francesca Amendolia at Making It Up
Lois D. Brown at I Devour Books
Len L at Conversations with Self
MC Howe at Pensive Sarcasm
Carrie at Carrie Keeps Typing
Ben Langhinrichs at My Comfy Chair
Chris Phillips at Chris Phillips - Slushpile Savant
Akoss at Nye Louwon - My Spirit
E.J. Wesley at The Open Vein
Sharde Richardson at Realm Of Randomness
Jess Lawson at Falling Leaflets
Vicki Tremper at VB Tremper
Laura Diamond at Diamond, Yup Like the Stone
Michael at In Time ...
Shelley Batt at Voices of a Writer

Yes, I know we're supposed to do 15, but this rounds out the PB/MG crusaders (new crusaders, that is).

Marketing Monday - Carole Anne Carr

2011-02-21T02:00:00.054-06:00

Today I would like to welcome Carole Anne Carr, a children's author who has self published several books for children, including two novels and a picture book. She will also have fantasy based on Norse mythology available soon.

Many of you already know Carole from her blog; she writes historical fiction set near her home in England. Through her books, she is making a tour of Shropshire's historical sites, which must be a wonderful experience for local children.

What has the process of self-publishing been like for you?

Very hard work indeed. I began this process as I started serious writing very late in life and didn't think any publisher would be interested in me at my age.

First I tried to discover whether I was on the right track by completing a part time three year course on creative writing. When I did well, I then decided to go ahead with this project.

Then I had to work out how to be a self-publisher. I didn't want vanity publishing, or a pay on demand printer, so I set about finding a good printer whose work I liked and who would publish one hundred books at a time - a number I thought I could sell to begin with.

I then used Google to discover how to be a publisher, learned how to make print ready files, asked my Grandson how to design a book cover and also make it into a print ready file, and learned about ISBN numbers and how to attach them to the cover. From the printer I learned about types of paper, how my book would be bound, costs,how long the process would take. I visited the printer to see the whole process from start to finish.

Then I wanted to add a picture book to my published work and so purchased a simplified version of photoshop - elements 8 - which was the correct one for my needs and struggled to place my illustrations into the book file.

Of course I edited my own work, a long tedious process, found a friend who would act as accountant and helped me set up as self-employed. I have since found someone to help with the editing, dicovered on LinkedIn, who is also at the beginning stage of his career and as yet does not charge.

How has online social networking helped you market your books?

Not a great deal as yet. It leads people to my website and bookshop, but it is only by my author appearances that I later have people buying from the site. However, I have found many useful connections, people who have kindly helped me along the way, through LinkedIn. Moral support that I receive from Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, is always welcome.

What steps have you taken to market your books in person (with bookstores, schools, libraries, etc.)?

I have sold over 1000 books since I started at the beginning of 2010, not a great number, and this has been due to selling myself to independent bookshops, working in local libraries and schools as visiting author, (placing my books in county libraries), visiting schools, (I taught for 25 years) and reading from my books and teaching creative writing.

I have joined many societies, Women in Rural Business and joined them at large county shows, attended craft fairs, I'm a member of the Society of Authors, Jelly, and the National Association of Writers in Schools and attend their conferences. I keep in touch with Nielsen, and have finally been recognised by Gardners the big book distribution people. I also give talks to women's groups.

My books relate to historical sites, although children's fiction, and I have made sure they are for sale in museums and bookshops related to those sites. My next book is fantasy, I'm hoping to widen my apppeal. I am constantly working to improve my visibility whilst writing more books. My first two books are shortly to become eBooks so that I can reach a wider market. If you google me, you will find that I appear over many many pages, very hard work indeed.

What advice do you have for other children's authors who might be thinking of self-publishing?

It is possible to be successful, and I think with much persistance you can become reasonably well known as an author. If you have the ability, and you can always take courses as I did to make sure you are on the right track, and you have the drive, then I'd say 'go for it'. However, I must add that it is easier for me, being retired!

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

Possums are Awesome Blog Tour!

2011-02-18T02:00:00.105-06:00

Two weeks ago I wrote a little pay-it-forward post about a friend of mine who has helped me along with my writing. Someone who has taken me under her wing and who is already making a splash with her debut novel, Possum Summer.

"Possum Summer, is a heartwarming, vibrant story of a western Oklahoma 'country' girl [that] mixes themes of honor, resolve, and courage with just the right blend of adventure, excitement, humor, danger, love, compassion, and a small touch of romance. It's a book that middle graders will want to read. The author should brace herself for all the letters and emails she'll receive asking 'did this really happen?" -- Bill Wallace, author of A Dog Called Kitty and many other books

Today, I am honored to have her here! Live! In person! The fabulously talented Jen K. Blom...

Welcome to the POSSUMS ARE AWESOME blog tour for the middle-grade book, POSSUM SUMMER, coming out in March! (Have you preordered yet?)

The fantastic Alison was kind enough to be part of my blog tour, and she is one great lady! I'm here answering a couple great questions, and of course, P tagged along too...

First off, a little about the book:

a lonely kid.

an orphaned baby possum.

a dad that says no way.

how do you keep that kind of secret?

and what happens when you’re found out?

Here we go!

AS: You've described yourself as a Pantser. How much do you need to know about a story before you start writing?

JKB: Wee-eell, not too much. I need to know the conflict, the person's first name, the animal, and what makes me sad about it. I tend to write books that make me sad, for some reason.

AS: I suppose if you write things that make you sad, it helps you appreciate everything else. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go and why?

JKB: Interesting! I've thought about this for a few days now and I guess I'd go back to Darwin, Australia, and just chill like a lizard on a sunny flat rock until all my worries were just cooked out of my brain. I lived there back in the day, and there is NOTHING like laid-back Aussie attitude to make you put things into perspective.

I would also like to show Loki * and DearHubs * my favorite outcrop of sand with the old beached tree where I watched many a sunset over beautiful water.

* Names changed to protect the innocent

AS: Possum Summer takes place in Oklahoma, where you grew up. To what extent did your childhood experiences influence the story?

JKB: Quite a bit. :-D I freely admit I stole the name of the creek where I grew up, as well as the entire first chapter (excepting the father bit) from my childhood. I was nuts! And I think a bit of me shows through there in P. She is SUCH a dear.

Princess: Deer? I ain't no deer!

JKB: DE-AR, you monster. Like a sweet little girl!

P: Listen here. I am not a sweet little girl! Just ask Mart! Why, he called me a girl one day, and I dumped all the tray of orange juices over him! And it felt GOOD! What do you like to eat, Miss Alison?

AS: I don't know if I can choose, I like so many things.

P: Ha Ha Ha! So many things, huh? How about earthworms and cow butt? Those things included?

JKB: P --- *warning look*

AS: *shakes head* I should have known better.

P: Sorry. (kind of) So what do you like to do? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say writing.

AS: Writing and gardening.

P: Well! At least you go outside! That's good! (I KNEW it about the writing part!) What's really interesting about you?

AS: I have very curly hair.

P: Ha! Curly hair! I wish I had curly hair. My dad calls me a bottlebrush, which makes me mad. But because you said you like to eat lotsa different things, I drew you as a ... :

P: Yeah! A Raccoon! Jen had one when she was younger and that thing like'tve ate her out of house and home! Why, I met a rabid one, did you know that? For real! Jen said she put it in POSSUM SUMMER, and I read it, but ---

**scuffle**

JKB: Alison, thanks for having me! I really appreciate it! (and sorry for the monster!)

AS: Thanks for stopping by Jen! Love the drawing, P! Can't wait to get my hands on the book!

Jen K. Blom writes about animals, the land, and kids, not necessarily in that order. Her debut, POSSUM SUMMER, is available March 2011.

Just the thing to give to a kid to start their summer of reading off right! (Available from your localindie, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Book Depository!)

Seen the book trailer yet?

Want more POSSUMS ARE AWESOME blog tour tidbits? Go here and knock yourself out!

Bernard Pivot Blogfest

2011-02-16T01:59:00.047-06:00

Nicole at One Significant Moment at a Time is hosting the Bernard Pivot Blogfest today. The questions below (written by Bernard Pivot) are from Inside the Actor's Studio. I've never watched it, but this seems like a great way to get to know other bloggers. So here goes...

1. What is your favorite word?

Excellent. That's my favorite word, I'm not commenting on the question. If you're going to be positive about something, why do it only half-way?

2. What is your least favorite word?

Uh... it's a very offensive word that starts with c. I'll leave it at that.

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

Nature. There is a phenomenal amount of unbelievably cool stuff in nature, and I find it soothes my soul and stimulates just about every creative idea I've ever had. When I'm blocked, all I need is a walk in the park to get things flowing again.

4. What turns you off?

Closed-mindedness.

5. What is your favorite curse word?

This is hard; it depends on the situation. When someone else frustrates me, I sound like the kids from South Park after Kenny's been killed. Although I don't use it often, I also like the one that's highly versatile (works as a noun, verb, or adjective).

6. What sound or noise do you love?

The sound of my children laughing. It brightens my day like nothing else.

7. What sound or noise do you hate?

We live in the city and walk/bike everywhere, so I think it has to be traffic.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I would be a concert pianist.

9. What profession would you not like to do?

Anything that doesn't stimulate my mind.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

"I loved your book!" =D

Marketing Monday - Anna Dewdney

2011-02-14T02:00:00.058-06:00

When I asked Anna Dewdney, author/illustrator of the extremely popular Llama llama books what she did to market her books, she gave me an answer every author wishes were their own:

I really didn't do much to market my books, other than show up at bookstores. It was a word of mouth thing, and after that, Penguin started marketing me.

But Anna doesn't just show up, she provides an engaging experience for her audience, one that likely boosts the number of recommendations people give regarding her books (and the live experience).

I saw Anna at the Texas Book Festival in October. When she first got on "stage" she said not a word. Instead, she gave a little wave to the children sitting up front, uncapped a black marker, and set to work drawing Llama llama on a large posterboard. Anna made quick work of it, since she draws Llama llama often. When she was done, she turned to address her audience.

"Someone wants to say hi." She gestured at the illustration. "He's waving to you."

The children cheered and waved back.

Anna talked a bit about how she came to write Llama Llama Red Pyjama, which she then read. But she didn't just read it, she practically acted it out, doing different voices for Llama llama and his mother, making Llama llama's voice tremble when he was frightened. It was a highly entertaining performance.

Anna was at the Texas Book Festival to promote her new book, Llama Llama Holiday Drama, and she gave a similar performance for that one, even swooning near the end. The children giggled wildly, parents were grinning, it was a memorable event.

During the signing, Anna drew Llama llama in each and every book. So while Anna claims that she just "showed up" there is much more to her successful appearances than this modest author would like to admit.

Live appearances are not for everyone, but for authors (particularly authors of picture books) with a dramatic flair, events such as this once can speed the word of mouth along.

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

Blogfest update

2011-02-11T09:57:00.000-06:00

Two things to start: I just passed 100 followers! I'll have to come up with something fun to celebrate! Hi to my new followers, and thanks for stopping by. And that brings me to the other thing... I'm sorry I haven't been out in the blogosphere this week. It's just been one of those weeks. But I promise I'll visit everyone else and get caught up with the new crusaders soon.

Now to the reason for today's (very late) post. Donna asked for an example for the upcoming Super-Snooper Blogfest, and I finally found a few minutes to write one. If you haven't signed up yet, join the fun. I'll be giving away a copy of Sam Gosling's SNOOP!

The shades were drawn; looked, in fact, as if they hadn't been raised in years. Clothes - all black - were crammed into the closet; several hangers jutted out at odd angles, resisting alignment in the tiny bits of space that remained. Assorted black shoes obscured the closet floor, lying at least two layers thick. In the bookshelf to the right, books lay strewn about, some stacked, others standing, still others falling to one side. Three books lay on the floor, where they must have fallen from the crowd above. Perched on the top of the bookshelf, two framed photos stared out into the room. One, a black and white landscape reminiscent of Ansel Adams, wrought a haunting, ethereal image. The second depicted a field of snow, pristine but for the wing marks flanking a single drop of bright red blood, the brightest splash of color in the room.

Based on that description, what conclusions would you draw about the owner of the room?

Crusading and A to Z

2011-02-09T02:00:00.001-06:00

If you're looking for a good way to connect with other writers (by genre, no less!), pop over to Rach Writes... to join the Second Writers' Platform-Building Crusade. It's a great way to get to know other writers through each other's blogs, find new friends and perhaps even some highly-coveted critique partners.

And I might be completely insane, but I've also signed on for the A to Z Challenge. Now to figure out what goes with the letter X...

Are you participating in any of these? Are you as crazy as I am?

Marketing Monday - Alex J. Cavanaugh

2011-02-07T02:00:00.033-06:00

To pilot the fleet’s finest ship…
Few options remain for Byron, a talented young man with a troubled past and rebellious attitude. Slated to train as a Cosbolt pilot, Byron is determined to prove his worth and begin a new life. Much to his chagrin, Bassa, the toughest instructor in the fleet, takes notice of the young pilot. As war brews on the edge of space, Byron requires a navigator of exceptional quality to survive. Bassa must make a decision that could well decide the fate of both men. Will their skills be enough as they embark on a mission that may stretch their abilities to the limit?

Sound familiar? Today I have another well-known writer in the blogosphere: Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of the science fiction adventure CassaStar.

How have you made use of your online connections to market CassaStar? Did you find that your blog or twitter played a bigger role?

I was prompted by my publisher to get my butt online! So I started blogging first and then Twitter. Blogging has definitely played a bigger part. Through several blogfests and challenges, I built up my readership. My blogging friends really cheered me on when I posted my cover art and book trailer, which was cool. Before the release date of CassaStar, I put out a call for help and was overwhelmed by the response! Nineteen bloggers hosted my book tour and another eighty-plus featured my book and trailer on release day. Reviews and guest post requests continue to come in, which helps keep momentum going.

What did Dancing Lemur Press do to help market your book?

They made the book available in print and all eBook formats, sent out tons of review copies, and did a huge mailing and emailing campaign. They’ve worked hard to get my books into Barnes and Noble and libraries.

Have you done any marketing and promotion in person (beyond anything the publisher might have arranged)?

Sadly, no. I’m not comfortable in front of people, so I’ve had to rely on the Internet to promote my book.

Do you think social networking is more effective for writers of science fiction? Have you connected with readers through your blog?

I think it’s effective for any genre. What blogging taught me was to look beyond my genre, though. I followed a lot of science fiction blogs in the beginning, but it was the readers who were attracted to my own blog that showed the most interest, and many of them didn’t read science fiction. CassaStar is low-tech and character-driven, so it appeals to a wider audience than pure science fiction. This is something I would’ve never discovered without blogging!

Thanks for sharing your experience, Alex! Lots of good insight, particularly for those of us who are tend to be a bit more introverted.

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

Pay it forward

2011-02-04T01:45:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking about writing this for quite a while now, and since Shelli at Market My Words is holding a contest for just this thing, I think it's time.

There are many people who have supported my writing: my husband, my kids, my friends and family, but there is one in particular to whom I am indebted.

When I finally decided to take my writing seriously, I joined SCBWI. I sent an email introducing myself to the regional leader and soon received a reply that put me in touch with the other SCBWIers in my city. They're all terrific, but one, in particular, has taken me under her wing and made me believe I can really do this writing thing.

That someone is Jen K. Blom, author of the soon-to-be-released Possum Summer. Jen took me in, sent encouraging words when I needed them, and gave me kind, but brutally honest feedback on my first novel. She sent gentle nudges, asking how the rewriting was going, and when it was (almost completely) rewritten, she read it again. She has helped me tweak my query letter and has been there with supportive words every time I've gotten frustrated. Without Jen's unfailing support, I would not be getting ready to query right now.

I am incredibly grateful to Jen, and I know I can never repay her. But I can pay it forward and provide the same support to others just starting their journey. I only hope I can be as helpful to others as Jen has been to me.

Who has helped you on your journey?

(If you're looking for the answer to last week's Fact or Fiction Friday: it was fact. We were unbelievably lucky to get home.)

Super-Snooper Blogfest!

2011-02-03T02:00:00.028-06:00

I think it's time I held a blogfest. I've participated in a few, but I haven't hosted one, yet. On March 2, we will have the Super-Snooper Blogfest!

What is that, you ask? Yesterday, I wrote about Sam Gosling's book, Snoop: what your stuff says about you. For the blogfest, you need to describe a setting that tells us something about your character's personality. Characters can be of any age, living in any time or place. But don't tell us about the character, tell us about his or her stuff. We'll get to know the character from what you write.

There will be prizes! I have a copy of Snoop that I will be giving away, so you can become a super-snooper in real life and apply it to your writing. If more than 30 people participate, I'll find a second prize, too (maybe I can convince Sam to sign a copy). So add yourself via the linky gadget below, grab the button, and spread the word!

UPDATE: If you're not quite sure what to write, you can find an example here.

Snoop!

2011-02-02T02:00:00.071-06:00

Have you ever walked into a room, looked around, and come away with an instantaneous first impression of the inhabitant? An impression that may have been modified a bit after meeting said inhabitant, but one that was probably at least partially correct? Welcome to snooping.

Most of us snoop, perhaps unintentionally, perhaps with purpose; with the help of Sam Gosling's book Snoop: what your stuff says about you, you can learn even more about people without even meeting them.

Okay, this sounds like fun, but what does it have to do with writing? First, it's a well-written and highly entertaining book (I missed my stop when I was reading it on the bus). Second, if you know what someone's stuff says about them, you can sneak all kinds of great information about your character's personality into your novel. Your audience will come away 'knowing' the character, but they won't know why they know what they do.

Sam uses the Big Five personality traits in his work: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. You can probably identify where people you know fit into a big five personality profile. Extraverts thrive on contact with other people (I think of them as friend-collectors). People who are conscientious buy more of something before it runs out, are punctual, etc.

Now think about the characters in your story. What would their personality profile look like? Does their profile fit their profession? Introverts don't usually make good salespeople, so you may find that you need to rethink your character's personality, so that it matches their profession. Or perhaps you deliberately want to find an unusual combination for your story (the extroverted truck driver who uses his CB radio--do they still use those?--to chat with anyone and everyone on the stretch of highway).

And to add another layer of believability, what would this person's stuff say about them? If you describe a large music collection that contains everything from the Beatles to Mozart to Tool to Lady Gaga, the readers will know (although they won't know how they know) that the character is open to new ideas and experiences. See how that works? Pretty cool, huh?

And guess what? I happen to have an extra copy of Sam's book. I don't need two, so I'm going to give one away! Details will be up tomorrow.

Where do you like snooping best? Medicine cabinet? Kitchen? Office?

Marketing Monday - Sam Gosling

2011-01-31T02:00:00.009-06:00

Sam Gosling, Ph.D., is a psychology professor at the University of Texas. Sam's research is remarkably well known. He studies personality.

Many psychologists study personality, but Sam is particularly interested in what we can learn about people without ever meeting them. He studies people's stuff. And he has done curious people everywhere a great service by writing Snoop: what your stuff says about you. I'll have more about Sam's book in my next post, but for today, Sam has agreed to share his experiences marketing Snoop.

What did Profile Books LTD do to market Snoop?

[They] sent me on a 6(?) city book tour, where I gave talks at bookstores and local media.
They sent out books and press releases to various media, with the greatest pickup in papers and radio.
I did a day of radio interviews (where you sit in a room and do 20-ish consecutive interviews with regional radio).
They had a double page devoted to it in their catalogue
They sent out flyers to university professors who might adopt it.

What did you do to promote Snoop?

I created a webpage where I posted a sample of writing, tour dates, etc.

How has the experience played out for you?

There was a flurry of activity initially and there has been a modest but pretty constant stream of attention since then, with the occasional bigger thing.
I also did a couple of days of media interviews in the UK.

In case you're curious what the "occasional bigger thing" might be, Sam was on Dr. Phil to discuss his book. He also put the contents of his book into action by snooping into the offices of Dr. Phil and some of his co-workers.

There's no place like home...

2011-01-28T02:00:00.131-06:00

After four (miserable) days in Budapest, we were finally going home! Caught the airport shuttle, arrived with plenty of time to get checked in. Flight on schedule. My heart soared.

Half an hour later, Beloved Husband asked, "So... why haven't they announced any flights?"

I glanced around and shrugged. "Maybe they're just clustered together."

Beloved Husband got up to look at the departure board. He scowled and returned to his seat.

"We're delayed by an hour. All incoming flights from Germany are delayed."

source

Great. So the big snowstorm they'd predicted on the day we were supposed to leave didn't materialize, but the one they'd predicted for our return did. My mind raced... We were going to be stuck here, I just knew it. In the airport. Overnight. With two young kids and nowhere near enough diapers for the youngest. Dear God, why hadn't we stayed home?

We checked the departure schedule every five minutes after that, but the new time held. Our plane arrived, and we were ready to board. Except for one small problem.

"Final boarding call for flight... to Milan." This was the twelfth final call, and we quickly learned that they were planning to hold the plane for the TEN people who had not yet boarded. At our gate. And we would have to wait, too.

After about 20 minutes, someone had the bright idea to open a new gate so we could actually get on our plane. We were finally on our way, long after we were supposed to have landed in Berlin.

The flight is about an hour and 20 minutes. After 2.5 hours, I started to wonder what was going on. Eventually, the pilot came on to tell us that the airport wasn't allowing any planes to land. We would continue circling and see what happened.

Ten minutes later: "We will be landing at Schönefeld. Tegel still isn't accepting any planes. We're going to cut our losses and get on the ground." Good thing we hadn't left a car at the airport!

Within minutes, the landing lights on the wings came on and the landing gear went down.

"Wow, that was a smooth landing!" my mother-in-law said.

"We didn't land yet." I pointed out the window, where a blizzard obscured the end of the wing. "I sincerely hope it doesn't look like that when we're on the ground."

And then we landed! Everyone on the plane cheered. We taxied a short distance and stopped.

"Look outside," my mother-in-law said. It looked exactly like it had when we were in the air.

"We have to wait for a 'follow me' car--I don't know where they want us," the pilot explained. Outside the window was nothing but white. No sign of anything, including the airport terminal. The follow-me car parked us right there, in the middle of who knew where.

"Well, at least we're back in the city," I said, looking at the bright side.

"We have to wait for a bus to come get us," the flight attendant announced. "At least fifteen minutes." People stopped putting on coats and sat back down. Fifteen minutes later a small car pulled up and a woman came on board.

"There are several planes that had to land here," she explained, "and we don't have many buses. It will be at least 40 minutes before a bus can come get you." The flight attendants immediately brought out food and wine to prevent a riot.

Just as they finished serving our row, someone said, "The bus is here!"

Crap! I was holding a full glass of wine in one hand, with no place to put it because I had to put the seat tray up to get Snuggle Monkey. So I chugged it. We carried the boys down the steps, through about ten inches of snow, and onto the bus. We'd made it. We were officially back in Berlin.

Rrrrrrrr! The bus lurched a few inches forward. Pause. Rrrrrrr! Another lurch. Giggles and guffaws came from all around us. Again and again, the driver tried to get us going, but the snow was too deep. Then he tried backing up. Rrrrrrrrrr! Nothing.

"Would everyone please move to the back of the bus?" More laughter as everyone crammed together in the back half of the bus (good thing we'd been on a small plane). That did it. We started to move.

And then we were in the terminal. The cold air clung to us, and we wondered whether we would get our luggage, or if it would be left out there in the middle of the snow field until the plows had cleaned things up.

"Take the boys home," Beloved Husband said to my mother-in-law and me. "I'll wait here either for the luggage or to fill out lost luggage forms." Brilliant idea!

We led the boys outside, through the snow, in search of a taxi. Found one, got everyone buckled in and followed four plows home on the Autobahn. It took forever. Oh, and we had to pay for a second taxi, yet again. But we were home!

What do you think? Fact or fiction?
Last week's story? Fiction based on fact. Snuggle Monkey did not plunge us into darkness; the rest was true.

Adding a touch of realism

2011-01-26T02:00:00.055-06:00

Setting is hugely important, and I think we owe it to our readers to make the setting as realistic as possible. Why provide details that are inaccurate? It's sloppy writing. It happens all the time in movies (monkeys giving chimp calls drive me crazy); the prevailing opinion seems to be that no one will notice. But the people who know will notice. And they won't like it.

Given that people learn historical and scientific facts from media (movies and books), we owe it to our audience to at least teach them something that's accurate.

Unless you're writing fantasy, chances are you want to lend a hint of realism through your setting. Something as simple as a cardinal singing in a jack pine can help bring a scene to life. But what if cardinals don't actually live in said location? Or jack pines for that matter? Well, now you can find out for sure, without booking a plane ticket, driving all day, or pestering your facebook friends who live kinda-sorta near there.

Discover Life is a fabulous site to use to research plants and animals of all kinds (something you may need to do whether you write fiction or non-fiction; I found the site while researching a non-fiction article). The site has a mapping feature that allows you to enter the type of organism and search for places where it has been recorded.

The easiest way to use Discover Life is to search for the plant or animal on their home page. (If you have trouble, google the species by common name, then copy and paste the genus species epithet—e.g. Cardinalis cardinalis for cardinal—into the search box.) Most of the species pages come up with a map of locations. Each point on the map is the location where a specimen was collected by a scientist; all are registered with various official museums and collections, so you know the information you're getting is accurate.

If you've got a cardinal singing in the jack pine, let's hope your story isn't set in Idaho. Neither cardinals nor jack pines can be found there. This resource can save you from an embarrassing email from an Idaho-based fan one day.

Northern Cardinal

Jack Pine

How do you think you might be able to use Discover Life to bring some realism to your work?

Marketing Monday - Jody Hedlund

2011-01-24T02:00:00.048-06:00

Chances are, if you're a writer and you blog, you know Jody Hedlund, author of the historical romance The Preacher's Bride. Jody's blog is always full of terrific advice about both writing and blogging. And Jody is just as helpful and delightful to work with in person (okay—via email) as she is on her blog.

Today, Jody is here to share what Bethany House (publisher of The Preacher's Bride) did to market Jody's book, as well as what she did as an author. She's got lots of great ideas, so be sure to read to the end!

What did Bethany House do to help promote The Preacher's Bride?

I’m fortunate to have a contract with a larger publishing house who has an excellent marketing and sales team. They did an incredible number of things to help promote my book. Here are just a few of the top things:

They sent out advanced reader copies ARCs (to major book buyers, book reviewers, etc.).
They provided me with free books, bookmarks, and other items that I could use for promotional purposes.
They provided free books to a list of people (influencers) who agreed to read and help promote my book.
They helped arrange an interview with my local newspaper which ended up being a full page in the Sunday paper.
They got my book in all of the major online bookstores, book catalogs, and numerous bookstores (including Sam’s Club, Barnes & Noble, Borders, most Christian bookstores).
On release day, my publisher did a big Twitter giveaway.

What did you do to market your novel?

Because my publisher did so many of the bigger things, I could focus my energy on things that I really enjoy. Here are just of the few of the ways I worked initially to promote my book:

I did a “countdown” on my blog the month before the release date. Each week I posted a trivia question and did a giveaway drawing for those that participated.
I had a “first-sighting” slide show. I encouraged readers to send me a picture of them with my book, and then I posted all of the pictures in a slide show on my blog.
I did over 40 blog interviews (often with book giveaways) in a variety of different settings, and I posted each interview and link on my website.
For anyone who reviewed my book on their blog, I also posted the review and link on my website.
I planned an enormous local launch party at a privately owned bookstore in town.

How do you see your online presence contributing to the promotion of your book?

My online presence helped in many different ways. In my post The Snowball Effect of Social Media, I list many of the ways that social media directly and indirectly helped in the promotion of my book. Here are a few of the points I mention in that post:

Many of my followers on the various social media sites supported me by buying my book, even if they weren’t huge fans of my genre.
The connections I’ve made opened the door for other promotional opportunity (like the blog interviews I mentioned above).
Followers who didn’t want to read my book, bought it for others they thought would be interested.
Interestingly, my book made it to the CBA best seller list about three months after its debut. I’m convinced that my web presence helped contribute to that.

Be sure to read Jody's post on The Snowball Effect of Social Media for more insight into her experience as a debut author.

Thanks Jody, for taking the time to share your experiences!

If you are a published author and you would like to share your experiences with marketing and promoting your book(s), I'd love to share your story! Please contact me at anpstevens [at] gmail [dot] com.

Lost in the Labyrinth

2011-01-21T02:00:00.182-06:00

All Christmas day, we were stuck inside the hotel. Outside, the winds howled, blowing rain sideways past our window. Just above freezing; not the best kind of weather for sight-seeing. So instead of experiencing the wonders of Budapest, we sat inside. Thank goodness Santa had brought the boys some new toys to play with.

On the second day of Christmas (December 26th—Christmas is a two-day affair in much of Europe), we ventured outdoors. The temperature had dropped and the sidewalks were now covered with drifted snow. We had packed according to a weather forecast that predicted zero precipitation, so we were utterly unprepared. The boys couldn't keep out of the snow. Within ten minutes they were whining about their cold, wet feet.

We trudged up to the castle district, hoping to at least see something before we left the next day. Naturally, the castle was located at the top of a hill, so the winds were stronger than ever. After a few stiffly posed pictures at the Fisherman's Bastion, we searched for the Labyrinth. A dank underground tunnel system never sounded so inviting.

We arrived as they were setting up the annual Christmas candle-lighting event. Once a year, on December 26th, 1,000 tea candles light the inside of the Labyrinth, a series of caves beneath Buda Castle.

The tiny lights lined the passageways and made them seem almost cozy. And they were beautiful. I was really enjoying our trip for the first time.

"I wonder if there are any bats down here," Boss Man commented as we looked around.

"Bat! I'm a bat!" Snuggle Monkey said.

And then his little hand was no longer holding mine. He grabbed both sides of his unzipped jacket and held them wide, flapping his "wings." He looked like a tiny dracula flitting among the candles. I worried a bit that he'd get too close to the candles, but he seemed to be staying away from them. I let my guard down.

"I'm a super fast bat! The fastest bat in the world!"

Whoosh, he ran, down one side of the cavern. Candles flickered wildly in his wake. He wheeled around and came racing back toward us. Whoosh! Behind him, the candles went out, like a series of dominoes falling. He raced around us, as we stood in our dead-end section of the cave, which was rapidly getting darker with each flame that died. The last tealight, over to my left, sputtered and went out.

They turned off the electric lights after they lit the candles. In the utter darkness, I noted the warm, damp air against my face. And then the wails broke the silence.

"MAMA!!!!"

"PAPA!!!!"

The shouts ricocheted off the walls in a deafening din. I reached one hand out in the general direction of one of the wails.

"I'm here," I said, trying to keep a steady voice as I searched for my son in the darkness.

"Don't move," Beloved Husband said. "We'll find you. Just stay where you are. Keep talking."

"I'M HERE!"

I'm here... I'm here... echoed all around us.

"In a quiet voice please," Beloved Husband said. Wow, he was staying really calm!

Sweeping my arms in front of me, I started up a constant stream of quiet chatter. I wasn't sure if I was trying to calm my kids, myself, or my mother-in-law (who has since decided she won't be joining us on any more family trips to explore the cities of Europe). Or maybe, like a bat, I was trying to echolocate my way to my kids.

After a few moments, I located Boss Man, and my husband found Snuggle Monkey. Both were sniffling.

"What about me?" my mother-in-law asked.

"Take my arm, Mom," Beloved Husband said. "I can see a faint light down that way."

"You do?" I looked in what I thought was the direction of the passageway but didn't see anything. I did, however, hear feet shuffling away from me.

"Wait!" I said to my husband as he led us to what I hoped would be a way out.

"We're going to have to stock up on night lights after this," I muttered as we crept down the passageway.We seemed to be moving at a snail's pace—literally. I felt as if I could only go a few inches at a time, and Boss Man's grip threatened to permanently cut off circulation from at least two fingers.

"Wait, I hear someone," Beloved Husband stopped walking, and I ran right into him. Boss Man stepped on Snuggle Monkey's foot, which elicited a wail.

I peered into the darkness, hoping I might see that faint light he'd mentioned. And then I was completely blinded by a bright white circle of light that was right at eye-level about three meters away. Pain shot across the back of my eyes and I squeezed them shut. The afterimage lit up green and orange against my eyelids.

"Mi folyik itt?" came a voice out of the darkness.

"What? Sorry? Do you speak English?" Beloved Husband asked.

Beloved Husband explained as the worker pulled out his lighter and set about re-lighting the candles. Then he escorted us to the entrance. Apparently they didn't want us in the Labyrinth during their special once a year candle-lighting event. Sadly, I can't really blame them

What do you think? Fact or fiction?
Last week's story? Fact.

Derailed

2011-01-19T03:15:00.014-06:00

On Monday I had just finished rewriting the opening chapter of my MG mystery (and realizing it wouldn't work) when I got the call. Snuggle monkey was running a low-grade temperature and really out of it. Could I please pick him up?

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Nothing like the unexpected to completely derail progress. If you can call rewriting eight pages for nothing progress. But it made me realize how great it's been this year: everyone's been healthy!

During the last school year, we spent eight solid months with one of the two boys home for one or two days each week. I had three weeks last year during which I had a whole five-day work week to get things done. Yep, three weeks.

This year, they've had about five sick days between them.

*knocks on wood*

*stops to appreciate just how wonderful it's been that we've all been healthy*

*knocks on wood again*

I can't begin to express how grateful I have been for that time.

It even makes up for the dreaded email that landed in my inbox on Friday: lice. At the school, in the rooms where Boss Man's been lately. The same rooms where I recently found him wearing a crown.

Saturday involved a fine-tooth comb, a bright light, a magnifying glass, and a lot of time with the kids in front of a movie and me inspecting every inch of their scalps and hair. We got lucky—no need to shave their heads.

*knocks on wood some more*

Now, back to that chapter...

What unexpected events have derailed your efforts of late?

Marketing Monday - Toby Speed

2011-01-17T02:00:00.053-06:00

It's Monday! And wouldn't you know? Today I have the first book marketing case study.

Toby Speed is the author of six picture books and one book of poetry for children. Two Cool Cows was a ABA Pick of the List and won an IRA-CBC Children’s Choice Award. Brave Potatoes was on The New York Times Extended Children's Best Seller List and the Publishers Weekly Children's Bestseller List.

Toby published her picture books before the days of the online platform, but some aspects of marketing and promotion don't change. Read on to see how the process worked for her.

What did you or the publishers do to get your books reviewed?

I did nothing to get any of my books reviewed. Besides the reviews listed on my website, there were many others that appeared in newspapers and magazines around the country. My publishers (Stewart, Tabori and Chang for ONE LEAF FELL and Putnam for most of the others) did all the legwork. In those days, I looked forward to stuffed-looking envelopes coming in the mail that contained newspaper and magazine clippings. I'd call my mom, celebrate quietly, then file them away! I believe that initially both publishers sent me questionnaires asking me to identify local media.

How did you market your books? Did you use the same general approach for all, or did you pursue different avenues for each one?

I called or stopped into every single Borders and Barnes & Noble on Long Island, the Nassau and Suffolk County Library System, and many independent bookstores, and I connected with their community relations person. I handed them a press kit consisting of a press release I'd written myself about my book, a sample book that they could borrow, background information about me, and the type of program I was offering. For each one of my books I created a program that combined a reading with a craft for children, followed by a book-signing. I often requested that they put my books face out on the shelves (or I turned them that way myself!).

What did the publishers do to market your books?

Putnam did a great job of creating displays for several of my books that were used in bookstores—racks that included not only my current book but others they'd just published that they were trying to push. Putnam also had agreements with third parties that allowed them to market my books in various ways. For instance, a restaurant chain in California called Carl's Jr. asked to use TWO COOL COWS as part of a promotion. Jigsaw puzzles were created to give away with meals to customers, and they had posters in their windows showing the book cover. For BRAVE POTATOES, Putnam made postcards and sent me a supply, and I handed them out everywhere. For future books, I'd make my own bookmarks or postcards to use as giveaways. BRAVE POTATOES was also performed as a musical in Chicago. [wow!]

What other kinds of activities did you pursue that helped with marketing and promotion?

I did many arts-in-education programs in elementary schools throughout Suffolk County (where I live) and in parts of Nassau County. Occasionally I'd get a request from the city or farther away, but I accepted those only occasionally. In schools, I'd do poetry or story-writing workshops with the kids. Sometimes I'd do an assembly, too, which was more of a talk about the life of an author. And I joined the Long Island Children's Writers and Illustrators (they weren't called that back then, but were more of an informal group) and went to Author Illustrator evenings in the public schools. They run about 35 of these each year in my region. A bookseller is on hand to sell the books, and we just sit at tables and sign. I also spent summers in northeast Pennsylvania, so I did library programs there as well.

You recently finished writing a novel. If/when it gets published, how do you envision marketing it?

Ahh, here's where things get very different. First of all, I'll be spending a lot of time looking for an agent to represent me. I never had an agent for my children's books. So I'll be going the query route and persisting until something good happens.

I'm now blogging, which offers myriad possibilities. I already have an "interview" on my website with one of the characters in my book. I plan to post a series of interviews and guest posts with my characters and use social media and networking to draw people to the site. I am already using Facebook and Twitter to connect with people in the industry. I plan on attending some mystery writers' conferences, also for networking, and will set up as many bookstore and library appearances as I can.

It is so wonderful that we have all the resources of the Internet now and can get to know people halfway around the world, as in the case of you and me! I enjoy using social media and making friends in the creative communities out there, so I'll just keep that up and continue to hope that my work will steadily grow to reach a wider audience. Certainly, if I'd had these resources back when my picture books were being published, I'd have been able to get the word out about them much more easily and maybe help to keep them in print. We need to rely on our allies and supporters in the online world, plus it's so much fun to be a member of the community.

Thanks for the terrific overview of your experience, Toby!

What aspects of Toby's experience do you think might be useful in today's market?

Fact or Fiction - Santa edition

2011-01-14T03:50:00.075-06:00

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Christmas eve eve. Otherwise known as December 23rd. I sat on the bed of the hotel room, trying to conjure up some Christmas cheer in the absence of anything festive. Not even a mass-produced painting adorned the pale yellow walls that loomed over me. At least the kids were entertaining themselves...

"What's this?!" Boss Man popped up from the far side of the bed, hands waving in the air.

I squinted, trying to make out the objects he clutched. Oh crap! The stocking stuffers! He'd been entertaining himself by going through the suitcase, and now he held some of the precious few gifts we'd brought with us.

"Put them back," I said, trying not to pounce on the suitcase to prevent him finding anything else.

"But what are they?" he asked, as he shoved the toys under the flap. His eyes were enormous and the corner of his mouth twisted up. He knew, absolutely knew, he'd found something he shouldn't. Something that heralded fun.

I shook my head and shooed him into the other room.

Within two minutes, he was back, climbing onto my lap.

"Mama," he whispered with a giggle. "Mama, I really want to know what those things were."

I looked helplessly at Beloved Husband. Do we tell him? I wondered. Boss Man had come home from school two weeks before and casually asked, "Who puts the presents under the tree?"

"I do," I had replied.

"Aha! YOU'RE Santa Claus!" he had shouted.

"Er, Santa puts presents in the stockings," I had said. "We put the gifts from each other under the tree."

"Oh. Okay." Boss Man had happily accepted my explanation.

But now, here we were, evidence in his hot little hands. My husband either avoided my eye or was busy doing something else, and I was left scrambling for a solution. I didn't mind telling Boss Man that there's no Santa, but I knew he would ruin it for Snuggle Monkey, who was excited about Santa for the first time.

And then it hit me, the words coming out of my mouth even before I had thought them through. "They're presents for Santa's elves."

Boss Man looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

"They work all year making gifts for children, and no one ever gives them anything. So we brought a few toys we thought they might like."

He frowned for a moment, considering this, then grinned. "Yay! Can we write a note? I want to write it!"

I helped him write a note to Santa, telling him the gifts were for the elves. And on Christmas morning, Santa left a note for us, thanking us for the presents and saying he thought Snuggle Monkey might like the same gifts. Boss Man thought that was very considerate of Santa to give the same gifts we did.

What do you think? Fact or fiction?

Last week's story? Fact.