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Monday, January 12, 2015

Taking Your Writing Life Into Your Own Hands by Eden Unger Bowditch




Sometimes, it feels like we wait for others to guide our careers. We wait for our publishers to release our books, for our publicists to procure reviews; we wait for someone else to call someone else to get us into a bookstore that has never heard of us. Sometimes, however, we have untapped power we should consider and take our lives into our own hands.

When the first Young Inventors Guild book, The Atomic Weight of Secrets… was released, I was in the middle of a revolution, living in Cairo. I could do nothing until the following summer. I had ‘book release’ parties months after the book was released! It was a bit chaotic. I had sporadic events booked, sometimes in different parts of the US since I was only there during the summer. It was impossible. After we returned to Cairo in the fall, Bancroft Press, my kind and generous publisher, hired a publicist exclusively to book and take me on very short, intensely packed, book tours. I’d fly into NYC, take a train down to DC and meet my publicist. We’d visit twenty bookstores, shops, libraries, and schools. I’d have visiting author events booked and, in between, we’d visit a ton of bookshops and libraries as a collection of meet-and-greet events just to get the word out. I did three of these four-day adventures. It was exhausting but incredibly helpful. When the second YIG book, The Ravens of Solemano… came out last fall, there were bookstores waiting for the second book, who knew about the series because of our short visits.

Sharing with kids is always a pleasure
I learned that I could do this myself. Since I was in the US last year, I called libraries and bookshops, drove to places I had visited before and new places who were thrilled for the personal touch. I visited science museums and spoke to science and history teachers. I combined a family visit with a library visit in Chicago. I didn’t wait for someone else to do the work. I went out and made contact. When I return for the winter holiday this year, I am visiting two schools that have purchased YIG books, one for the entire 5th and, the other, for the 7th grade. Three libraries in Chicago have asked for author visits in the late spring when we come back for summer. As I work on the third book, I sometimes send notes to bookstore proprietors and librarians who have been kind. I hear back from them and they are always enthusiastic. Sometimes I hear back from their bookstore and librarian friends who are now enthusiastic, too.

So, my suggestion:

1. Make a list of who would be good to alert, considering the nature of your upcoming book. Be creative and consider museums and shops and conventions and fairs, in addition to libraries, schools, and bookstores.

Be prepared for bumps in the road.
2. Send an email. Then make a call. Speaking to people makes a big difference. Let them know about the book (s) and find out policy about visiting authors and/or signings.

3. Map out places nearby, places receptive to your calls or places that might be great for a visit. A visit is great. Provide a complimentary copy and/or other items like posters or cards, things to be placed in the store to alert customers.

4. Follow through and stay in touch. Many authors are silent and only make contact through their agents or publishers.

5. Be sure to keep that list for the next book release. Even if someone else is promoting, your name will be on the minds of the book people who are now your friends.

12 comments:

  1. Fabulous suggestions, Eden. With your expertise and first-hand experience, this topic could turn into a presentation for you at writers conferences.

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    1. You are too kind, Paul, though lending advice from the bumpy road is something I do try to do.

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  2. This is wonderful, Eden. So much is out of our hands, it feels wonderful to find the few things we can control.

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  3. As Caroline points out, we too often fall victim to things beyond our control. Sometimes, we have the power to help ourselves than we think.

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  4. Very helpful suggestions, Eden. I'm gearing up for a book tour this spring, and even though this is my second title, I still feel like a rookie when it comes to self-promotion. It's such a critical part of being a writer.

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    1. I know what you mean, Robert. There is something that always feels new...until you're in that room doing it.

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  5. I totally agree with Paul. You should present on the topic!

    I hate having things out of my control, but that's the beast we all signed up for! :)

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    1. Too true, Hilary. It sometimes feels like we hand someone our beating hearts and they look around wondering where to put it, sometimes dropping it or sticking it in a closet. Ouch.

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  6. I agree with Paul (and Hilary): presentation time. I think a lot of authors are happier alone with their muses than going on the road, so to speak. Hopefully, this post will inspire.

    (Love the bump in the road photo, by the way.)

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    1. Tomorrow I head off to the first of two school presentations here in LA thisweek...coming from the east coast...and then, Saturday, I head back to Cairo! I am exhausted, not sure what time my brain thinks it is, and have to face an entire MS that has read the first YIG book (oh, that one!) and they are ripe with questions. I shall hold my tired head high and hope that I say something that makes sense. While touring is not always helpful when you are trying to finish a manuscript, jet lag (or jet ahead since Cairo is 10 hours ahead of CA) is great since I get up at 4am and nothing else to do but write. It's the 7pm wanting to sleep that is the bumpiest part of this road.

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    2. Goodness me--I feel tired just reading this. I hope all went fine, and that the muse is fine with "jet ahead." Courage (said with a French accent, of course.)

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Thanks for adding to the mayhem!