School Visits 101 by Caroline Starr Rose

Having only published my first book in January 2012, I'm still a very new at this author thing. This is especially true in terms of establishing myself as a speaker available for school and library events. I have, though, had a number of opportunities locally and several out of state (thanks to my sister, who arranged two visits for me while I visited her in Atlanta last year).

Here are some things I've learned from my experience:

If You Build It, They Will Come
It's not exactly like Field of Dreams, but kind of. Teachers and librarians first need to know you exist. The most helpful, easiest way for them to learn about you is through some sort of permanent web presence online -- that's your field. It doesn't matter if it's a blog or official website, but you do need to include some key things:

• contact information
• an overview of presentations 
• (optional): speaking fees*

How do you determine presentation topics? Start with your own writing process. Teachers are especially interested in having their students hear from a real, live author that writing is not a one-time event but a slow unfolding that requires multiple drafts, feedback, revision and editing, and lots of hard work.

There will also be topics that naturally grow from what you write. Do you focus on fairy tale retellings, like Liesl Shurtliff? Magical realism, like Kimberley Griffiths Little? Historical fiction, like me? Use your knowledge as a spring board for topics.

Reach Out to Your Community
Beyond establishing a web presence, it's wise to actively seek out opportunities in the connections you've already formed.

• Get to know your local independent bookseller(s), who often have connections with local schools
• Introduce yourself to the children's librarian at your local library branch
• Tell friends, family members, and those you know in your general community that you're interested in setting up visits, and ask them to spread the word (contacts from your church, your daughter's soccer team, your son's scout troop, your husband's office -- anywhere)

Be Willing to Offer Free Visits...

...but not forever. I know authors who've offered free visits for a month. Others who've offered for a year. For me, I offered free visits for about six months (though I am happy to continue to offer once-a-year free visits to my boys' schools, if they're interested). While it's a great way to spread the word, hone your skills, and build contacts, I strongly recommend you begin to charge speaking fees at some time. Why? You're a professional. SCBWI says you should. You will be taken more seriously. Schools will prepare for something they've invested in.

Other Ways to Spread the Word

Several months before MAY B. released, I sent postcards to all elementary and middle schools in my city. For a handful of schools I sent packets which included bookmarks and a listing of presentation topics (places I'd attended as a child, schools where my children attended, the middle school were I did my student teaching and taught my first year).

Because MAY B. has been selected as a 2013-2014 New Mexico Battle of the Book title (yay!), I've decided to do a selected mailing for next year, too. This time, I'll include this wonderful Author and Illustrators on Tour booklet. SCBWI's Inter-Mountain Regions (Arizona, Colorado/Wyoming, Eastern Washington/Northern Idaho Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Southern Idaho/Utah) recently asked members if they'd like to buy space in this publication, a resource book for schools and libraries looking for speakers. Choosing to be included -- and adding it to my mailing packet -- was an easy way  for me to spread the word.

 Resources for School Visits

• The ABC's of a Successful School Visit (available to SCBWI members only)
• Children's Authors Network Hosting An Author page
• Finding School Funding for Author Visits
• Grants for School Visits

And don't forget Skype!

Skype is a wonderful, quick, convenient way for authors and schools to connect. I suggest setting up a free account with the Skype an Author Network. Here's my page there.

Any questions, comments, or things that have worked for you? Share below!

*Though some authors choose not to do this, I'm most comfortable with having this information available upfront. After studying what other authors charge for visits I settled on my rates (which are on the mid-to-low end, in comparison).

A Cupcake of a Teaser - New Ways to Find Readers

There’s a trend happening out there in the YA and adult fiction book world I’ve been watching with interest. Both traditionally published writers and self-published writers are releasing short stories or novellas that tie into their longer fiction, and using them as teasers to tempt readers to try their longer fiction. It's sort of like a bakery offering samples, to get dessert lovers to buy a whole cake.

While it's aggravating to worry about marketing my books, gone are the days, if they ever existed, where writers did nothing but write and publishers did all the marketing. If I’m going to be a professional writer, I have to think of it as a business. And that means I have to think about how I am going to find readers. 

Now, most writers at this point are writing these teaser stories after their books are already finished. This is a hard task. Once you've finished a book, it's hard to go back and figure out a story before the story. I’ve tried and failed. I attempted to write a short prequel for my adult historical mystery and it turned out so terrible, it's now locked up until I can get over my embarrassment. Here’s the problem-when you write a story that hinges on people meeting for the first time, writing a prequel where they meet in it is nearly impossible without changing the other story. Believe it or not, I tried the amnesia angle, having them meet and then one of them developing amnesia so he couldn’t remember they’d met. Yes, it was an embarrassing moment for me when I realized I’d stooped to soap opera tricks.  If I ever let this story out of the dungeon, I’m going to have to rewrite and focus on just one character.

For middle grade, writing a short story prequel shouldn’t be an impossible task with some planning. It is often difficult to know where to start a story. Often writers start their story too early and have to go back and discard some early chapters in revision, because those early chapters are more backstory than anything else. What about turning the backstory into an actual story? Middle grade readers often read because they like the main character, so if you can think of a way to introduce the character and what makes the character unique, you’re off to a good start. Perhaps you can have some small incident that foreshadows the main event in the later novel.

For example, had she desired to, J.K. Rowling could have done such a thing for Harry Potter. There is plenty of foreshadowing in the first two chapters of THE SORCERER’S STONE that could have become a short story. Harry, in his life before the letter and Hogwarts, has some brief encounters with some interesting people:

"A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word."

It’s not impossible to imagine one of these events turning into a short story. I’ve decided to try this advance planning with something I’m working on right now. I’ve written the prequel, and it turned out to be about 6000 words, a complete story in itself. It was quite a challenge for me, mainly because I find the short story format more difficult than longer stories, but there’s nothing wrong with a challenge. It also helped me define the characters, so now when I launch myself into writing the novel, I have a better feel for where I’m going.

So what do you think? Would you write your own stories this way?

~Dee Garretson

Skypetastic

Well, it's official.  I've gotten my feet wet in the publishing process, and now, nearly six months out, I'm toweling them back off again and sorting through exactly which puddles I want to splash through from here on out.  Storybound launched in April 2012, and, true to the testimonies of those who have gone before, releasing the first book is quite the whirlwind of obsessive anxiety, innumerable bookmarks and other sundry self-promoting bits, and blog posts, interviews, and more blog posts.  I'm not complaining, mind.  It was quite the ride.  But now that things have slowed, I'm ready to re-evaluate the process and determine which components were truly helpful, which I actually enjoyed doing, and which sent my stress-meter through the roof.

Not to worry, this will not be an incredibly long post outlining all the "thou shalt nots" for the debut author.  Instead I want to focus on author visits.  In the year preceding my launch, I was fortunate enough to meet up with some other local debut authors, and that group (with the fittingly apocalyptic title of "The Harbingers of Doom") was a fabulous support as well as a great resource for cooperative events.  We did several local appearances together which not only maximized the numbers of attendees but cemented our friendships and the capacity for mutual angst-ing over the entire publishing process.

That being said, I'm not altogether sure the events were "successful".  While most drew on average ten to fifteen people (excepting the dreaded event where we had one - yes ONE - attendee.  Ugh.), it seemed that we primarily reached other local writers, friends of friends, and the occasional very welcome MG or YA reader.  That in itself was lovely, of course, because what author in her right mind doesn't enjoy chatting books and writing with other people who love to talk books and writing?  But the reality of being a midlist debut author is that you haven't yet build a readership.  In fact, word is just seeping out about your book, and the odds of someone who has actually read it coming to a local event in the first months after launch are very slim indeed.

So while author events are fun (there's nothing like being handed a fat stack of your own books to sign) and provide the fabulous opportunity to connect with booksellers and librarians (you wonderful bookish folk, you!), they were not opportunities where I connected with readers of Storybound.  Enter Skype, that heretofore mysterious term I had heard thrown around by my expat friends but had ignored until now.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to do a Skype author visit with the kids' book club at Changing Hands Bookstore in Arizona.  After accepting the invitation, I fumbled my way through the online Skype tutorial, and at just the right moment, had a lovely virtual chat with kids who love books, and, even more thrilling, had read Storybound.  Perhaps I'm several years too late, and those of you who don't dwell in the 1990s where I bide my time in a wifi free and Luddite existence are yawning and tabbing over to the next blog post in your reader.  But for the rest of us, for those who muddle their way through the latest online trends, this is one worth checking out.  The savvy folks over at skypeanauthor have even set up a virtual network to connect interested authors with teachers, librarians, booksellers, and, ultimately, readers.

I, for one, am sold.  Not only is the virtual author visit an easy way to connect with specific readers, but it provides a welcome informality that seems fitting for a middle-grade event.  While I may be stumbling my way through the Skype menu, my middle-grade readers are not.  This is old hat to a generation that keeps in touch with grandpa via a regular Skype date or checks in nightly with mom when she's on a business trip.  I found the energy and enthusiasm of the kids to be a welcome surprise, and the necessary brevity of a virtual event kept my presentation streamlined.  Without question, I'll be adding Skype visits to my newly-revised list of author "Must-dos" before Story's End launches next year.


What about you, Mayhemers?  Authors, what are your favorite ways to connect with readers?  And readers, have you ever participated in a Skype visit?

PUBLICIZE YOUR BOOK!

I picked up a copy of Jacqueline Deval’s PUBLICIZE YOUR BOOK! while my novel was on submission. Deval’s book ended up being exactly what I needed at the time: an intentional way to think through my book. I spent a few days applying Deval’s suggestions to my novel, and once the book sold, I had a framework for the all-important Author Questionnaire, a key document used to market books.

With Jacqueline Deval’s permission, I’ve created an overview of a marketing plan.

"A marketing plan tells the publishing staff what's interesting, unusual, and special about you and your book and how you think the book can be promoted."

There is no one way to write a marketing plan. Here are some things Deval suggests you include:

Target Audience: Remember to think beyond your initial audience (the reader typical to your genre). Brainstorm a list to broaden your thinking about those who might find your book appealing.

Positioning Statement (or Pitch): “The positioning statement is one or two appealing sentences that make the listener highly curious about the book…[It]will become the basis of how everyone in your publishing house can talk about the book…Why should we care about the book? The positioning statement answers this question.”

The Background Story: “A short background piece – a couple of paragraphs to a couple of pages long – about how and why you wrote the book.” This can include your publication journey, “any unusual events in the research and writing of the book or specific influences on your work.”

This is the story of your story. It’s a chance for publicists (and hopefully readers!) to talk about your book.

The Marketing Strategy and Campaign: “The marketing plan addresses how you or your publisher will reach your readership, and will probably require the most time and thought and continual refinement on your part. This section is really the heart of your campaign – the blueprint for how you will reach your target audience.”

Here’s a list of some of the things Deval suggests “to stimulate the marketing side of your brain”:

• “Can your book tie in with a local or national event?”

• Does your book have “a strong spiritual or social message” that might interest religious or community groups?

• If you have a niche readership, “what media vehicles reach that readership?”

• “Can you team up with other writers in your genre?”

• Does your book tie in to a holiday or anniversary? (For example, last year was the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. I remember several wonderful picture book and mid-grade titles released to correspond with President’s Day.)

• “Does your book tie into current social trends and concerns?

• “Can you host a fund-raiser or other charity event” that connects to your topic?

Sales Handles and Media Angles: “Sales handles are the specific facts that prove the book’s appeal to its market and why the book will do well.”

“Sales convey what’s new and different about your book – your authority as the writer, the marketplace for your book’s topic, its advantages over the competition, and its marketability.”

Books That Compete or Compare With Yours (Comp Titles): “What books are similar to yours, in terms of shared audience or similar literary quality or subject matter?...Comparative titles…help your publicist frame a pitch for the book.”

Your in-house publicist might want to take your book on a different route than what you've planned. Maybe the only thing to come out of your marketing plan will be a way to answer the questions: "You're an author? So what do you write?" 

Whatever happens, the process is a wonderful way to re-learn your story, your audience, and your book's appeal.

Back to School

I’ve been teaching English at the junior high level for twelve years.  With an eye on who my students are as readers, I realized I had some insight to share with my Project Mayhem friends. And that insight is: If you aren’t already doing it, start scheduling school visits. NOW! It’s your first step to building a loyal audience and becoming a “rock star” in the eyes of your primary demographic.

Let’s face it, young children are impressionable (witness the gazillion commercials for kids’ products during the holiday season). Add to that the fact that most parents and teachers stress the value of reading to young children, and this translates into an early interest in reading for many kids. True, that early interest wanes if the child can’t find anything of interest to read, but the point is that young readers are there for the proverbial plucking, and this is why school visits can serve as a great way to market your work and build an audience. Besides the fact that you’ll get paid for your school visit, I’d like to submit two pieces of evidence in the case of “Take Me to School vs. Heck No, I Won’t Go.” *I’m not a lawyer, but I play one on a blog.*

Exhibit “A” is the million-dollar basketball. My first two years as a teacher took place in a tiny school district and I taught in a grade 7-12 building. During a study hall, I had this seventh grader walk in holding a basketball. I asked him what he was doing with a basketball in study hall, and he responded with, “This ball is going to be worth millions.” I asked him why he thought that, holding back some laughter, and he said, “Because I just had every player on the team sign it.” I asked what team he was talking about, and he replied, “The varsity team. They’re undefeated.” I held in more laughter when I realized he really believed what he was saying. His young mind saw the school’s varsity basketball players as rock stars, capable of transforming an ordinary basketball into a million-dollar piece of memorabilia with mere signatures. Like I said, kids are impressionable.

Exhibit “B” is the Ben Mikaelsen book. A few years back, a seventh grader came up to me with a copy of Ben Mikaelsen’s Touching Spirit Bear and asked if I had read the book. I told him I hadn’t but I’d heard it was good (a common response when a student asks me about a book I haven’t read). The student quickly opened the book, pointed, and said, “Look, I got him to sign it when he came to my elementary school. He even addressed it to me! This is the best book I’ve ever read.” I was psyched to hear him say this. I mean, this was a book, not a signed basketball. It was refreshing to hear that Mikaelsen’s signature and his school visit had meant so much to my student. I actually borrowed this student’s signed copy and read it, and I really loved the book (highly recommended). The student and I talked about it many times afterwards, and all because the author had decided to visit an elementary school. Mikaelsen was a rock star to this kid.

I urge all authors to schedule school visits, especially new authors. It serves you well to do so, and if you’re looking for some tips on things you can do to make your visits productive and worthwhile, I recommend you take a look at Dan Gutman’s advice. Or, how about my fellow Mayhemers? Anyone care to share some insight? Heck, we like to be all-inclusive here at PM, so we’ll take non-Mayhemers too. What say you, people?