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 5^th and, the other, for the 7^th 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.

FACE TIME and the YA/MG READER by Eden Unger Bowditch

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING YOUR NEXT YA/MG BOOK RELEASE

Let’s be honest with ourselves- kids don’t care what the critics say. We can cheer ourselves and pat ourselves on the back, but getting a fabulous review from a critic simply does not impress a kid reader.

Unlike adult fiction (a world where the readers read the reviews and buy accordingly and, thus, books impossible to get through become best sellers because they are the books in vogue to buy) where you can send your book off into the world and visit occasionally, YA books demand full-time attention, loving care, focus, engagement, and presence. Kids want to read, well, a good book, and they will like a book whether a critic tells them to or not. That’s why it can be more of a challenge to write for kids than adults. It is important to tour for any book, but it seems more so with YA/MG. Being out there on the road,speaking to kids, connecting with kids, is truly vital in the world of YA and MG. It is the life’s blood of the YA/MG book. As The Ravens of Solemano (Young Inventors Guild, Book 2) is poised for release in September, my publisher has basically kicked me out of the house and sent me packing. Well, that is not exactly… no, wait…that is exactly true! They have said the spikes in sales and attention on the web were shocking, every time I was on the road for the last book. But last time, I sauntered back to the US months after the release of The Atomic Weight of Secrets to an audience that had to reread the book to remember what to ask. Word of mouth is so important for all books, but more so for kids books. This means kids need to know you’re there. You need to make introductions for your literary baby. Loving care and attention are needed. While The Atomic Weight of Secrets held its own, it was really a neglected child. This time, I am ready to go. ARCs went out last month and events have already been planned. And, unlike with adult books, the long haul is not a fast delivery. A great review can shoot an adult book through the roof, but kids need time to get to know the book. My publisher told me to expect to work hard a lot longer than with books for adults. This was meant to encourage, as well as demand pavement pounding.It means they will stand behind the book much longer than one might expect. They believe that it simply can take longer and that the second book sells the first.

 

So I am ready. After what seems like ages carrying this baby inside of me, Ravens is kicking. I am taking deep breaths and doing yoga stretches. I feel like an expectant mother with a suitcase packed, waiting for labour to begin.