Children's Writers eNews
January 5, 2012
"The Write Words to Read"
The Institute of Children's Literature
http://www.institutechildrenslit.comEditor: Jan Fields
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"You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club."
- Jack London
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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
1. News For You
2. New: "Attitude & Altitude"
3. Vintage: "Loving Words"
4. January Workshop: "Biographies" with Joanne Mattern
5. Chat Every Tuesday!
6. What's New At Kristi's?
7. Market Help
8. Webtastic Goodies
9. Essay
10.Good News
11.A Note for our users.
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1. Welcome to the new year -- imagine all the potential.
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2. "Attitude & Altitude" by Sue Ford
http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/ws05/attitude.shtmlWhen you're writing your main character, whose perspective do you have -- adult or child?
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3. "Loving Words” with Dandi Daley Mackall
http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/tr01/mackall.shtml“We should have fat long drafts with skinny books inside crying to get out!”
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4. January Workshop
January 11-13, 2011 "Biographies" with Joanne Mattern in the Writer's Retreat
http://institutechildrenslit.net/index.phpBiographies are one of the best selling nonfiction book topics, so come and ask all about them. How to research them. How to write them. How to sell them. And how does a biography differ for a living subject vs. a dead one? These questions and more will be answered. See ya there!
Joanne Mattern has been writing children's books since 1990 and has hundreds in print. She enjoys nonfiction because it allows her to learn about topics that interest her and pass that on to young people. Her favorite subjects are animals, science, social science, sports, biographies, and unusual facts. She lives in New York State.
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5. Join us for Live Chat...
Every Tuesday we gather in the chat room to talk writing, selling, marketing, weather and bunnies! Whatever you want to chat with your fellow writers about -- come and have some fun!
http://institutechildrenslit.net/entry.htm3-4PM Atlantic
2-3PM Eastern
1-2PM Central
Noon -1PM Mountain
11AM - Noon Pacific
Every Tuesday come and bring any writing questions you might have...or just hang out with people who share your same dreams.
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6. This Week at Kristi's
Kristi Holl's Writer's First Aid is so good, the Institute has decided to highlight the goodies she has to offer every week -- it's like getting extra special writing advice in every visit.
http://institutechildrenslit.net/Writers-First-Aid-blog/Friday, Dec. 30: “Happy New Writing Year!”
If you want your writing dreams to come true in 2012, NOW is the time to be serious about setting your writing goals. Need help? Here's how.
Monday, Jan. 2: “Cutting Back”
I have been burning the midnight oil for far too many years, and this year I’ve taken steps to cut back and reclaim some quality time. One such change will be with this blog.
Wednesday, Jan. 4: “Get Priorities Straight! (But How?)”
Would you like to spend 2012 doing what your heart dreams of doing? Here's a plan to help you spend much more time on your priorities.
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7. Scape
http://scapezine.com/guidelines/"Scape is a fantasy, science fiction and horror e-zine with a young adult (YA) focus. We seek the best new short YA speculative stories, poetry and art. We also publish news and reviews on books, movies and trends in the speculative YA world."
Paying Market via Paypal.
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8. YALSA -- The Hub
http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/This blog focuses on young adult literature. If you want to know what's being published now, what kids are wild about, and what books you might want to track down to read -- The Hub is a happening spot.
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9. Platform
[I wrote this in response to a question on the Writer's Retreat
http://institutechildrenslit.net ...if you're not a registered member there, just see what you're missing...]
"Platform" stands for the things about the author him/herself that make that person's NAME sell books. In fiction, most books are sold because the reader is interested in something about the book...but a few books are sold because the author has "platform" -- the person is a celebrity of some sort or the person is a best-selling author and people then look for the person's next work.
In nonfiction, "platform" basically means the same thing, what about YOU will make the nonfiction book sell. If it's a book about Abraham Lincoln, then the platform could be that you're a relative of Lincoln, that you're a historian, that you're a famous nonfiction writer, etc. In nonfiction, "platform" is a lot like credibility.
But in nonfiction, "platform" can also mean things like "you travel and gives speeches about Abraham Lincoln" because the book then would fit smoothly into sales after each speech. Or maybe you are some kind of Lincoln interpreter (putting on a tall hat and reciting a monologue created from his speechs and letters and such)...again, the book could be sold after your performance, thus -- platform.
It is very very hard to build any meaningful platform if it doesn't come naturally. This is especially true these days when everyone is trying. One interesting case of successful platform building is JOHN GREEN. He began a series of youtube videos with his brother in which they posted videos back and forth TO EACH OTHER to reconnect more as brothers now that they were adults. The videos built in audience and now both young men are wildly popular with a lot of teens -- which is just magic platform for a YA author. Of course, it doesn't hurt that John is a terrific author. Platform can sell one really crappy book, but it can't sell one after another -- at some point you have to have good books or platform isn't much help.
Building platform as a nonfiction author mostly means building credibility. One way to do that is to do a series of articles in some way related to the topic of your book. This will help you build a "body of work" on the topic and make you especially credible on the subject. Publishers will bill you as an "expert" on the topic. And, speeches or lectures given on the topic don't hurt either.
So, how about building fiction platform? Really about all you can do is increase accessibility. Readers need to be able to find you. This will NOT help you sell the first fiction book in any meaningful way (unless you're using a micro-publisher...they tend to kind of insist you have accessibility in place as part of your "marketing plan" -- which is a misnomer as they're really asking you about promotion, not marketing.)
The first thing you MUST have to increase accessibility is a website. A blog can stand as your website AS LONG AS it's easy to find. The website needs to be updated often (don't look at mine since I'm an epic fail in this category). It's your PRIMARY point of easy access. A reader could contact you quickly via your website.
Beyond that, it's really up to you. ANYTHING else you do needs to be because it (1) fits your personality and (2) your time. Some options are...
...regular podcasts on your website. People like to hear authors talk.
...youtube videos done like podcasts and linked to your website -- same concept as podcasts.
...facebook, twitter, google+, in other words -- social media. Do what works for you.
...school visits. This used to be majorly important for fiction writers for kids/teens but because of craptastic school budgets, it's kinda falling in popularity. Though skype visits may be increasing.
...local writing workshops. Talking about your journey to publication at your local bookstore or library. Teaching kids how to write. Stuff like that.
...book signings. Most writers agree that book signings are the worst way in the world to try to build platform. Almost all they do is let you get to know folks at your local bookstore. If you don't already have platform, they can be really sad.
...your own electronic or print newsletter -- you use your website to collect subscribers.
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10. Good News
Barbara C. Burgess: I thought you might want to pass the word on about the wonderful service Renee Hand offers to authors of children's books by interviewing them on her Blog Talk Radio show. She is truly personable and sets the interviewee at ease, and she asks great questions. My interview was about 40 minutes. They generally last between 30-60 minutes. Here is the link again. Blog talk radio interview with me --
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/storiesfromunknownauthors/2011/12/14/interview-with-barbara-c-burgess-for-the-magic-manuscript Mary Vela: I am happy to report that my first children’s book, “The Odd Chick” has been published by Guardian Angel Publishing and may be ordered from Amazon. It was one of my first assignments at ICL. A total of eight stories are now under contract.
http://www.amazon.com/Odd-Chick-Mary-Esparza-Vela/dp/1616331925/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325630701&sr=1-5Do you have good news? Drop me a line and let me know so I can share it with 8000+ of my closest friends here in the enews.
jan.fields@forums.institutechildrenslit.com------------
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