Tips on Developing Book Presentations

Bird nest craft for Cradle in the Wild presentation

By Linda Wilson  @LinWilsonauthor

Think of venues in your town where you can present hands-on programs showcasing your self-published books. Possibilities include: Lunch & Learn programs at local churches, libraries, bookstores, coffee houses, pre-school get-togethers, local art organizations, and public schools. Gear your program(s) to children in your market age group. The key is to include parents, grandparents, and caregivers so that you can display your books for purchase. Interest a teacher, librarian, or principal to purchase a supply of books for a classroom or for children in the school before an author visit. 

Develop your Program

Two programs that I’ve developed for my picture books, A Packrat’s Holiday: Thistletoe’s Gift and Cradle in the Wild, have been well received. Now that I’ve dipped a toe in the water, I plan to develop programs for my other books in coming months.

A Packrat’s Holiday: Thistletoe’s Gift

A Packrat’s Holiday: Thistletoe’s Gift is about a packrat whose cupboards are bare during the holidays. Thistletoe wants to find food and decorations for his Mama to have a “right good [holiday] supper.” Here is the program I developed for this book.

• Collect materials: Before the presentation, I collected natural materials that packrats use to build their nests, such as dried leaves and grasses, fluff from various plants, pop tops and pieces of shiny tin foil, and small twigs and sticks. I wrapped a ribbon, string, or elastic band around some of these materials; others I collected in plastic bags. I numbered each item, enough for a 30-student class, and placed them in a basket.
• Introduce a treasure hunt: I hid the natural materials around the room. When the children enter, they are directed to sit down. I get them excited about going on a treasure hunt. Before the hunt starts, I show them a picture of a packrat and ask them to identify it. They inevitably think it is a picture of a mouse. Though packrats do look a lot like mice, we can then discuss how packrats differ.
• Familiarize children with packrats: We discuss that packrats are in the animal family of rodents. We name other rodents, including beavers, a fact I learned while working on this project. We discuss where packrats live, what they eat, and the fun fact about packrats’ traits—how a packrat will pick up a shiny object while searching for food, then if he comes across a more interesting shiny object, he’ll drop the first one, pick up the more interesting one, and take it back to his den.
• If the attention span of the group is a challenge, I then hand out coloring pages to color while listening to the story.
• Tell the story: I have found that telling the story while showing the illustrations works better than reading it with groups of more than five children. This takes some practice beforehand, but it’s worth it.
• After the story: The children can color or take the coloring page(s) home with them.
• Book display: The main display is of the story book and a coloring book that an artist made to accompany my packrat book. My other books are displayed off to the side.

Cradle in the Wild 

Cradle in the Wild is about two sisters who discover parts of a bird’s nest on their porch, and their desire to help the birds make a new nest with these materials, and some additional materials that they have added from their mother’s sewing basket.

• Introduce the book: Shared with students and parents/grandparents/caregivers is a collection of ten bird’s nests that I’ve kept over the years. Participants are encouraged to hold the nests, pass them around, learn the materials birds use to build their nests; and especially they are encouraged to feel the soft, downy material the parent birds use for the inside of the nests to protect their eggs and hatchlings.
• Show pictures: Pictures from a book I discovered, Bird Watch Book for Kids: Introduction to Bird Watching, Colorful Guide to 25 Popular Backyard Birds, and Journal Pages, Dylanna Press, 2022 (Amazon) are large and colorful. The book explains what to take while bird watching, such as water and sunscreen, and the book itself. The book has pictures and explanations of popular birds, and a journal in the back for the children to keep track of the birds they observe. 
• Suggest an adult bird guidebook: The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Birds is an excellent choice for parents to keep on hand for the family to identify birds their children see in their daily lives.
• Pass around examples of birdseed: Birdseed in plastic bags can be passed around, followed by a discussion on how bird seed can be placed in an outdoor bird feeder.
• Suggest apps for phones: Apps such as Bird Sounds and Merlin Bird ID, The Cornell Lab, can be loaded onto the family's phones to hear bird calls.
• Tell the story: I tell the story from the Cradle book while showing the illustrations from the book.
• After the story: Children can color a page from a book like Birds Coloring Book, Las Vegas, NV, Purply Publication, 2023 (Amazon), or take the page home. Beforehand, I assembled plastic bags containing materials and directions for the children to make their own bird’s nest. I hand the plastic bags out for the children to make their own bird's nest at home (see photo above).
• Book display.

Why Develop Local Programs?

One of the things I learned while developing these programs is that simply reading my stories at preschools, schools, or elsewhere, does not include the adults who buy books. Sure, I can hand out book markers and cards with my website and Amazon web page information on them, but have gotten very few responses and have made very few sales by doing this. First, see if you can get librarians, coffeehouse owners, etc. excited about you and your books and program. Presenting a program needs to be a joint effort.

       Selling and advertising online? As a self-published author, I have not built a strong online presence to make sales that way. So, by developing these programs and reaching out to my local community, I hope not only to continue to make book sales, but also to enjoy meeting my readers in person. This approach has brought the reward I’ve been seeking. I hope you will find your reward in this approach, too.

Display at a book fair
in my hometown,
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Linda Wilson writes stories for young children. Visit   Linda at https://bit.ly/3AOM98L. Click the links for free coloring pages and a puppet show starring Thistletoe Q. Packrat. While you’re there, get all the latest news by signing up for Linda’s newsletter. 

 Find Linda’s books at  Amazon Author Page.

 Connect with   Linda: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

All About Work-for-Hire Opportunities for Writers

by Suzanne Lieurance 

What is work-for-hire, you might ask?

 

Well, Webster’s Dictionary defines work made for hire as “work (art, music, writing, or a computer program, for example) that is the property of an employer when made by one acting as an employee or is the property of the party for whom it is specially ordered or commissioned when that is expressly stipulated in writing —used in copyright law.”

 

With that definition in mind, let’s take a look at the different kinds of work made for hire (known as WFH or simply write for hire or work for hire) in the writing world.

 

When a publisher or other client offers a flat fee for a writing project, with no royalties, and they buy all rights to a project, this is a work-for-hire. 

 

An employer could also have an employee write something as part of their regular job but the employer (not the employee) would retain the copyright to the work.

 

Books, short stories, articles, scripts, testing materials can all be work-for-hire projects. 

 

The company hiring the writer is usually the one to come up with the concept or idea for the item to be written. 

 

For example, often publishers will hire writers to adapt old fairy tales or other old stories for today’s children’s book market. 

 

The publisher gives the writer very definite guidelines to follow, then the writer writes the story according to those guidelines. 

 

The writer is paid a flat fee to write the story. 

 

The writer does usually get a byline for the story, even though he/she is giving up all rights to the story once it is published by this publisher. 

 

Many children’s publishers also hire writers on a WFH basis to write nonfiction books on a variety of topics.

 

These books are usually part of a series.

 

Other children’s publishers have fiction projects, such as easy readers, early chapter books, etc. as WFH projects.

 

Finding WFH projects can be a bit tricky however, since most publishers don’t mention WFH on their websites.

 

Instead, they rely on a stable of freelance writers who have written for them in the past.

 

These publishers also post WFH at online job boards such as indeed.com, linkedin.com, and Upwork.com.

 

Some of these job boards require you to sign up for membership to search their job listings and they also charge a fee for each project you acquire through them.

 

Instead of going through these job boards, another way to get WFH jobs without paying a fee (although it might take a bit longer to get a project this way) is to research publishers who offer WFH and then send them a submissions packet.

 

Generally, this packet should include a cover letter, your resume, and one or two writing samples that show you can write the type of materials they publish (so be sure to tailor make your samples for each publisher you send a packet to).

 

You probably won’t hear from these publishers right away, but if they need a writer and see from your resume and samples that you can do the work they need done, they will contact you.

 

FYI – years ago I sent a packet to a publisher and didn’t hear from them for over a year. But once they contacted me, I got regular assignments from them for years. It was a great way to earn money, gain publication credits, and get experience working with editors. It also helped me grow as a writer since I had really strict guidelines to follow for each project. Throughout the years, I have had many work-for-hire assignments from other publishers and individuals, as well.

 

Here are a few companies that offer WFH opportunities:

 

ABF Creative – They create and publish multicultural content (mostly podcast material, but look around at their website to learn more about their content).

https://www.abfc.co/work-with-us/

 

Study.com – They create study and testing materials, so this would be good if you’re a teacher or former teacher. You’ll probably find opportunities with this company at sites like upworks.com, but get familiar with study.com first.

https://study.com

 

Benchmark Education Company

Study the different book series for children to get a feel for what they produce

https://www.benchmarkeducation.com/

 

Capstone Publishing – Scroll down the page to see how to apply for WFH assignments

https://www.capstonepub.com/contact/submission-guidelines

 

Red Line Editorial – The website says they are always looking for freelancers. If you want to write nonfiction books for kids, this might be a good publisher to try.

https://reditorial.com/jobs/

 

Brightpoint Press – Hi-Lo Nonfiction for Teens

http://www.brightpointpress.com/about.html

 

Check indeed.com and Linkedin.com regularly for WFH job postings, then study each publisher before you apply. 

For more about work-for-hire, check out this article by Terry Whalin.

And, more writing tips and other resources delivered to your mailbox every weekday morning, get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge.

Suzanne Lieurance is an award winning author with over 40 published books and a writing coach.

Visit her site for writers at writebythesea.com.

Why Writers Need to Build An Audience

  

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

At every writer’s conference or group of writers, there is buzz around the word “platform.” Editors and literary agents are searching for authors with a platform or a personal connection to their readers. What’s that about? Many authors believe their task is to write an excellent book and get it to the right publisher. Don’t publishers sell books to bookstores? The questions are good ones and in this article, I want to give you some answers from my decades of writing books for publishers, yet also sitting on the inside of several publishing houses as an acquisitions editor. Admittedly publishing is a complex business and I’ve been studying the various nuisances of it for years (and still learning more every day).

              Writing a Good Book Is Foundational

While I’ve looked at thousands of submissions in my years in publishing, I also have interviewed other acquisitions editors. During one interview, I asked, “How do you know when you find a good submission?”

He said, “Terry, I read the first sentence and if it is a good sentence, I read the next one. If it is a good paragraph, I read the next one. If it is a good page, I read the next one.” You want to start your manuscript with a bang and draw the editor immediately into your writing. Don’t bury your best material over in a later chapter because the editor may not read that far. Good writing in your submission is essential.

Every Writer Needs a Proposal

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you need to put the writing energy into creating a proposal. I understand they take lots of work to create. Two of my proposals got six-figure advances from publishers (and I have lengthy stories about what happened with those books—for another time). Your proposal shows you understand the market and your target reader. It includes your game plan about how you are going to reach your audience and sell books. The proposal is an important document for you to write even if you self-publish. I have a free book proposal checklist. 

The Editor’s Search

I often tell authors that making books is easy but selling books is hard. Over 4,500 new books are published every day (including the self-published books). Yes that is a lot of books and why every author needs to have a plan and ability to reach readers. As editors, we are searching for these types of writers. 

Publishers produce beautiful books and sell them into bookstores (online and brick and mortar). Authors drive readers to those bookstores and sell the books out into the hands of readers. Publishers certainly have an investment in the books they publish but authors need to be even more invested in reaching readers. It’s what many people call building a platform (audience).

Action Is Key

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with this process and confused about what action to take. Here’s the key (no matter what you are writing): do something and do it consistently day after day. Here are some basic facts about this process:

• Everyone starts small and builds

• Your personal email list is more important than your social media audience

• You should focus on what you can control (email list) instead of rented media in places like Twitter or Facebook (which you don’t own or control)

• It takes hard work for every writer but you need to do this work

• There are many different ways to build your audience. Pick one or two and see what works best for your writing.

• If the process were simple everyone would succeed (sell many books),

• Persistence and consistency are important for every writer.

Every editor and agent is actively looking for the right author who is building their connections to readers and has learned how to sell books. I’ve been in some of the top literary agencies and publishers in the nation. From their questions, I know they are actively looking for these authors—no matter what how they respond to your pitches. Be encouraged and keep growing in your craft (ability to write) and your knowledge about your readers and the market. It doesn’t happen overnight but can happen if you continue to work at it. 

Tweetable:

Why Do Writers Need to Build An Audience? Isn’t that what publishers do? Get the details from prolific writer and editor Terry Whalin. (Click-To-Tweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Writing: A New Path

 

 Contributed by Margot Conor

It is perhaps not uncommon for people to choose a new path late in life. Sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances or hardship and often inspired by dissatisfaction or wanderlust. In my case, I didn’t know how desperately I needed a change, it was the pandemic lockdown that took me in a direction I hadn’t expected. Unlike many others, for me, isolation was a blessing. I’m an introvert, so, spending time alone or with my husband in our condo wasn’t a problem.

I had spent more than thirty years in the fashion photography industry, focused on getting my designers published. I also built portfolios for models, actors, and stylists. Many went on to work in the Vancouver film industry. I put together Fashion Shows and kept myself so busy, I hardly had time between events to do anything but sit at my computer and edit images.

For me, photography was about pleasing others. Getting each member of my team what they expected or needed. I didn’t take the time to think about what I needed. Maybe this is a common problem for women, but it came naturally to me, building others up, getting them seen, and helping them succeed.

When the pandemic swept through our lives, suddenly all of that went away. Everything stopped. The projects and fashion shows I had planned were canceled. Only the Fine Art magazine I publish was still produced remotely. But this left me a lot of time to write.
I have written all my life. Storytelling has always been a big part of my creative process and transferred into the visual work I created. What I never expected, was to become so over-committed that I would not have time to finish any of the many stories and manuscripts I have started over the years. They lay waiting for me to get to them one day.

The first year of isolation allowed me the focused time to complete my first novel. It took me two years more to edit the manuscript. First using AutoCrit, and then with the help of two talented professional editors.
 
My first editor has Asperger’s, she is brutally honest. I would receive my pages back full of red lines and it was crushing. She kept telling me the words need to flow like music. I swallowed my pride and stuck with her. She saw things differently and had unique insights. She questioned everything. It was exhausting and frustrating at times, but she presented something essential about the craft of writing I needed to understand. I want to say I did finally grasp what she had to teach me.

But that is not for me to judge. My second editor was much kinder but she cut a good portion of the story, and this was also necessary. I learned the value of having such insightful women behind me. They were tough, but they made me improve.

What happened when I finished writing my first novel, was a shift in direction which can only be described as owning myself. I want to do this… for me. I want my stories to have a life. I want it badly enough to do all the things I probably should have done as a photographer. Self-promotion can seem daunting, but you must do it.

So, I started to attend workshops, retreats, and events for writers. I attended marketing seminars for authors and filled notebooks with all their advice. I have no idea where it will lead me, but I do know one thing for certain. It is necessary to market your book. No matter how you publish it. You have to be willing to put in the work, and no one is going to do that for you.

I have to say there is no better time to be a writer than now. I am so impressed with how many supportive services and apps are available and I want to share some of them with you.

AutoCrit: 

I joined it before their 2.0 version. It is an excellent program that makes you see problem areas in your text. There are categories along the header, which break into sub-categories. For example, the header shows: Pacing and Momentum, Dialogue, Word Choice, Repetition, Readability, and Strong Writing. Under Strong Writing is: Showing vs. Telling, Cliches, Redundancies, Unnecessary Filler Words, Tense Consistency, Passive Indicators, and Adverbs. AutoCrit will also correct grammar and spelling. 

If you take your chapters through all of the categories, you will have a much-improved manuscript and it will save you money when you send it to a professional editor.

The new version is so much improved, I signed up as a lifetime member. I really admire what they managed to create. It has become more than a tool for editing. They have built a community with groups, and special interest clubs and they offer courses too.

I share these next links untested, I have not used them yet, but I intend to. I can follow up later with a review of how useful they actually are. But I was a bit dazzled by their presentations and feel they will be helpful tools…

Publisher Rocket: 

If your books end up on Amazon, this tool lets you drive your discoverability. They are all about tweaking the algorithm that chooses your categories and keywords. The top twenty books in your category gain the Best Seller Tags. At the time of this article, there are 11,200 Amazon categories, but as a default they only let you choose two, which are general categories based on BISAC. (Those are the indicators used by publishers who send books to stores, so they know where to shelve them). Publisher Rocket shows you options: less commonly used or more specific categories to choose from which will get top ranking. They show you how to post those better categories to your books.

For example, if your book has a general category like Science Fiction, there will be thousands of books in that grouping. If instead, you use Science Fiction / Military, you will have a much smaller group. You only need to sell more books in a week than the others to get top Best Seller ranking.

Patreon:

This is a site where creative people get paid to do their craft. I spent a few days researching the top-performing pages and was surprised to see Patreon has writers who in fact make a living just by posting there. Some release a chapter at a time. While others share short stories or graphic novels. Consistency is the key to success here. Posting on a regular basis to maintain audience engagement; if you foster a dedicated community of patrons and build a fan base you will have a decent monthly income.

For example, Nixia has 203 patrons and earns $993 monthly. Chris Vines has 298 patrons and earns $1,178 monthly. MonsterBait ~ Author C.M. Nascosta has 1,211 patrons but does not show her earnings. By looking at their profiles you will see all authors and artists vary in what they offer.

There are writers who offer services and produce videos or podcasts, these tend to bring in even greater revenue. Some have as many as 10,000 patrons!

IngramSpark:

This company is an aggregator with worldwide vendors. I was interested to learn there are a lot of companies offering services to authors who in turn use IngramSpark. Like Book Baby, for example, are middlemen. You can go directly to IngramSpark and pay less. You have options: hardback, paperback, and e-books, all in one place. They have low title set-up fees and provide you with an ISBN. You retain all rights to your intellectual property, and they impose no order minimum. You control the pricing and discounts and returnability. They also have something called Book Brag where they feature authors monthly.

I’m new to this, but I’ve hit the road running. I hope to have more to share with you soon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Margot Conor has been writing for as long as she can remember, but it wasn't until the COVID lock-down that she had enough time to dedicate to the craft and bring something to completion. Having finished her first novel, she went through the grueling two-year process of editing. Now she has jumped into the author's world with both feet. She's preparing to debut her first novel, which means learning how to promote it. The last year has been spent attending many writing retreats, seminars, and writers' events. She also listened to presentations specifically on the topic of publishing and book marketing. She will be sharing what she learns with the reader.

You can learn more about Margot and her writing at her Facebook page. 

Woo Goals

 

What is woo? And how can you use it to elevate your writing ... and your business? 

Last month, I talked about the business of woo with Christy Maxfield of Purpose First Advisors, Mindset Answer Man Cliff Ravenscraft, and Annie P. Ruggles founder of Quirk Works Consulting and the Non-Sleazy Sales Academy. 

Christy says, "The things you care about are woo!” According to Cliff, "Peace, love, and joy are found within you and by tapping into that higher power." "Woo," Annie believes, "is your personal energy and the energetic world of your business." 

To Tap into Your Woo  

• Cliff: Try meditation. Dedicate 5-10 minutes a day for starters. 
• Christy: Practice gratitude and extend blessings to others. Tell the universe that you are open to blessings – be clear, but leave it open. Trust! 
• Annie: Practice radical self-forgiveness

Woo Goals 

• Annie: Take the one thing off of your todo list that is nipping at you
• Christy: Take action on the thing that will make a difference. Invoke the woo and take the energy to act 
• Cliff: Read a book that will introduce you to new ways of thinking

Watch our conversation.

Final Thoughts 

• Christy: Trust yourself and trust the universe 
• Cliff: Whatever you focus on consistently, you will tend to manifest into your life 
• Annie: Be kind to yourself

When you love what you do, it shows. When you don't love what you do, it really really shows. 

If you are not feeling it, perhaps it's time to take a step back to remind yourself what it is you love about your writing projects and your business. Get back in touch with your purpose and you will discover your woo ... and find ways to share your woo with your audience, prospects, and clients!

* * * 

For more inspiration and motivation, follow @TheDEBMethod on Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin! 

* * *

How do you woo? Please share in the comments. 

* * *

Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals and founder of the D*E*B METHOD, which is her system for goal-setting simplified. A goal-strategist, corporate consultant, and project catalyst, Debra offers personal and professional planning, event strategy, and team building for individuals, businesses, and teams. She is also the author of Write On Blogging and Purple Pencil Adventures; founder of Write On Online; host of  #GoalChatLive aka The DEB Show podcast and Taste Buds with Deb. She speaks on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Here's What You May Not Know About Adverbs

Pesky Adverbs or the Means to Making Pure Gold?

 

Here’s What You Seldom Hear About Adverbs

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, 
writer of fiction, poetry, and the multi-award winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers

 

We are often warned that adverbs can be overdone. Then writers take the warning too literally; they think they shouldn’t use any at all! 

 

Of course, we wouldn't have adverbs if they didn't serve a purpose. But when we examine them—carefully (very carefully!) we often find that they duplicate a quality that the verb itself (or another adverb) has already achieved for us. That makes them redundant. 

 

Adverbs are often awkward. Or they slow down the forward movement of a sentence. Or both.

 

Authors often worry when an editor removes their adverbs. They think those edits will change their voices. Though an author can (and should) reject edits that he/she thinks aren't appropriate, these edits of adverbs rarely change a voice. Certainly voice isn't achieved by using adverbs or most other edits. It is achieved by much subtler elements of writing. Point of view. Use of colloquialism or slang. Choice of detail. 

 

For the most part, I think most writers worry way too much on having their voice changed and not enough about improving their writing skills.

 

Having said that, I worry more about editors who don’t really have the training to be editors. Would an editor really remove all of a writer’s adverbs? And how would a new author know if an editor is overstepping if he/she doesn’t have lots of information on editing under his or her own little writer’s belt?

 

I hope those of you who have been relying on an outside editor—someone you hired or a friend—will read The Frugal Editor in its 3^rd edition and now published by Modern History Press. It includes lots of do-it-yourself stuff. I know most authors—you?—don’t hire an editor for all the daily stuff they do like writing query letters, media releases, etc.) but this book also includes how to partner with an editor, how to save money hiring an editor, and how to hire one that is compatible with your personality and the kind of writing you do. Many good editors like Barbara McNichol (www.barbaramcnichol.com) specialize in specific genres, nonfiction vs. fiction, etc. Larry Brooks (www.storyfix.com) helps writers of fiction with structure. Good editors know that it is hard to be an expert at everything.

 

Editing is a two-way street. There's gotta be some trust and also some confidence. The more an author knows about editing, the better equipped she or he is to discard or keep edits. That’s comforting. But it’s essential to know things like agents’ pet peeves. They rarely have anything to do with the grammar we learned in the fourth grade.

 

Essential? Yes, because those are the documents you send to the people who have something to say about the future of your book including newspaper and magazine feature editors, movie producers, and the millions of folks who read what you put out there on the web. So, yep. Examine every adverby "ly" word. And then use each one to your advantage. Know the adverbs we usually don’t think of when we hear the term adverbs (like “even” and “just”). There is a list in The Frugal Editor (see Amazon’s new series page for it at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T .) Make a list of the ones you tend to overuse. Either discard each one or use one of the methods in The Frugal Editor to turn them into more visual writing. Their best quality? Adverbs can turn you into a magician—that is help you turn them into image-producing gold—similes, or better, metaphors.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults, and speaks on issues of publishing. Learn more about her other authors' aids at https://www.howtodoitfrugally.com. She blogs on editing at https://www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com and all things publishing (not just editing!) at https://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com. She tweets writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo .

 

 

                                                                         LINKEDIN

The Writing Juggling Act

 

By Karen Cioffi

Writing a story is time consuming… at least to write a good story.

I’m sure there are writers who sit down and write a story in a day, but I’m talking about doing it right.

This is especially true of writing for children.

It’s so important to know the rules. Know what the standard industry guidelines are and adhere to them.

There’s a lot that goes into writing. And if you want it to be publishing and marketing worthy, again, you want to do it right.

But what happens when you finish your manuscript. You revised it, edited, and proofed it, and possibly even had a professional writer look at it.

Your manuscript, your baby, is ready to fly.

You enter the traditional submitting phase. You’ve done your research and have found literary agents and book publishers in your genre. The submitting process is in full gear.

This process can easily take longer than the writing process, but you need to persevere.

In the meantime…

Should you just sit around and wait for a bite from an agent or publisher?

Should you sit around and gather dust on your keyboard?

Absolutely not!

You need to move onto another story as soon as you start the submitting process on your first book. Once book two is being submitted, it’s onto book three, and so on.

This goes even more so for articles.

According to writing coach Suzanne Lieurance you should have around 12 articles out circulating to magazine editors.

This is how you get work.

It’s the writing juggling act.

Keep the stories or articles moving.

Once you finish one story, get started on the next.

Another aspect of the writing juggling act: Book Marketing.

While you do need to keep writing those stories and getting them published, you also need to work on marketing you and your writing.

Marketing is a part of every author’s writing life, if you expect to sell your books.

-The first step of marketing is to create a quality book.
-The next step is to submit your work – this is pitching your work.
-If you’re self-publishing, you will need to publish it and distribute it so it’s available for sale.

Once the book finds a home, it’s about creating visibility. If people don’t know it exists, you won’t sell it.

The marketing and visibility process is ongoing.

If you’re wondering if having to promote your books is a must, even major publishers expect their authors to have an online author platform. They also expect the author to be able to help sell their books through that platform.

And, small publishers expect you to do all the marketing.

Marketing is that important.

So, what are the basics of an author online platform?

-The first step is to have a website and keep it current.

-Next is to post to social media to bring awareness about you, your books, articles, or services.

This will take up any spare writing time you may have.

So, if you’re a writer, there is no such thing as downtime. It’s all about the writing juggling act.

This article was first published at:
https://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/2021/08/15/the-writing-juggling-act/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and children’s ghostwriter, editor, and coach with clients worldwide.

Karen also offers DIY How to Write a Children’s Fiction Book and
Writers on the Move Press (Self-publishing help for children's authors.)