Saturday, November 28, 2009

THE BUSINESS OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS #1

Today I begin my series of musings on trade book marketing. I have worked in children’s publishing for over fifteen years, first as an educational marketing associate at Random House, and then as a freelance writer and marketing professional for Tor Books, Dorling Kindersley, HarperCollins, Rodale Press, Penguin and Simon & Schuster. In addition to having penned jacket copy, press releases, event kits, reading guides, curriculum guides, and newsletters, I am the author of thirteen nonfiction books for Rosen Publishing. The observations I will share here come both from my own experience and from discussions with many authors, illustrators and publishing professionals.

I plan to blog about business on Fridays, but was delayed this week by my annual, post-Thanksgiving celebration on the ski hill. I made it down a blue run on my inaugural ski day this year! It is a fitting moment to begin this series because I see many parallels between the journeys of skier and writer.

Think of it this way: You’ve decided to become a writer, perhaps after another career and some soul-searching, perhaps because of the many great kids’ books that informed your childhood. You are at the bottom of the mountain, looking up. You gear up, take some lessons, fall down a few times in search of your balance—your voice. Slowly, you conquer some fears. You choose a challenging run and get on the lift, ride up enjoying the spectacular views AND wondering what the heck you are doing trying to climb so high. You reach the top: book written and sold. Now you’ve got to get down without falling.

The trip down is the one you take getting your mountain-top masterpiece into the hands of readers. It can be slippery. The economic “conditions of the trail” are beyond your control. Much of the rest is marketing. Here your courage and energy help determine whether you reach the base on your proverbial bottom or glide into the lodge, the NYT-best-selling winner of…another scary uphill ride and the chance to tell and sell another story (also known as a writing career).

Okay, the metaphor is getting a bit overdrawn but it holds an important truth. Book publication, like reaching the top of a mountain, is not just a culmination but the beginning of another, equally important journey. And, without further ski metaphors, this is will be the focus here.

Here are a few of issues I plan to discuss (but please leave a comment to let me know if you have other questions you would like addressed): BECOMING A GREAT SCHOOL & LIBRARY PRESENTER (IS THIS THE ROAD FOR ME?); WHAT IS MY TARGET AGE/GRADE LEVEL FOR PRESENTATIONS?; HOW TO GET SCHOOL BOOKINGS (AND WHY); SETTING YOUR APPEARANCE PRICE; PUTTING APPEARANCE PLANS IN WRITING; VIRTUAL VERSUS BRICK-AND-MORTAR VISITS; USING YOUR BLOG AND/OR WEBSITE TO INCREASE APPEARANCE REQUESTS; WHAT TO DO WHEN HOSTS OR AUDIENCES ARE UNDERPREPARED; COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR PUBLISHER TO ENHANCE EDUCATIONAL APPEARANCE EFFORTS; WHAT IF I HATE MARKETING MY BOOK?; THE QUESTION OF READER CONTESTS & CRITIQUING STUDENT WRITING. I will also cover some before-the-book-sale topics for pre-published writers and those moving into new genres in weeks to come.

This post is already too long (my secretary had a big Thanksgiving dinner and is still too tired to edit) so I will leave with one parting suggestion for writers of all levels. Try to think of your writing life as a celebration of the craft of writing, the pleasure of being in a community of writers, and the thrill of SHARING your work (even if that means a bit of selling and money talk) so that kids and adults who find your stories can join in this great celebration.

Monday, November 23, 2009

This week, we are reading...THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins



Okay, so I actually read this awhile back in preparation for a writing retreat, but as I was reflecting on this title today, I had a new thought that is perhaps worth sharing. When I discuss THE HUNGER GAMES with adults or children, several issues inevitably present themselves. How far does loyalty to friends and family extend? Would you be willing to kill another to save your own life? Would you sacrifice yourself to defeat an oppressive state? Who can you trust? Should you pretend to love someone to save yourself? In crisis after crisis, Catniss must decide whether to fight or hide, trust or defend. Each chapter contains its own moral dilemma which must be resolved or pursued into the next chapter. The intensity of these quandaries makes for a driving plot with very high stakes, which is likely a large part of the book’s success. The novel is a sort of fictional “Survivor” where the prize is not merely money but life.

However, as I strive to understand the remarkable strength and completeness of this book, I have begun to study another motif. I believe the author is suggesting it to us in the book’s very title: HUNGER. The search for, choice, taste and experience of food carries readers through numerous discrete, though highly interrelated, dilemmas which Catniss encounters.

Food also connects readers to each character in different ways. Peeta is always, first, the boy who tossed hungry Cat some bread. Cat relates to various denizens of District 12 in terms of what types of meat they will buy from her. Haymitch is a drunkard, an over-consumer, Faustian and therefore suspect. In the capitol, Cat gorges on many carefully described feasts—the game-makers' attempts to fatten the tributes to make the battles more exciting or a kind of extended last supper? Before her death, Rue salves Cat’s tracker jacker stings with leaves she has chewed and spat out, an act of eating. To defy the state, to drive home the heinous insanity of the games themselves, Cat and Peeta threaten to consume poison berries.

Suzanne Collin’s plotting is superb, however I think that the artistry that raises this book far above the standard thriller is the layering on of deep, reverberant hunger images. As a writer and reader, I cannot help but be astounded that it took me weeks after my initial reading for this realization to surface. This is because it is so organically, artfully woven into the story that it becomes, like a human skeleton, the unseen yet essential frame upon which the flashier, more dynamic elements of the story are hung.

Yet, in the end, I understand Cat not because she is in an almost unimaginably extreme competition, but because she is hungry: for food, for companionship, for justice.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

THIS WEEK, WE ARE READING...


     . . .    
Set to the cadences of bare feet running, hearts beating, Sharon Creech's jewel-like verse novel brings us 12-year-old Annie on the eve of becoming a big sister, of losing her grandfather to dementia, and of recognizing the changes in her relationship with best friend and fellow-runner, Max. While Max seems to be running away from his circumstances, Annie runs toward understanding and a sense of new possibilities, perhaps involving an artist's sketchpad. HEARTBEAT is a poignant and beautifully crafted story. Read it in one sitting to fully appreciate the impact of the verse form, and the resonance of the wonderfully layered images.



Friday, November 13, 2009

An Intense Week of Literary Learning

My SCBWI Weekend-on-the-Water retreat was followed by a yummy Tuesday night dinner with the delightful Suzanne Morgan Williams (BULL RIDER, CHINA'S DAUGHTERS) http://www.suzannemorganwilliams.com/ and Terri Farley (SEVEN TEARS INTO THE SEA, THE PHANTOM STALLION) http://www.phantomstallion.com/, wrapping up their marathon tour of the Pacific NW. From there, I had the pleasure of hearing Suzy and Terri give awesome presentations at the SCBWI Western Washington chapter's monthly meeting. Suzy spoke about getting your book into the world, forging the relationships you need to do so, and the wonderful friends you can make along the way. Terri discussed her favorite writing technique, clustering, with examples of how this technique has helped her clarify story ideas.
I am so full of techniques, theories and strategies that it has actually been a bit tricky to write! But, like a good soup, I can almost physically feel things simmering in my mind and think am just about ready to break out my literary ladle.

Monday, November 9, 2009

A new beginning...

Just returned from forty-eight hours with thirty unbelievable writers at the SCBWI Western Washington's "Weekend on the Water" retreat. Reconnecting with wonderful colleagues (and meeting some lovely new people) was equally as inspiring as learning from two bright and very hard-working editors, Cheryl Klein and Ruta Rimas.

There were moments over the weekend where I felt envy, despair, frustration, defeat and an embarassing amount of cynicism. But there were more laughs, smiles, and "aha's." Best of all, as I continue to sort through my notes and memories (and catch up on sleep), I feel more and more enriched by the experience.

I am now back at my writer "nest" recommitted to my craft in so many ways. One decision I have made is to post more faithfully. Another: To finish revising my current ms by January 1, 2010. So, away we go...