Do you Book Fest? (or Catch the Festival Fever!)

Tip of the Day: Anyone in the greater Rochester, NY area must come to our Teen Book Festival this Saturday!

Last Thursday, Tina talked about which author events are generally worth an author's time. One type of event she didn't mention are Book Festivals. I guess they could be considered similar to "Author Fairs," but I'm not sure; hopefully someone will weigh in with their opinion on if these are a "must" or "bust."

What I do know is that the Rochester Teen Book Festival has grown and grown over the past seven years, and there are thousands of teens who attend. Through the promotion and publicity for the event, the attending author's names are spread across the county, and much of Western NY. Authors now ask the Fest organizer if they can come, instead of her having to pursue them. Part of it is, from what I hear, because of how well the authors are treated by the organizers.

But some authors still say no thanks when they are invited.

For the authors who do attend, is it worth going? Like Tina said, it is an all-day affair that takes away from writing/family time. Some publishers do pay the authors' travel expenses, but some do not, so for a long trip that can be pricey and a lot of books would need to sell for it to be worth it financially.

If the authors want to connect with teen readers, they will often succeed at this event. But if teens have limited money to spend and can't buy ooks no matter how much they love an author and her presentation, is it worth it?

And if you are an author with a limited audience/brand new book without a following yet, some authors may worry that no teens will attend their breakout sessions which can be stressful.

Yet during the autographing session at the end of the day, it is hard not to get excited at all the teens who are into books and authors and reading!

What do you think about Book Festivals as worthy author events?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Setting up a Book Signing

Tip of the Day: Congrats Soap Box in My Mind! You won MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS. E-mail me your mailing address at: Kristina at KristinaSpringer dot com.

I find that I blog on here about whatever is hogging up the most space on my brain at the moment. And at this moment it's book signings. Specifically my first signing for My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours. It's this Saturday, 9/11, from 2-4 pm at the Bolingbrook, IL Borders so if you're in the area stop by! But for today I'll talk about how to set up your own book signing.

1) Scope out bookstores in the area you're interested in signing in. Usually independent bookstores love to host authors. But the chains will too, sometimes.

2) After you've googled a phone number for the bookstore you're interested in, call and ask for the events coordinator.

3) Introduce yourself and your book. "Hi, I'm Awesome Author and my new book, Bound to Be a Best Seller comes out in October from Kick Butt Publisher. Would you be interested in having me come for a book signing?

4) If no, thank you anyway. Can I come by and sign stock sometime?

Note: The theory floating around the authorverse is a signed book is a sold book so stock sign whenever you can.

5) If yes, great! Set up a day & time and decide what you will be doing (Talk? Read? Both? Meet & Greet? Just sign?).

6) Advertise your book signing. Post on your blog, twitter, facebook etc. Send a note to the local newspaper for their calendar/events section (it's pretty easy to find e-mail address for this kind of thing online.).

7) A few days before the signing, check in with the bookstore. Is everything set? Did they advertise you were coming? Did they order enough books?

Note: Bring your author copies in your car. If they sell out of their stock you can bring in your books for them to sell and the store will replace your books at a later time.

8) Check your closet. Do you have something cute to wear?

9) Arrive early the day of the signing. Bring any giveaways you have (bookmarks, stickers etc.), any signage you have (cute posters?), your pen to sign with, your camera, and if it's a launch signing you might want to bring a treat for the readers (cupcakes, cookies or whatever).

10) Have fun! Smile pretty!

Kristina, Miss See Me on the Shelves

Writing Styles: a look at three authors

Tip of the Day: If you are going to SCBWI conference in NYC this weekend have a FAB time!! I'm so jealous!

The Saturday before last I did a YA Panel at The Book Stall in Winnetka, IL with two awesome YA authors-- Julie Halpern, author of:

and Beverly Patt, author of:




















and it was A LOT of fun! Hopefully fun for the audience but lots of fun for me too. I love learning about other authors and how they write. Someone asked us how we knew when our book was finished and ready to send to the editor. And we all had totally different answers. Take me for example, when I think a book is as awesome as I can make it, I send it to my individual critique partners. They'll read and mark up the manuscript and then send it back to me. I'll go through their notes and make changes that I agree with and then send it to my agents. My agents will send me back notes, I'll make changes again, and then send it back to them. At this point, if they think it's cool, it goes to my editor. That's me.

Now take Beverly Patt. She meets with an in-person critique group. Before their meeting she'll send out what she wants the group to review and then at the meeting they'll discuss it. Eeeek! I'm not sure I could do this. There is something about having everyone talk about my work in-person that freaks me out a little. It's much less stressful (to me) to read an e-mail from an individual. It sounds like it works for Bev though and she even made it sound fun. Bev told a story about how she once killed off a character in one of her books and how when she got to her meeting the whole group was wearing SAVE LATONYA stickers. Too cute.

Last was Julie Halpern. Wow, I'm AMAZED at her process! It sounds awesome and works great for her as her books rock. Julie said she writes out the entire book by hand in a notebook. Then she types it into a word document. Then she sends it to her editor. That's it. Are you amazed too? She doesn't go back and stress and freak out and revise like a crazy person over and over again! No outside feedback! Just her and her editor! Whoa. Too cool.

So what's your process? What's your next step once you've finished writing your book?

Kristina, Miss Delighted to Debut















(Me, Julie Halpern, and Beverley Patt. Photo by Julie's nice hubby)

Group Signings=FUN!

Tip of the Day: Online shopping is so much easier than going store to store. But you have to buy your gifts now to get them shipped to you in time!

Last weekend was my first group signing ever! (Well, two signings. And really it was my first signing in a bookstore too.). The first signing was at the Borders in Bolingbrook, IL. It was Cynthea Liu, Lara Zielin, Aprilynne Pike, Me, Darcy Vance, and Saundra Mitchell.
















Things I learned:
1) We brought way too many cookies and candy. And my giant coffee cup is HEAVY to lug around.
2) Aprilynne & Cynthea's idea that we each only talk for a few minutes was brilliant! It really kept things moving at a nice pace and nobody got bored. And it left lots of times for questions and funny stories.
3) Prizes are a fabulous idea! We let people pick something from the basket for each question asked. Such a good idea. I'm glad I was with these super smart experienced authors!
4) It's smart to sign whatever stock is leftover at the signing. That way the store can still sell autographed books.

This signing went really great. It was nice and relaxed and fun and we really got to talk a lot with the audience. And it was great to see book lovers, librarians, and bookbloggers.

After this signing we went downtown for this yummy, yet incredibly expensive pizza and then to our next signing at The Book Cellar in Lincoln Park.

The Book Cellar was awesome! Lots of really fun people and a great atmosphere. It's the kind of place you want to spend oodles of time just chilling in.















Things I learned:

1) A bookstore that serves both coffee drinks and alcohol is a fab idea!
2) How to deal with hecklers. This woman kept yelling that we weren't starting on time and she had places to be. It was quite adorable actually. Once we got going she seemed to love our talk and asked lots of questions but alas, abruptly stood up in the middle and announced that she would be going to the library to check out all of our books. Like I said, she was adorable.
3) And finally, group signings are PERFECT for the debut author. Face it, when you're new no one knows you. There aren't going to be long lines of fans waiting to see you. But when you're in a group each person will attract a few or more and even if you only have a small group there it will still be like a great fun party because there are others up there sharing the spotlight.


































Kristina, Miss Delighted to Debut

How to do a Drive-By Signing

Tip of the Day: Always carry a signing pen with you. You never know when you'll be asked to sign a book and the average ballpoint just doesn't cut it.

Drive-by signings. You either know exactly what I'm talking about or you're scratching your head. This post is directed to all the head scratchers.

Once you're a published author you can stop by bookstores wherever (in your town, somewhere you're vacationing, at that store around the corner from your office etc.) your book is carried and ask to sign it. This sounds a little bizarre at first and I was really hesitant to do it until I went with Aprilynne Pike on a drive-by signing while she was in town for a signing. She, Kristin Walker, and I were walking to get a drink and were about to pass by a B&N. She said let's do a drive-by. I said what?! Are things that hard right now? Ok, we didn't say that stuff. :-) But she did suggest stopping to do a quick stock signing. After I witnessed her doing one it gave me the courage to do it myself. See, at first I thought maybe the stores wouldn't want me coming in and mucking up their merchandise. But then I was reminded that I wasn't mucking up their stuff but adding value to it by signing it. Oh yeah. :-) Someone else told me that a signed book is a sold book. I'm not sure who originally said that or if it's true but it sounds good. Anyway, on to how to do a drive-by signing.

1) Stroll into a bookstore.

2) Locate all of your books on a shelf (in my case it's only like 3 to 5 at a store).

3) Carry all of your books up to the information desk.

4) Say to the person working there, hello, I am the author of this book and I'd like to sign it. Do you have any signed by author stickers?

At this point they'll give you a huge smile, whip out a strip of the stickers, and say fabulous! Or some such scenario like that. This actually happens often for them.

5) Sign each book.

6) Sticker the book (or the employee might sticker the book for you).

7) Ask the employee, would you like me to re-stock the book?

And they'll (hopefully) say no, no, I'm going to put them on display up here at the desk.

And that's all there is to it! Bonus tip: you can go online to bn.com or Borders.com and type in your zip code to see if the stores near you have your book in stock. Might save a trip!

Kristina, Miss Delighted to Debut

Readers Wait (or Sittin' in the Waiting Room*)

*With apologies to Fugazi

Tip of the Day: Step away from the bags of Halloween candy. Step away!

All writers seeking publication are familiar with waiting. Once you are Recently Repped, it doesn't get any easier -- especially when you know you're waiting for EDITORS to get back to your agent about your book. (Can you tell I'm feeling this just a little bit right now? ;))

But guess who else waits? Readers! And those are the best kind of waiters for us writers! How many of you take a book in your bag when you head off to the doctor's office, knowing you'll be a the mercy of the old selection of magazines otherwise? When the appointments get backed up before you, aren't you almost glad when you're immersed in a good novel?

I also take to spying on what other waiters are reading -- it's excellent market research! Personally, I tend to bring whatever book in my TBR pile is a paperback. Better yet if there's a mass market size book in there. Perfect travel size! What books do you see others reading while waiting?

Here's a challenge for all you published writers out there: Bring copies of your book with you everywhere and casually drop them in waiting rooms. Do those waiting for their oil change/dentist appointment/doctor visit/DMV attendant pick it up? Or are they too engrossed in the book they brought with them? Or do they go for the magazines on the coffee table?

How bored will someone have to be to pick up my first published novel off the waiting room table? :)

Waiting's not ALL bad....

Deena, Miss Recently Repped

Meeting Rock Stars

Tip of the Day: If you write YA and you want to chat with almost 600 super cool YA authors, join teenlitauthors-- teenlitauthors-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

How lucky was I to be able to meet three of my FAVORITE YA authors this week? Yes, the fabulous Anderson’s Bookshop had Lauren Myracle, E. Lockhart, and Sarah Mlynowski in to sign their new book, HOW TO BE BAD on Monday night. How to Be Bad is an older YA about three girls on a road trip, all struggling with their individual reasons for needing the escape. And they throw in a couple of cute boys of course (must always have the cute boys). I have to say, I felt like an 11-year old girl at an American Idol show screaming for David Archuleta.



Ok, I wasn’t that bad. But I did sit in the front row about 6 feet away and hung on their every word.

And, they rocked. They started with an intro to the book—giving a set up about each of the three main characters in the book and which author was writing which character’s POV and how these characters came to be on the road trip to begin with. Then they each took turns reading from one of the chaps that they wrote (and even did fun accents).

(e. lockhart)

(Lauren Myracle)

(Sarah Mlynowski)

Following that they answered a zillion questions about the book and their other books. One of the interesting ones was how they wrote the book--all via e-mail. They did it chapter by chapter (kinda like when we were in school and would pass a story around--each adding on a line or paragraph or whatever. But with chaps. You never knew what the person in front of you was going to throw at you) with no plotting whatsoever. They said this was a fun way to do it but that it took mega revising afterwards. It sounds like it was a lot of fun (well, the writing, not the revising). One of the funniest questions was from a young girl who asked, "Are you guys going to write any new books?" To which Sarah answered, "Yeah, that's what we do." I had to cover my mouth to stifle the laugh. I don't think she meant to respond like that but it was funny.

After the Q&A, it was signing time and I was so excited to get to meet the ladies and have a minute to chat. Lauren even remembered me from commenting on her blog. They were impressed that I had my gigantic 39-week pregnant self there and I confessed that I secretly hoped my water would break during the signing so that I'd have a cool story to tell my kid later. They agreed that it would make an interesting addition to their vlog.

I just love going to signings and meeting authors and I learn so much about what I should and shouldn’t do in the future when I have signings. And seeing three of my favorite YA authors made the whole thing 10 times better.

(From L to R, Sarah Mlynowski, Me, Lauren Myracle, and the also pregnant, E. Lockhart)

Kristina, Miss Soon-to-Pub

How One TV Show Sums it All Up

Tip of the Day: Make sure you remind your family to be at the book signing *when it starts* if they want to hear your talk.

Yes, despite the fact that my mother didn’t get to hear me practicing for the Oprah show, the book signing went well.



The heart-shaped cookies I brought were delicious, I made it through the talk without throwing up, and we sold about 40 books. Not bad, I suppose.

If you recall, my talk was comparing writing to a TV show. I know you've lost sleep all week wondering WHAT TV show this could be. Project Runway, perhaps, where we might compare cutting fabric to cutting words? Nope. Maybe American Idol, where we might say a good critique group is more helpful than Simon could ever be? Not that one either.

No, I compared writing to the show, The Biggest Loser. Have you watched that one? This season, twelve couples are working their tushes off and eating cardboard so they can weigh in each week and see who lost the most weight and who lost the least amount of weight. I know, you're thinking I must have some really whacked writing routine or something.

Let me tell you how this show is a lot like my world of writing:

• With 200+ rejections to my name and counting, there are days I often feel like The Biggest Loser. I took a trip down memory lane, and shared a few of these with the audience.
.
• The people on the show had to get over their fear of whether they might fail and just DO IT. That’s what I had to do when I first started writing and submitting. It’s scary. You have to tell that negative voice to shut up, which isn’t an easy thing to do.

• They count calories like I count words. Yes, I know, the difference being, they cry tears of grief if they go over 2,000 calories in a day while I’m crying tears of joy if I get that many words! Still, we’re setting goals, keeping track, and counting. And when we have a bad day, we get up the next day and try again.

• They have trainers who know what it takes to get them back on that treadmill when they want to quit. Fortunately, my writer friends don’t yell like they yell, but when I’ve had a bad day or a bad week, my “trainers” know just what to say to get me back to the keyboard. Like this show, a good support system is crucial to my success.

• These people struggle with not comparing themselves to those around them. I’m sure it’s gotta be hard, knowing your working just as hard as someone else, and seeing them drop more pounds than you. In the writing world, I struggle with not comparing myself to others too. I finally decided awhile ago that I can’t do that, because so much of this crazy business is out of my control. What I can control is the writing. I can work hard to write the best book I can, and the rest, well, I have to keep the faith that I am on the right path for ME.

• The most amazing part of the show is when these people have to get on the scale, in front of the whole world, and show us their weight and how much they’ve lost or gained. Can you imagine? I think writing is a lot like that. We grow to love our characters. Our stories are personal, and to share them with the world is scary. What if people laugh and it’s not funny? What if people don’t see all of the hard work we’ve put in?

• The current season of The Biggest Loser doesn’t end for awhile. I don’t know who wins. But what I do know is that as each person leaves the show, he/she is a changed person. Most of them continue to work out and follow the path of a healthier lifestyle. And each of them is thankful for the time they spent at the campus.

It’s the same for most writers. Every story is not a winner, unfortunately. We get rejected far more than we get accepted. But we continue on the path. We keep writing. Because that’s what writers do. And when we’re in that zone, and the words, and yes, probably some sweat too, are flowing, there is nothing else like it in the world.

And regardless of whether we win or not, like those people who get kicked off and continue to work out and lose weight, we understand there is no going back.

Because words give us life.

~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I'm Pubbed

Practicing for the Oprah Show

Tip of the Day: Blow your nose well before any public speaking endeavor.

Tomorrow is my book launch signing at Powell’s Book Store.

In addition to signing books, I will also be doing a 15-minute talk and reading from my book.

Ah yes. For the introverted author, getting up and talking to a bunch of people where you are supposed to be witty, inspirational, and funny all at the same time is pretty much terrifying. Given the fact that most of the people in attendance are people I know, from work and other aspects of my life, it makes it even more so. Because, I mean, if you’re talking to a bunch of strangers, who cares if you suck? You won’t see any of them again anyway, right?

So, I’ve been working on my talk for a couple of weeks. It’s all written out, because, you know, I’m a writer. So it works best for me to do it that way.

But it’s not just writing it out. I have to practice saying it. Over and over again. My commute to and from work for the past week has been spent saying my talk out loud, to just myself. I’m sure people look over and see my mouth moving and my hands gesturing, with no one else in the car, and think I’m a loony bird. But I don’t care. It’s the best place to do it, because my husband and kids don’t have to listen to it fifty times. If they did, they would refuse to go and I need at least a few people in the audience who will laugh at my lame jokes, funny or not.

I suppose this is good practice. My mother insists she is going to get me and my book on the Oprah show. Stay tuned for that! (ha)

You may be wondering what I’m going to talk about. Well, I’m not going to tell you. Because my fans will be furious with me if I indulge anything! I can tell you this, though. I’m comparing writing to a certain TV show.

Yeah, I’ll admit, I’m shallow. And I watch a little too much TV.

Wish me luck!

~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I'm Pubbed

Thinking About Book Signings…

Tip of the Day: When your husband gives you that look and says, “You’re watching (insert your favorite teen TV show here) AGAIN?!” Tell him in your most serious voice, “I’m doing research.”

When thinking of all the wonderful new things Lisa, Miss Pinch-Me-I’m Pubbed, is embarking on with her new book release this week , one of the highlights has to be book signings.

When I think of book signings for other people I think ooooh fun! I love to go to them. I love meeting authors. When I think of doing my own book signing, I think AHHHHHH!!!!!! Of course I WANT to do them; they just seem kinda scary at the moment. Like,

1) What do I talk about?

2) What part of the book do I read? And will I sound like a dork?

3) How much of the book do I read?

4) What if the attendants ask a question that I don’t have an answer for?

Ok, really I shouldn’t be too nervous (though I’m sure I totally will be) since I’ve been teaching for 7 years. I should be good at this talking to people stuff. And good at reading aloud and answering questions etc. But maybe because the subject matter is more personal, being my work, that it scares me a little? What do you guys think? Does the idea of having your own book signing scare you? And then do you know what is even scarier to me? That first signing where all of your family and friends show up. I mean, talk about pressure! How have you published writers handled that?

And then once you’ve stopped obsessing about the impending book signing and you are actually there doing it, what the heck are you going to write in your book?? I mean, people got in their cars, drove to see you, bought the book, listened to your reading, and waited in line (ok I’m dreaming of big crowds here…). You have to write something great right? Something profound and life changing. Well, maybe not profound and life changing…I may be getting carried away. Definitely something cool though. Let’s examine some of the signed books in my collection.

Simone Elkeles: “How cool that you came to the festival! Good luck with your book and I hope you make millions.”

I love this one. Sweet and personal. And she wants me to make millions!

Caridad Ferrer: “Congrats! I hope you enjoy my girl!”

I like this one. She said congrats because of a contest and I like that she really feels close to her character in the book to say “enjoy my girl”. Cute.

Melissa Marr: “There are always choices.”

Oooh cryptic. There is obviously a meaning with her signing and I have to read the book to figure it out. Clever.

Meg Cabot: “Meg Cabot”

Hmmm…not much to work with here. But you know what? It’s freaking Meg Cabot and I love her! And she hands down had the best book signing I've ever attended.

And finally…

Name Withheld to protect the book signing challenged: “Thank you for your patronage.”

Uh gee…you’re welcome. I’ve got no warm fuzzies from this one folks.

Ok, so what do you guys think I should write at my future booksignings? I’m thinking I need something that ties into the book. The Espressologist is about a coffee barista that matchmakes customers based on their favorite coffee drinks. What about something like,

“Wishing you love with your latte.”

Kristina, Miss Soon-to-Pub