Tip of the Day: Did you catch the news about my forthcoming release? Check it out here. And then add it your book shelf on Goodreads. :-)
Under the advice of our fellow A2Agirl Megg, I recently took part in a blog hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer. I'd never even heard of a blog hop before Megg told me about them and now that I've done it I'd totally do it again. It's such a clever idea. Basically the host gathers together people with a similar sort of giveaway and using linky, links their blogs together. So, the one I did was for clean reads and I gave away a signed copy of Just Your Average Princess (which really anyone 11 and up can read). There were over 100 participating blogs and people wanting to partake in the contests just hopped from blog to blog entering the giveaways.
So why did I love this blog hop so much? Because it was the best giveaway I've had to date. And I've been doing giveaways for over three years now. Normally I get anywhere from 5-20 entries in any given giveaway. Even when the stuff I'm giving away is really good. For one of my earlier contests that I did, I gave away a signed book, bookmarks, chocolate covered espresso beans, and a $25 gift card for a bookstore. I also had second and third place prizes. Guess how many entries I had? Three. Yep, everyone was a winner. But doing this blog hop I had 373 entries! Talk about a big boost. I also gained a large number of followers both on my blog and twitter. And I saw lots of tweets about my giveaway that week too. Definitely a worthwhile way to promo your blog/books.
Kristina, Miss Author in Action
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! (or Love Being in the Middle (Grade))
Tip of the Day, Libarian Edition: If you are an adult and think the teen library employees are "cute," keep it to yourself. Better yet, keep it and your eyes to yourself, Mr. Creepy McCreepers.
Marcia Brady was the beautiful older sister, the one with silky blond hair, groovy boyfriends, and wisdom over her younger sisters. The one who made Jan envious.
And sometimes, when I'm working on my MG novel, I think how my YA WIP is the "cooler" older sister to my MG; how if I sold a YA over an MG, I'd belong in the club.
Maybe it's because I'm a YA librarian. Or maybe it's because I read many more YA novels than MG. Or maybe it's because my author friends are known for their YAs.
Perhaps it's because the first manuscript I wrote was a YA and I can't let go of the dream that I am a YA novelist.
Then again, the two times I've signed with agents, we connected over my MG novels, so I must be doing something right for that age group. And I do adore some MG novels to no end (RULES by Cynthia Lord is an all-time fav, and recently FLYING THE DRAGON by Natalie Dias Lorenzi and LIAR & SPY by Rebecca Stead). Plus writing more "innocent" characters who believe anything is possible is fun and refreshing for me.
I've also heard for the past couple of years that MG is highly sought after by editors and publishing houses, so I should embrace what the pros are asking for. Besides, working in the Children's Center at the library is more fun than in the adult reference area.
I need to embrace my Jan Brady manuscript, polish it to a shine, and get that baby out there. Because the middle children are loved and needed too.
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing (a middle child)
Marcia Brady was the beautiful older sister, the one with silky blond hair, groovy boyfriends, and wisdom over her younger sisters. The one who made Jan envious.
And sometimes, when I'm working on my MG novel, I think how my YA WIP is the "cooler" older sister to my MG; how if I sold a YA over an MG, I'd belong in the club.
Maybe it's because I'm a YA librarian. Or maybe it's because I read many more YA novels than MG. Or maybe it's because my author friends are known for their YAs.
Perhaps it's because the first manuscript I wrote was a YA and I can't let go of the dream that I am a YA novelist.
Then again, the two times I've signed with agents, we connected over my MG novels, so I must be doing something right for that age group. And I do adore some MG novels to no end (RULES by Cynthia Lord is an all-time fav, and recently FLYING THE DRAGON by Natalie Dias Lorenzi and LIAR & SPY by Rebecca Stead). Plus writing more "innocent" characters who believe anything is possible is fun and refreshing for me.
I've also heard for the past couple of years that MG is highly sought after by editors and publishing houses, so I should embrace what the pros are asking for. Besides, working in the Children's Center at the library is more fun than in the adult reference area.
I need to embrace my Jan Brady manuscript, polish it to a shine, and get that baby out there. Because the middle children are loved and needed too.
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing (a middle child)
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Trying new genres and age ranges
Tip of the Day: enjoy all the new fall shows. Here's a good list.
I've found in general there are two types of people in this world (or at least the Midwest): those that hate change or those that crave variety.
I definitely fit into the later category.
In life, I get bored fairly easily. Some people like to eat the same meal everyday or always choose the same drink from Starbucks. And while I get why that's comforting to a lot of people, it's just not the way I live. I'm not an extremely adventurous person, but I like to mix everything up enough that things don't get boring. Because too much of the same thing...is bad in my opinion.
Last week I talked about branding yourself as an author and how important it is to stick with a similar writing style.
For someone like me who likes to mix things up, it can be challenging. So that's why multiple pen names can become your best friend!
There are two new categories of books that I would like to try writing in the next year or so: adult fiction and picture books.
It will definitely push me outside my box, and actually force me to think like a grown up on occasion. And I think trying picture books will help tremendously in learning to streamline an entire story.
After writing three YA novels, when I tried my hand at Middle-grade, I found I loved the freedom to be completely silly with my writing. And I think I'm ready for a change again. Maybe I'll even talk myself into writing in third person this time around.
Who knows. But the thought of the unknown seems very appealing right now!
So what about you? Do you like to write similar books? Or are you craving for some variety in your writing?
--Emily, Miss Querylicious
I've found in general there are two types of people in this world (or at least the Midwest): those that hate change or those that crave variety.
I definitely fit into the later category.
In life, I get bored fairly easily. Some people like to eat the same meal everyday or always choose the same drink from Starbucks. And while I get why that's comforting to a lot of people, it's just not the way I live. I'm not an extremely adventurous person, but I like to mix everything up enough that things don't get boring. Because too much of the same thing...is bad in my opinion.
Last week I talked about branding yourself as an author and how important it is to stick with a similar writing style.
For someone like me who likes to mix things up, it can be challenging. So that's why multiple pen names can become your best friend!
There are two new categories of books that I would like to try writing in the next year or so: adult fiction and picture books.
It will definitely push me outside my box, and actually force me to think like a grown up on occasion. And I think trying picture books will help tremendously in learning to streamline an entire story.
After writing three YA novels, when I tried my hand at Middle-grade, I found I loved the freedom to be completely silly with my writing. And I think I'm ready for a change again. Maybe I'll even talk myself into writing in third person this time around.
Who knows. But the thought of the unknown seems very appealing right now!
So what about you? Do you like to write similar books? Or are you craving for some variety in your writing?
--Emily, Miss Querylicious
Monday, September 17, 2012
Making a List of Agents
Tip of the Day: Publisher's Weekly is gathering information for an upcoming story on African-American publishing. If you have information for them, check out their request.
I'm researching agents. Yay me. Actually, this isn't a difficult task, just time consuming. Inspired by my crit partner Lisa Tiffin, I set out to list 30 agents for my first round of queries. So how did I come up with this list?
1. Agents who have said nice things about my writing. Or just something. :) I save my submission logs from previous novels. If an agent requested a full or complimented my pages, I'm querying them again.
But wait. It's not that simple. Some of those agents are very busy with clients now and are no longer taking queries. Others have changed agencies. So I looked up each agent. If he/she is no longer taking queries, he/she may have a fellow agent at the same agency who is looking for my genre. So I googled each agent and each agency. That formed the basis of my list.
2. Agents of happy friends. Of course. For example, at MiGWriters, we recently ran a series of interviews with the agents of MiGWriters. Naturally, I'll be querying the agents in our blog interviews who are accepting queries.
3. Agents I researched through Literary Rambles's Agent Spotlight. Casey McCormick gathers all the online information she can find about agents accepting queries so you can decide if they're a good fit for your writing. I still looked up each agency's website, though. Even agents here who sounded great sometimes had fellow agents more open to speculative YA.
4. Verla Kay's Blueboards. Check out the Agent Response Time boards and then research the agency's website.
It's safe to say that I didn't choose any agent without seeing their agency website. That's how to find the best agent to query, get the guidelines, and find the email addresses. I added email addresses and submission guidelines to my Excel spreadsheet for submissions for this novel. Save those spreadsheets for the future!
I wasn't very impressed by Agent Query or Query Tracker. I found missing agents and outdated information. Your mileage may vary, but I say, always check the agency website. I'm not a very good Twitter stalker, either. Mostly, I find out about agents through other writers as I outlined above. But we'll see what happens when I expand my list past 30.
-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages
.
I'm researching agents. Yay me. Actually, this isn't a difficult task, just time consuming. Inspired by my crit partner Lisa Tiffin, I set out to list 30 agents for my first round of queries. So how did I come up with this list?
1. Agents who have said nice things about my writing. Or just something. :) I save my submission logs from previous novels. If an agent requested a full or complimented my pages, I'm querying them again.
But wait. It's not that simple. Some of those agents are very busy with clients now and are no longer taking queries. Others have changed agencies. So I looked up each agent. If he/she is no longer taking queries, he/she may have a fellow agent at the same agency who is looking for my genre. So I googled each agent and each agency. That formed the basis of my list.
2. Agents of happy friends. Of course. For example, at MiGWriters, we recently ran a series of interviews with the agents of MiGWriters. Naturally, I'll be querying the agents in our blog interviews who are accepting queries.
3. Agents I researched through Literary Rambles's Agent Spotlight. Casey McCormick gathers all the online information she can find about agents accepting queries so you can decide if they're a good fit for your writing. I still looked up each agency's website, though. Even agents here who sounded great sometimes had fellow agents more open to speculative YA.
4. Verla Kay's Blueboards. Check out the Agent Response Time boards and then research the agency's website.
It's safe to say that I didn't choose any agent without seeing their agency website. That's how to find the best agent to query, get the guidelines, and find the email addresses. I added email addresses and submission guidelines to my Excel spreadsheet for submissions for this novel. Save those spreadsheets for the future!
-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages
.
Friday, September 14, 2012
$100,000 or bust?
Tip of the Day: Considering self-publishing? Hang out for a while at the Writer's Cafe on the Kindle Boards. It's like a crash course in self-pub.
Remember back in June when I said I'd pull down $100,000 this year, but that I wouldn't consider quitting my day job?
"Publishing does not guarantee you a steady income. I know self-pubbers
who were hitting big numbers last year, numbers that still beat my
current sales, who are now languishing in the low-sales club.
If they had quit their day jobs, where would they be today? Frustrated with publishing because they can't seem to get their sales off the ground? Likely. Looking for a job in a crappy economy wishing they'd never quit their perfectly fine day job the year before? Definitely."
Wow, am I glad I'm a boring, practical person. I was easily on track to pull down big numbers in 2012. On August 6th, my Amazon sales were cut by 60%. Literally overnight. And I never got up that high again. The first seven months of year were incredible for sales, then faster than Batman's dialogue bubbles can say "Boom!" "Crash!" "Smash!" my sales took a nosedive.
I wish I knew why. Maybe then I could fix it. I've tried blog hops, ads, giveaways. Nothing worked and August ended up being my worst month in more than a year. Talk about painful...
Publishing is not a guaranteed stream of income unless you find someone to offer you a salary. It has its glorious up and wicked downs.
I didn't curl up in a ball and die. I kept writing. I have a new series coming out this fall under my other pen name Isobel Lucas.
I still love writing. That doesn't change no matter how many books I sell. I hope that you feel the same way about your writing.
As for hitting the $100k mark? There's always next year! ;)
Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber
Remember back in June when I said I'd pull down $100,000 this year, but that I wouldn't consider quitting my day job?
"Publishing does not guarantee you a steady income. I know self-pubbers
who were hitting big numbers last year, numbers that still beat my
current sales, who are now languishing in the low-sales club.If they had quit their day jobs, where would they be today? Frustrated with publishing because they can't seem to get their sales off the ground? Likely. Looking for a job in a crappy economy wishing they'd never quit their perfectly fine day job the year before? Definitely."
Wow, am I glad I'm a boring, practical person. I was easily on track to pull down big numbers in 2012. On August 6th, my Amazon sales were cut by 60%. Literally overnight. And I never got up that high again. The first seven months of year were incredible for sales, then faster than Batman's dialogue bubbles can say "Boom!" "Crash!" "Smash!" my sales took a nosedive.
I wish I knew why. Maybe then I could fix it. I've tried blog hops, ads, giveaways. Nothing worked and August ended up being my worst month in more than a year. Talk about painful...
Publishing is not a guaranteed stream of income unless you find someone to offer you a salary. It has its glorious up and wicked downs.
I didn't curl up in a ball and die. I kept writing. I have a new series coming out this fall under my other pen name Isobel Lucas.
I still love writing. That doesn't change no matter how many books I sell. I hope that you feel the same way about your writing.
As for hitting the $100k mark? There's always next year! ;)
Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Tips for My First Writing Conference?
Tip of the Day: Have you guys seen Nathan Bransford's Publishing Process in GIF Form? SO FUNNY.
I've kind of done things backward in this writing career of mine. Normally people join SCBWI and critique groups and work toward getting an agent and publishing. I sold my first book in 2007 and joined SCBWI-IL a few years after that. I've only just recently have started being more active with what it has to offer. I went to my first SCBWI-IL event over the summer at Chicago's Printer's Row. And I've never attended a writer's conference as an attendee before. I've been to conferences as a speaker or panelist or just to sign books. But not just to learn and work on my writing. But this all changes in November. I'm so excited to finally be going to SCBWI-IL Prairie Day! I mailed my entry on the day registration started so I even got all of my workshops and breakout session picks! Yay!
So tell me, what do I have to know? Got any tips for me to make this a great first writing conference? I know I should carry things like business cards, pens, a notebook, my bookmarks, and a bottle of water. But will I need anything else? Do people carry their writing samples on them? I'm not sure why I'd need to do that actually but I thought I'd ask. Any networking tips? How do you dress for an all-day writing conference? I'd love any advice!
Kristina, Miss Author in Action
I've kind of done things backward in this writing career of mine. Normally people join SCBWI and critique groups and work toward getting an agent and publishing. I sold my first book in 2007 and joined SCBWI-IL a few years after that. I've only just recently have started being more active with what it has to offer. I went to my first SCBWI-IL event over the summer at Chicago's Printer's Row. And I've never attended a writer's conference as an attendee before. I've been to conferences as a speaker or panelist or just to sign books. But not just to learn and work on my writing. But this all changes in November. I'm so excited to finally be going to SCBWI-IL Prairie Day! I mailed my entry on the day registration started so I even got all of my workshops and breakout session picks! Yay!
So tell me, what do I have to know? Got any tips for me to make this a great first writing conference? I know I should carry things like business cards, pens, a notebook, my bookmarks, and a bottle of water. But will I need anything else? Do people carry their writing samples on them? I'm not sure why I'd need to do that actually but I thought I'd ask. Any networking tips? How do you dress for an all-day writing conference? I'd love any advice!
Kristina, Miss Author in Action
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
A Popularity Contest (or Give 'Em What They Want)
Tip of the day: See what your library is doing for Teen Read Week (October 14-20)!
Summer is over and the YA books at my library that were checked out by teen readers all season are making their way back onto my shelves.
Based on the displays I did over the past three months, what were the types of books checked out the most?
Here they are, from the most popular to the less popular, though the books know I love them all.
1. Dystopian. I put up a display of "If you like The Hunger Games, try these" books in preparation for my showing the The Hunger Games on DVD -- and the shelves were cleaned out daily. A mix of light sci-fi made its way onto this display too and was very popular. While I am close to done with reading new books in this genre, I think the teens still love it because they haven't been reading them as they were released all year; they were catching up this summer. Is there room for more on the shelves? It will take a unique premise for me to buy them as they come out in 2012/2013.
2. Paranormal Romance. Zombies and angels and mermaid oh my! Like with dystopian, I have no shortage of titles to put on this shelf featuring these creatures, but the teens seem hungry for more. And I have to say, the mermaids went super fast, even though in my opinion, those are the stories that feel the most similar to each other. With Amanda Hocking's new mermaid series, I'm sure these books will continue to go out even if new titles wane as publishers are filled up.
3. Even More Paranormal Romance. The vampires didn't fly out the door the way the faerie books did (I had them paired together), but they still hold appeal to the teens.
4. There Be Ghosts. To promote my ghost hunting program, I pulled books I loved that have ghost hunters and just creepy ghost stories. Unfortunately the program had to be cancelled for lack of registrants, but the books were still popular.
5. GLBT Fiction. I love that these stories, mosty contemporary YAs, find an audience. There are some awesome titles in this category.
6. No More Bullies. Novels about bullies, the bullied, and the affects of bullying again primarily feature contemporary YA plots, and again I like seeing these titles checked out amongst the otherworldly books.
7. Realistic Historical Fiction. To promote our Civil War 150-Year Commemoration Week at the library, and then to promote a Veterans Memorial Essay Contest for my town, I did a display of books that take place during pivotal points in American history. I think maybe one book was checked out. Historical fiction that depicts reality without any paranormal or fantastical elements are a very hard sale right now.
What books have the teens you know been clamoring for?
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing
Summer is over and the YA books at my library that were checked out by teen readers all season are making their way back onto my shelves.
Based on the displays I did over the past three months, what were the types of books checked out the most?
Here they are, from the most popular to the less popular, though the books know I love them all.
1. Dystopian. I put up a display of "If you like The Hunger Games, try these" books in preparation for my showing the The Hunger Games on DVD -- and the shelves were cleaned out daily. A mix of light sci-fi made its way onto this display too and was very popular. While I am close to done with reading new books in this genre, I think the teens still love it because they haven't been reading them as they were released all year; they were catching up this summer. Is there room for more on the shelves? It will take a unique premise for me to buy them as they come out in 2012/2013.
2. Paranormal Romance. Zombies and angels and mermaid oh my! Like with dystopian, I have no shortage of titles to put on this shelf featuring these creatures, but the teens seem hungry for more. And I have to say, the mermaids went super fast, even though in my opinion, those are the stories that feel the most similar to each other. With Amanda Hocking's new mermaid series, I'm sure these books will continue to go out even if new titles wane as publishers are filled up.
3. Even More Paranormal Romance. The vampires didn't fly out the door the way the faerie books did (I had them paired together), but they still hold appeal to the teens.
4. There Be Ghosts. To promote my ghost hunting program, I pulled books I loved that have ghost hunters and just creepy ghost stories. Unfortunately the program had to be cancelled for lack of registrants, but the books were still popular.
5. GLBT Fiction. I love that these stories, mosty contemporary YAs, find an audience. There are some awesome titles in this category.
6. No More Bullies. Novels about bullies, the bullied, and the affects of bullying again primarily feature contemporary YA plots, and again I like seeing these titles checked out amongst the otherworldly books.
7. Realistic Historical Fiction. To promote our Civil War 150-Year Commemoration Week at the library, and then to promote a Veterans Memorial Essay Contest for my town, I did a display of books that take place during pivotal points in American history. I think maybe one book was checked out. Historical fiction that depicts reality without any paranormal or fantastical elements are a very hard sale right now.
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing
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