Publicity & Marketing: A Case Study – Part 5

Tags

authors, Conventions, CoyCast, LA Comic Con, marketing, publicity, publishing, SCBWI members, SciFi.radio, WonderCon, writing tips

by R.S. Mellette

Me and Dad

This blog-umentary started out as an analysis of hiring a PR firm for a small-press book, and I promise we’ll get back to that, but to assess that value for the month of April I have to fill you in on some personal backstory. 

You might want to get a tissue.

Toot Your Horn!

Tags

biography, middle grade, picture book, published, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, young adult

SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at Kite Tales! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital hi-fives welcome in the comments!

#KTChat with Amy Duchene and Elisa Parhad: Collab x Fab – 7 Tips on Collaborative Creation

Tags

Amy Duchene, authors, collaboration, Elisa Parhad, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, writing tips

by Amy Duchene and Elisa Parhad

Editor’s Note: On Twitter this Friday (5/6/22) from 12-1PM PST, Amy and Elisa will take your questions and discuss why our stories matter, even when we think they don’t. Log into your Twitter account during our chat hour and use the hashtag #KTChat or @mention @amydishes and @SCBWISOCALLA to join the discussion! If you aren’t on Twitter, leave questions in the blog comments before the chat! 

We (Amy and Elisa) are long-time friends and co-authors of Pool Party. Luckily, we had a stellar experience working together on this project, but we know that not every collaboration ends with hugs and a publication. Collaborating together for nearly nine months on this project, we learned a lot about what works and what to watch out for so that you can find success too. Here are seven tips.

Publicity & Marketing: A Case Study – Part 4

Tags

Azure Dwarf, Books Forward, cover art, marketing, publicity, publishing, Reading Renee, SCBWI members, young adult

by R.S. Mellette

Jennifer Vance of Books Forward, you saved the book! Or, you know, at least kept the release date from being pushed back to oblivion.

Spoiler Alert—At the end of this story, we finally get our cover.

Now that we have the cover wrapped up, here are some details of the issues we were having. 

How Attending SCBWI-L.A. Writer’s Day Led to a Book Deal

Tags

Asa Gilland, authors, Charlotte Offsay, editing tips, Frances Gilbert, picture books, publishing, Rejection, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, writing tips

by Charlotte Offsay

Unpublished and unagented, I attended SCBWI-L.A. Writer’s Day 2019 full of hope but never expecting that the events of the day would ultimately lead to a big five publishing contract. 

For the second year in a row, I attended as an aspiring picture book author, and this time around I knew what to expect. I arrived eager to soak in the wisdom of the day’s fabulous lineup of speakers and had submitted a picture book manuscript for critique by one of the event day faculty. The manuscript that I submitted was one that I had been working on for months, Gram’s Got the Magic Touch. Here is the pitch:

Gram’s leaving, and she’s taking her magic with her. Without it Rose’s baby brother Henry wails and life as Rose knows it is dooooomed. There’s only one solution, Rose needs magic powers too.

Illustrator’s Day 2022: Welcome Laura-Susan Thomas!

Tags

digital illustration, digital tools, illustrator tips, illustrators, Laura-Susan Thomas, SCBWI events, SCBWI members

SCBWI-L.A. Illustrator’s Day is coming around the corner and we have a wonderful presenter lined up, ready to dive deep into the craft of digital art making with you!

Please welcome Laura-Susan Thomas, a digital artist extraordinaire with experience creating art on a grand scale as a Walt Disney Imagineer where she was able to embrace her inner 10-year-old every day, working on designs for Paris, Orlando, and Tokyo theme parks. She has had her work featured in the LA Times Kids’ Reading Room and Babybug Magazine. A professor of Fine Arts at the Allan Hancock College, she is also the Gallery Director at the Ann Foxworthy Gallery and the Illustrator Coordinator for the SCBWI-CenCal region.

For Illustrator Day, Thomas will share with us different strategies for working creatively with technology. The workshop will delve into two of the main applications artists use for creating on the computer and will have a little “sandbox” time for participants to begin experimenting in the medium as well. If you haven’t signed up yet, please visit the regional events page to register.

Toot Your Horn!

Tags

biography, middle grade, picture book, published, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, young adult

SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at Kite Tales! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital hi-fives welcome in the comments!

Publicity & Marketing: A Case Study — Part 2

Tags

authors, Forward Reviews, Hasty Book LIst, Kirkus Reviews, marketing, Merritt Hicks, publicist, publicity, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, Teen Ink

by R.S. Mellette

When last we left, I had set aside $20,000 to spend on the promotion of my next book, Kiya And The Morian Treasure, which hits streets April 26^th, 2022. So, let’s look at the heat I’m getting from the money I’ve set on fire.

Summer 2021: After a COVID delay of a year-and-a-half, my publisher, Elephant’s Bookshelf Press, was eager to get the ball rolling again, but our original cover artist gracefully bowed out to concentrate on her picture book/lower MG work. Matt at EBP found a new artist who promised to deliver in November. As that was the only big thing holding up publication, I reached out again to Books Forward saying, “We were a go in 2019. How about 2021?” They honored their 2019 bid. Contracts were signed in August for a November start to a six-month campaign ending with a launch sometime in the Spring of 2022. I was also sent an Author’s Questionnaire to complete before November.

Great News!

Tags

SCBWI community, SCBWI members

SCBWI loves celebrating our members’ successes and noteworthy news, and there are many! Read on to find out who’s got something to shout about. Digital high-fives welcome in the comments!

What to Take on Your Writer’s Journey #3: Be Ready to Nix Your Darlings

Tags

authors, Cheryl Klein, editing, kidlit, revision, Rieko Mendez, Sandy Asher, SCBWI members, Writers Day

by Rieko Mendez

Editor’s Note: This is the third and final installment on What to Take on Your Writer’s Journey. 

Now that you are prioritizing feedback with your community of writers and hopefully scratching the surface on — if not digging to the core of — answering the question “why must you write this book?” from my earlier articles, let’s talk about the most important step in being a writer: revisions, many revisions.