Thursday, May 23, 2013

Authors are Popular!


scan0001Just about everyone is excited to meet an author, especially if it’s a book they've read. Those of us who write for kids love doing school visits. We get to meet the very ones we write for and they get to tell us what they think about our stories.

Lately, there has been a reduction in school budgets, so paid visits are at a minimum. As a debut author, I don’t command the big bucks for a presentation opportunity. But the saying, ‘money isn't everything,’ is really true.

Earlier this  month I was asked to present at one of our local middle schools, Glassford Hill Middle School. The best part was that ‘I’ was the reward for the kids that had met their reading goals for the year.
The kids were great! We had a blast laughing and talking together. At the end, several of the kids bought my books. There were some who had forgotten to bring their money, so the librarian, Ann Carey, asked if I would leave a few books for them to purchase within a few days. Of course I said ‘yes’ and they came back and bought them.

Now for the cherry. Without my knowledge, the librarian sent pictures of the presentation to the local newspaper and they printed the story! What a wonderful surprise! This was so much better than getting paid—I sold books and I got free publicity!


So fellow authors, the next time you’re asked to give a presentation, don’t let the money issue keep you from doing it. The moral of the story is, when we give, it comes back to us.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Man Am I Tired!


chimp_taking_a_napThe past few days I have been working terribly hard. If you were to measure my progress by the number of pages added to my WIP you would see zip, zero, nada! I haven’t added one page! But I’ve been working  harder than a 3-legged mule.

I’ve attended several webinars on marketing, on promotion, and on website maintenance. I’ve updated the information and sent emails to prospective students of my creative writing course for kids.  I’ve researched and deleted 718 bogus subscribers to my website newsletter, repaired the Facebook follow button on my website, and written the draft to my next blog post. Now I’m critiquing a fellow writer’s work.

My brain hurts! I’ve done so much and I still haven’t gotten any writing done.  There is so much to the business side of writing it’s a wonder anyone has time to write anymore. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I have got to create a schedule that helps me get all of this stuff done! Then when I’m rich and famous I can hire someone to do it for me.

Thursday, May 09, 2013

The Business of Writing


open briefcase 2As many of you know, I released the second book of the PRINCESS KANDAKE series in February. Now it’s time for me to work on book #3.

I should be at least half-way through it, but I’m not. I’ve been so busy marketing, promoting, and researching other avenues to market and promote that I’m way behind on my writing schedule. I feel like the tail is truly wagging the dog—an expression I never really understood until now.

There are so many things I should be doing, you know, the social media thing. It’s not that I’m not of Facebook, Twitter, or blogging, because I am. I just realized that I’m not doing it ‘correctly’.

It’s almost like I have to start all over again. I need to change the direction of my Facebook fan page, I need to open a different Twitter account, and I need to blog on a consistent basis. On top of that, I need to start a newsletter! Where on earth am I going to find the time to write? Sheesh!

Well, I guess it’s time to revamp the schedule and dust off the discipline.

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Poetry Shared


A friend of mine, Claudia Greenwood, shared one of her beautiful poems with me. It so struck my heart that I had to share it with all of you. This is the world I choose to live in.


Children of the World                                    
       
They were
truly children of the world
raising arms,
clasping hands,
celebrating their many colors,
many languages,
many histories.
They sang with the joy
of shared life experiences
in the Colorado village
that is raising them,
salad bowl of our country
where they mix without noticing,
without realizing the promise
they bring to the future:
a perfect blend
organic
locally grown
but of transplanted roots,
salad extraordinaire,
these children
of a better world.
Claudia (Spring, 2013)