The Deep End

Authors are talking about the pros and cons of online connectivity. 

Pros = keeping current with publishing changes, linking/friending writers, editors, and readers, as well as marketing your work 

Cons = finding time to write, attend conferences, and spend time with family, horses, dogs, and cats.

Initially, I kept to the shallow end of the pool with 2 websites (fiction and non-fiction). Slowly, I waded in with LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and Pinterest (fun!). I'm up to my neck now, but wait, there's more! 

With global competition for a reader's attention, authors must take on much more of a book's online and hands-on marketing efforts. 

How many hours are there in a day again? Where's a pesky time machine when you need one?

Do I have the answer? Well, I recently read an eloquent Writer Unboxed post by Robin LaFevers on prioritizing and saying no to time-consuming things that don't grow your writing dreams. For me, it was a life preserver in an increasingly murky marketing pool.

With a new picture book, Alphabet Puke: Monsters' Medicine A-Z, ready to launch next month, Robin's post reminded me that saying no was not just an option for writers, but a necessity. 

Sans a time machine, saying no, gives writers time back to relax in/out of the pool.  
-Q

Read, Read, Read

As we begin another writing and critiquing year, I am amazed at all the interesting ways children's writers tell stories. Take Lee Wardlaw's Won Ton - A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. As the title describes, the story is told via page after page of haiku. Clever!

Will I ever write a book in haiku? Who knows? But now I have a role model and trail blazer to look to in case I want to try it.

Or how about How the Dinosaur Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland that tells a historical story and slips in tons of science details. Super!

Will I be writing about dinosaurs soon. No, but thanks to this book, I have a excellent example of how interweaving science and history can be done. 

There are lots of other examples. I save mine at Picbooksrock on Pinterest. Then, I can go back and reference my favorites whenever I want.
-Q

Missed It by That Much!

Just today I saw that the 2013 schedule for a literary festival that I have previously participated in came out while I was sick in bed this week. Drat!!

For the past several months, I had planned to contact the new organizers and express my interest in presenting my newest picture book. Too late. I felt like the beautiful SS Minnow had just left the dock for the 3 hour tour and I didn't have a ticket.

But rather than dwelling on what might have been, I decided to skip the pity party. Instead, I sat down and updated my to do list based on known family commitments (graduations, new babies, birthdays, etc.) and decided to get a handle on my planned and potential marketing commitments. I did it by: 

• Creating emails to potential bookstores regarding signings
• Updating a list of blogs looking for guest bloggers
• Compiling a list of related businesses, etc. with parallel interest in the new book
• Updating the Alphabet Puke: Monster's Medical A-Z press release
• Getting out the 3-ring binder I had purchased to keep all my marketing notes, punching holes in all the information I had compiled in the past several months, and defining topic sections
• Making a list of writer friends who might lend a hand with (or at least point me in the right direction) for facilitating the best social media buzz on the day of the book launch
• Resolving to get more knowledgeable about Twitter and connect with folks who might really have a bonafide interest in the new book (besides the obvious of wanting healthy kids)
• Re-working my blog and Facebook signatures to do a bit of passive marketing for my previous writing as recommended by friend and adept online author/marketer Darcy Pattison.
• Making plans and reservations to attend a new SCBWI conference.

Organization is good! I'll keep you updated on how well the next few months unfold. I expect clear sailing ahead for much longer than the 3 hour tour.

-Q

www.quinncole.com
Facebook - quinncolechldrensauthor

Twitter - @quinncole2
Pinterest - picbooksrock

Revisions Rule

When I was in high school I competed in speech and debate. I preferred expository speaking, but our coach insisted we try different events. In extemporaneous speaking you get a topic and then speak on it for about 5 minutes or so with only a minute or less to prepare. Depending on the topic, a sensible and non-rambling delivery can be tough to achieve. 

Sometimes, I feel like the first draft of a children's story is like that. An idea pops into your head, you process the various tacks the story can take, and then you deliver your ideas on a blank page. If it rambles too much, you want to throw out the whole idea. Fortunately, writing gives you plenty of "do overs" (i.e. revisions) to harness your creativity and hone a great story. The trick is remembering you have that capability. The first draft is never the last (at least for 99.999% of writers).

And let me know how the elf and dragon work out the cupcake sharing...
-Q