Marketing is not my cup of Earl Grey. As soon as I open my mouth, I have visions of all the overbearing sales people I've ever met mocking me. However, I realize it's nutty to write for publication and never talk about it. I'm not a hermit. I just like to write.
So, what to do? Be the reader.
I've started sitting on the floor with a picture book and thinking about color and text choices. I'm spending time (minutes) on particular characters and/or characteristics on each page like a child would do.
Olivia by Ian Falconer is a good book to try this with. Black, white, and splashes of red tell the story in addition to words. I love it. The words and illustrations focus the attention, but also let an active imagination wonder what will happen next.
When I became the reader of my books instead of the author, the marketing monkey got off my back.
-Q
With the publishing world in a major state of flux, have you ever wondered whether you make a difference? When you see the rankings of well known authors in the high thousands, do you cringe and wonder if there is any hope for the average dedicated children's writer?
I used to think that way until I figured out that I need to create children's stories based on who I am and not follow trends (although I've never wanted to write about vampires or a zombie apocalypse). I'm not a big dog (yet), but I'm not a tiny dog either. I'm just a writer focusing on being #1 to the reader who buys my books. (Readers are #1 to me.)
What do you think?
-Q
