What the Cat taught me: Lessons for authors from yesterday’s book covers

Do you have a favourite book from childhood?  You can probably visualize its cover, right? 
Just picture it in your mind's eye and maybe feel the nice, contented feeling that comes with curling up with a delicious book...

Well, this morning, I came across one of my preteen favorites sitting open on the floor where my daughter had left it when she went to school:  The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, by Paula Danziger:

This book meant a lot to me as a kid.  I think it was because of its open acknowledgment that life is sometimes lousy when you’re a teenager but also the gentle message that (thanks, Dan Savage!) it gets better.  That there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  And it does all that with the good-natured humour that the late Paula Danziger brought to all her books.

I posted this picture on Facebook because it brought back so many memories.  But I also started thinking about both how dated the cover looks (it's from 1978) and also how I doubted publishers would put a picture like this, showing a slightly overweight, slightly depressed teen on the cover of a book today.

Searching Google to find a history of this book cover, and I discovered I was right.  The most current version of this book, on Amazon, just shows

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How to create home-run stories with a perfect pitch sentence

I’ve talked before about the importance of the “pitch.”  This is a single sentence you can haul out whenever anyone asks you to describe your book.  Here, I’m going to give you my secret “formula” for creating awesome and compelling pitch sentences.

But first – why do you need a pitch?

• For talking to agents or editors, if you ever get a face-to-face meeting
• For including in your cover letter
• For chatting with friends and other children’s writers
• For writing your back-cover synopsis if you’re self-publishing

Most importantly, though, the pitch helps YOU. 

If you can’t sum up your picture book in a single sentence, you’re either trying to cram too much into your story, or you don’t have a clear enough idea what it’s about.

So here’s my secret formula – and it’s actually

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The 5 biggest mistakes when you’re choosing your book title

Are you killing your chances before anyone even starts reading your book?

I hinted in my post last week that you can’t really go wrong when you’re choosing book titles.  Except you can.  It’s not easy, but it is definitely possible to choose a lousy title for your kids’ book.

It’s all about cracking the “cover” of your book, real or virtual.  Whether you’re self-publishing or sending your book around to agents or publishers, you need a title that’ll get readers onto page one, where hopefully, your story will do the work of hooking them in for good. 

True, publishers may change the “working title” of a book once they decide to publish it, but you’re still going to need a name for your book that hooks them into reading the thing in the first place.  So try to avoid these FIVE big mistakes.

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So you want to write a children’s book…? The ultimate Quick-Start tutorial.

When I started out writing children’s books, I was full of ideas, but I had no idea what to actually DO. 

Should I write the story?  Find an artist?  How was it all supposed to come together into an actual book?  Like I said, I had no idea.

You might be right where I was a few years ago, wondering how to get started.

I’ve put this quick-start guide together to help YOU skip over the mistakes I made.  I hope it’ll help give you a smoother launch into this incredible world of writing for children.

1. How can you write (or finish) your book?

You can’t do much until you have a finished book saved on your hard drive (or, if you’re the old-fashioned type, written down on paper).  Here are the basics, the least you need to know to sit down and get writing.

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Trimming your tribe. 7 reasons a smaller mailing list is better for you as an author.

It may not sound like big potatoes compared to Stephen King, but as my mailing list grows towards 1000 readers, I'm trimming the tribe.  And you might want to consider it as well.

Here are 7 good reasons why a smaller list is better for "business" when you're a writer:

1) Smaller lists are cheaper. 

Most services charge more as your lists grow.  Trimming them regularly to get rid of those who don't read your emails will keep these charges down.

2) Smaller lists are targeted. 

You'll have a better idea who's reading and what their needs are.  Remember, you can't please all of the people all of the time - so quit trying.

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The lemonade-stand marketing lesson every indie author needs to read.

One sizzling summer day, my daughter decided to run a lemonade stand.  Maybe your kids did this too, once or twice?

She set up shop in front of our house.  She had a sign, a table, fresh cold lemonade (mmm, I’m making myself thirsty – it’s super-hot here as I write this!), and opened up for business.

And then… nobody came.

What did she do wrong?  She was certainly cute enough.  And the lemonade was sweetly tart, frozen and refreshing.

But we lived on a one-way street that didn’t get a lot of traffic.  People were driving past quickly and weren’t in a mood to buy lemonade.  She sold a couple to our neighbours, but really didn’t attract a lot of interest beyond the immediate area.

So the next time we thought about doing a lemonade stand, we did it at my mother’s place, a block away.  Not such a big difference, right?  But there were a few major factors that changed the game:

• It was a two-way street, with a major road nearby
• There were lots of bikes and joggers going past
• It was close enough that our own neighbours could come there, too
• It was down the street from a police station, so everyone was driving slowly and paid attention to the little girl with the lemonade stand.

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How to write an author bio that will sell children’s books

Have you ever READ an author bio?

Probably you have.  That’s because you’re a writer, so you’re interested in other writers.  At least, I know I am.

Here’s the thing:  you’re not a kid.  Let’s be honest:  it’s not kids who will be reading your author bio.

Most kids couldn’t care less about who wrote the book, unless they’ve finished one and are looking for more of the same.  So it’s probably parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians who will be reading the author bio. 

There are two kinds of people who are reading your author bio:

1. People who aren’t sure whether they should buy your book
2. People who have read your book and want to know more about you

In both cases, a little honesty can go a long way.  In both cases, you want to make a connection that is friendly and personal (not commercial!).  You want them to trust you and – maybe, just maybe – to like you.

Let’s look at ways we can make the bio as appealing as possible without being crass.  What you don’t want is for your bio to sound like marketing copy.

Here’s the trick:  you want your bio to be relatable, which means not too weird.  But you also don’t want it to be so tedious that you are ultimately forgettable.

What should you call yourself?

For some writers, the hardest part of creating an author bio is describing themselves in the third person.  As tempting as it may be to say “I’m a mom of 4, a SCUBA diver and a cat lover,” resist. 

Suck it up, and keep yourself in the third person.  It just looks and sounds better.

The best advice I can give you is to read 5-10 bios of well-known children’s authors before you sit down to write your own.  I think it’ll inspire you, offering hints as to voice and how to streamline your message effectively.

Go long or stay short?

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What's your story REALLY about? (Hint: forget the forest, just show us a tree.)

I’ve figured out how to get rich.  What’s the secret, you’re wondering?

I’m going to make folks hand over a nickel every time they say:

• “I’ve written (or I’m writing) a story about bullying.“
• “It’s a kids’ story all about grief.”
• “This is my book about divorce and/or remarriage and/or gay families.”
• “It’s an illustrated picture book about eating right.”
• “I’m writing a story about consideration / politeness / good manners.”

You get the idea.  These are all great concepts, each and every one.  But they are also all lousy kids’ stories.

The truth is, they’re not stories at all. 

Because a story is not about the great big FOREST that is your concept.  A story is about the tiny, individual trees that live in the forest.

Finding the trees in the forest

Have you made this mistake?  I know I have. 

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Is your manuscript headed for the shredder? 15 formatting DO’s and DON’Ts to make editors fall in love.

Will your story survive the slushpile… only to end up in an editor’s recycle bin, trash can, or shredder?

A story manuscript that doesn’t look like a manuscript will get you exactly the WRONG kind of attention.  The kind that winds your story up in that virtual paper shredder before the editor gets to word one.

True, you’re submitting a children’s book.  But the core of all these DON’Ts is one simple fact:  your story can’t LOOK like a children’s book when you submit it.

What not to do.

Be very, very careful.  Violating any one of these will get your story tossed (or shredded) in disgust:

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Building an author mailing list: PART 3, How to get started (the nitty-gritty).

Ready to get started?

Great.  Let’s roll up our sleeves and dig in.

I hope I’ve convinced you that an author mailing list is a great way to chat directly with people who love your writing. 

(If you’re not convinced yet, go back and read Part 1 of this 3-part series to find out why you need an author mailing list.  Then read Part 2 about how to convince readers to sign up (hint:  just ask them).)

So now the question is, where do you start?

Step 1:  Choose a provider

There are a few email list providers.  Some let you get started for free.  The top two are Mailchimp and Aweber.  I use Mailchimp, mainly because it was free to start out, and slightly less expensive on an ongoing basis, but to be honest, I don’t love it.  Aweber looks like it starts at around $29 a month, but they let you try it for a month for $1.

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Building an author mailing list: PART 2, Calls to action.

 

You know you want one.  You know you NEED one.  But how do you GET one in the first place?

(If you’re not convinced yet, go back and read Part 1 of this 3-part series to find out why you need an author mailing list.  And then take a look at Part 3, which takes you through the (super-easy) steps to get started.)

The best way to build your mailing list is… to let readers know it exists.

Sounds simple, right?

But are you doing it?  The way to do it right is with a call to action at the back of your book.  Calls to action are known as CTA in the marketing business, so that’s what I’m going to call them here.

Notice I said marketing business.  Lots of writers feel kind of slimy when they think about marketing.  If you do, that’s something you’ll have to get over.

A back-of-book CTA should be super-simple.  This is a two-step format that every reader will recognize:

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Pricing your self-published kids’ books: are you doing it wrong? (5 essential guidelines)

Did you ever have a garage sale or yard sale?

I have, and one of the toughest parts was figuring out how to price the stuff I was selling.  You want it to go, but you want to make something.  Your stuff is valuable – at least to you – plus, you want to get paid for your time and trouble in setting everything up.

It’s sort of like that when you’re selling your own books.

How much will YOUR book cost?  Have you decided yet?

It’s a ton of pressure.  How do you know you’re not doing it wrong?  If you price your book too high, it won’t sell. 

Cheap isn’t always the answer, either.  Price your book too low, and people may decide it’s worthless and give it a pass.  It’s your book – it’s your baby.  Pricing our books fairly is a challenge all of us face, not just once, but every single day we hang out our shingle as indie, self-published writers.

Keep yourself on the right track with these 5 handy guidelines.  Use them to help pick your price point and you may find your way to financial success as a children’s-book writer after all.

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Building an author mailing list: PART 1, Do you need one?

Do you need an author mailing list?  Yes, you do.

Seriously.  You need a mailing list, period.

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series that will convince you that you do.  And prove that it’s super-easy to get started.  Part 2 will show you how to get readers to sign up, and Part 3 is the nitty-gritty how-to (but don’t worry, it’s easy to get started).

If things were different, if Amazon and other sites told you who was buying your stuff, or gave you access to their information, then I might not think you need a mailing list at all.  Then again, do you want those sites to control your relationship with readers?

Didn’t think so.

Amazon is not your friend.  Amazon wants to suck your buyers in, then grab their info so they can sell them other writers’ books. 

Pretty nasty, huh?  So that means you’ve got to look out for yourself.  (Not to mention that you may want to sell through other sites, besides Amazon.)

Still, you might not understand exactly why you need a mailing list.  Maybe one of these sounds like you…

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The dark evil flipside of freebies: BAD reviews.

There are lots of reasons you might want to offer your books for free.  But there are some reasons you DON’T want to as well.

Such as… BAD REVIEWS.

Here’s the thing about human nature:  most of us have this built-in complaint reflex.  As long as things are going okay… then okay!  We coast along, enjoying our lives.

But when something comes along that we don’t love – that’s when it kicks in.

What that means, practically speaking, is that you could buy and read 100 books and not write a single review.  But then, along comes one that rubs you the wrong way and – “Oh, boy, get out of my way… I need to review this thing NOW before anyone else buys this book!”

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Why give your books away for free?

How do you feel about freebies?

When I posted  about how I use KDP Freebies, I got some very intense reactions.  Some people were angry that readers have come to expect freebies, others mystified – wondering why writers would bother to offer them.  One response was sort of a cross between the two:  angry AND mystified.

Nothing's free in this world, so why should our product be free?

That’s what this person asked, and in a way, I totally agree with what I think she’s trying to say.  We work hard to write our stuff.  And we want to make money writing.  So how does it help us to give it away for free?

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Coping with the KDP Freebie Juggling Act: a simple 2-step system

Are you giving it away for free?

If your books are exclusive through Amazon’s Kindle Select program through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), they make it oh-so-easy to give away books for free.  They make it sound like a privilege, even.  Like it’s going to do tons for your books’ sales and your author ranking.

Will it really?

One school of thought, let’s call them School A, says – “No, no, no!  Never give it away for free!  Offering freebies trains your “loyal” readers to pay nothing for your books.  That’s terrible.  Don’t do it!”

The other school of thought, School B, says (equally loudly) – “Yes, yes, yes!  Giving books away for free will help new readers find your books.  They will become loyal readers!  Free books ‘hook’ them in, like a sample at the supermarket.  If they like it, they’re sure to come back and buy more (for actual money).”

As a fairly new writer trying to get established, I’m somewhere in between.  I do think freebies help get attention I wouldn’t get otherwise.  So I’m still doing them.

I don’t like keeping secrets.  I’m going to share what I’m doing here, but I’ll be honest:  I don’t really know yet if it’s working.  I hope this will be the start of a conversation, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

If you have more than a couple of books enrolled in KDP select, you need a way to keep track of which ones are free at any given time.  That’s where this simple 2-step system comes in.  Follow these steps, and you’ll never get mixed up again.  You’ll also be able to reward your loyal followers with a chance at getting hold of these.

Here’s how I set up my KDP freebies:

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How NOT to get reviews. Three top turn-offs reviewers HATE.

You’re a writer, right?  So you’re only one letter away from being a WAITER, which isn’t a bad way to think of yourself when it comes to getting reviews.

Like a waiter, you have to serve up your book to reviewers in the most appealing possible way.  And if you forget the basics of customer service, it’ll bounce back to bite you in the form of a lousy tip – er, review.

Here are three ways you may be turning off reviewers – and what to do about them to make sure those reviews keep rolling in.

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Caution, Rant: spammy spammers spamming stupid “Children’s Books” in their KDP listing title.

Every once in a while, I’ve just got to rant.  Maybe you know the feeling?

Today’s rant is about that growing breed of Kindle kids’ ebooks that have almost more title than actual book.  I’m sure you know the ones:  the cover of the book has maybe a five-word title, but the title of the book as shown on its Amazon listing is a mile long, like this:

Children books : MARGARET AND THE DONUT: (Explore the Galaxy kids book exclusive collection) (Super-Duper eBook)Sleep & Playtime Books(Short Story) (Bedtime ... Books for Babby & Toddler Readers #15) [Kindle Edition]

You think I’m joking?

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Fever Pitch: 1-step first aid for sick stories

Is your story sick?  Something not quite right?

Your spelling and punctuation may be perfect, but if something just seems off… if it’s under the weather, but you’re not sure how to fix it…

… just pitch it.

No, I don’t mean throw it away.  I mean create a sales pitch and start selling your book.  Not (yet) on Amazon, or Kobo, or Smashwords, or anywhere else.  No, to make it great, you have to sell the story to your most important customer – yourself.

You’ll do that with a “pitch.”  Known by a few different names, it’s basically a 1-2 sentence “elevator speech” for the book.  This pitch has to be great.  It must hook the reader – and before it’s ready for readers, it has to hook YOU.

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Write better, sell more books. Under a buck.

Want to write better?  Want to sell more books?  All for under a buck?

Of course you do.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing children’s books, blogs, or full-length adult nonfiction (or anything else).  The basics of writing and publishing in a digital age are exactly the same.

Lots of self-proclaimed “experts” will tell you how you can cash in on some kind of digital gold rush, but they’re all lying to you.  Their tips are gimmicky and most won’t hold true for more than a few months at a time.

Just in time for NaNoWriMo, two bestselling writers and one exceptionally prolific writing team have put together the Indie Author Power Pack.  It’s coming out November 3rd, but if you buy it now, it’s 88 cents.  That’s 88 cents for three books. 

This is easily the best 88 cents you will EVER spend on your writing career.

I literally stumbled across this today on Amazon, so I have no clue how long the presale deal’s going to last.

My current favourite, Write, Publish, Repeat (which I bought in audiobook, but have never sat down and read), alone must be over 100,000; it’s a monster (check out my review of Write Publish Repeat, plus my interview with its author, writer dad Sean Platt).  And it costs $5 all by itself. 

Again, the bundle is 88 cents. 

Get the deal here.

NOTE:  US-based viewers may see a price of 99 cents.  I wrote and published this post before I thought to check how it showed up here.  Here’s a screenshot of how the site comes through at my end:

(Which is funny, because usually we pay MORE outside the U.S.)

Let’s take a look at the math.

• Johnny B. Truant and Sean Platt’s Write. Publish. Repeat.  The No-luck guide to self-publishing success is regularly $4.99.
• Joanna Penn’s How To Market A Book is regularly $5.99. 
• David Gaughran’s Let’s Get Digital is regularly $4.99. 

That’s at least $15 worth of ebooks, and these aren’t some second-run thing put out by fly-by-nights who don’t know what they’re doing.  These are the superstars of self-publishing, who have been at it for years and want to share their ideas with you..

I just bought the bundle, and I can’t wait until it comes out.  You should, too, even if you already own one (or two) of the books.  Here’s your last chance for this post…

Get the deal here.

If you do get it, or if any of these books have helped YOU, let me know in the Comments.

Weekly writing tips and freebies (no ads, no spam, ever)

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