 Photo credit: Carter Hasegawa ~ By Josh Funk Marketing. What are my thoughts on marketing a picture book? Where do I start? What would I tell an author who has a debut book coming out? That’s a loaded question, so I apologize in advance for the long post! #1: Start Early We all know it takes about two years (give or take) for a debut picture book to be released once it’s acquired. Those two years are precious - use them wisely! Spend that time growing your network. One way is to go to as many author events at bookstores as you can. And here are four whys:
Another thing to do is to get on social media - and grow your virtual network. There are pros and cons to all of the different social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, tumblr, etc), but my preferred platform is Twitter. As a picture book writer, my direct audience (children 0-10) is not on social media. (This is different if you write YA - I can’t speak about interacting directly with your readers.) I love Twitter because it’s a great place to connect with educators, bloggers, booksellers, parents, and other writers and illustrators. How do you grow your network when your book is still two years away? Follow people in the industry and see what they tweet and what they talk about. Twitter is like a worldwide cocktail party where everyone’s invited - and anyone can join in on any conversation at any time. Follow educators like Pernille Ripp, Margie Myers-Culver, & Melissa Guerrette. Follow bloggers like Jen Robinson, All the Wonders, & Mr. Schu. Follow bookstores like Porter Square Books, Vromans, & Octavia Books. Follow writers like Tara Lazar, Phil Bildner, & Linda Sue Park. Follow illustrators like Girllustrators, Don Tate, & Debbie Ohi. Follow organizations like IndieBound, American Library Association, & SCBWI. But what do you tweet and share? If you have a blog (which you don’t NEED to have), tweet out those links. Read blog posts and articles that the above people write and tweet - and share the links that resonate with you. If someone you know sold a book or has a book birthday, congratulate them! And tag people. Positive vibes and good will go a long way. And just maybe, when you start connecting with people on Twitter, they might click on your name and website (more on that below) and they’ll see you have a book coming out yourself. Your book is now on their radar. You’ve planted the seed. #2: Prep for Launch Make sure you have a solid and easily navigable website. There are lots of resources out there regarding what your website should have. Look at other writers’ websites and see what you think will work for you. I use Wix to design mine, but there are lots of options. My chosen website categories are as follows: ●Home - the landing page. ●Books - a list of all of my books (each with a sub-page dedicated to that specific book). ●Stuff for Kids - a kid-safe page with fun stuff. ●Schedule & Appearances - a list of everywhere I’m going (and a map of everywhere I’ve been). Make sure to keep this up to date so your fans can follow you. ●Author Visits - a place where teachers can connect with you to bring you to their schools (remember, teachers call them Author Visits even if writers call them School Visits - so make sure to speak their language, since they’re the ones who will be looking at your site). ●Resources for Writers - my 12-Step Guide to Writing Picture Books - AKA the link I send to people when a Facebook friend tells me their cousin wrote a picture book and do I have any advice for them? ●About - a page with my bio, headshots, how to contact me, an interview archive (which will soon include this link), and social media links. ●Blog: I do have a blog to which I try to post at least once a month. Other things I’ve done pre-launch include: ●Newsletter: I have a newsletter (sign up here!). Some people say they’re critical. For a picture book author, I’m not sure. But it doesn’t hurt to have one and post to it a few times a year, especially when you have big news. ●Book Trailers: I've created all of my own book trailers, often along with songs I've written and recorded (on my phone, nothing super fancy - but technology today is awesome). ●Activity Kits and Coloring Pages: I've been fortunate that Sterling Publishing has made Activity Kits to go along with the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast books. Michael Slack and Rodolfo Montalvo each made coloring pages for Pirasaurs! and Dear Dragon, respectively. If your book’s illustrator or designer is willing to strip the color out of some of the images, it’s an easy, free, printable bonus to offer your readers (and to bring to events).  ●Online Quiz: I created a Which Pirasaur Are You?! online quiz. I’m not sure how much payoff this had. #3: The Book Launch If you’ve been patronizing and networking with your local booksellers, hopefully you’ll have an opportunity to schedule your book launch at one of them. Invite everyone you know. Jarrett J. Krosoczka once described his debut book launch as similar to a wake, but where no one died. More people will show up out of the woodwork than to a wedding. Some people create Facebook events for book events (I sometimes do), but for a book launch, especially your debut, it might be worth sending out an actual (online) invitation to your email contacts in addition to friends in your online social networks. Regarding swag, I’ve had fun making some. If you’re lucky, your publisher may make some of their own and share with you. It also doesn’t hurt to ask if they’ll reimburse you for making your own.
 Definitely offer food. Bring all the swag you have. Make it a party! And congratulations! #4: My Book Is Out. Now What? The best advice I received (from author Jen Malone and probably others) is: Do what you like. How do you know what you like? My answer to that is: Try everything. Store events, library events, conferences, group events, solo events, school visits, school book fairs, nErDcamps, farmers markets, karate studios (if your book is about ninjas), etc. - do them all. Determine what you like and what you don’t - and then continue doing the ones that appeal to you. If you’re fortunate (or there is a conference in your area), your publisher may invite you to do a signing (ALA, ILA, NCTE, ABA, BEA - if you don’t know what these are, look them up and learn them). Keep sharing on social media. If you’ve developed relationships with bloggers, see if they’re interested in interviews (or even giveaways). You can also set up Goodreads giveaways (these are often done pre-launch). There’s no magic bullet to a book’s success. My trailers on YouTube have a few (under 5) thousand views - nowhere near viral. I’ve still got a few boxes of Pirasaurs! collector’s cards in my basement. Who knows if my Twitter network has affected sales (it’s impossible to really tell)? I’ve been to events where nobody showed up.  But when you add it all up, the more times my book covers are on a poster at a library or in a tweet or a newsletter or a guest blog post (see what I did there?), the better the chances that the next time someone sees one of my books at a bookstore, they might just give it a second look before walking by. #5: Beyond Keep in mind that much of the sales success of your book is almost entirely out of your control. The reality is that for a book to do really well, the publisher has to seriously get behind it. The publisher’s marketing and publicity teams need to be excited about it to feature it at the bookseller expos which will in turn get their salespeople excited about it so it gets into bookstores and get their school & library teams excited about it to share it at education conferences and so on. I don’t write that to discourage you from doing marketing. If the publisher only has moderate expectations, YOUR marketing push could help exceed them! If you market your behind off, there’s a good chance your publisher will notice. It might make it easier to get your next book through acquisitions (remember, sales and marketing teams are at those meetings). It might mean they’ll give you a bigger marketing and publicity budget on your next book - and maybe your second book will get a bigger push at all of those expos and conferences. And with that network you built, those connections and friendships you made, and all those lessons you learned along the way - you’ll be that much more prepared for your sophomore effort. And don’t forget the most important thing is still: write a good book.  Josh Funk writes silly stories and somehow tricks people into publishing them as picture books - such as Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast and its sequel The Case of the Stinky Stench along with Pirasaurs!, Dear Dragon, It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk, Albie Newton, Lost in the Library, and more coming soon!
Josh is a board member of The Writers' Loft in Sherborn, MA and was the co-coordinator of the 2016 and 2017 New England Regional SCBWI Conferences. He’s written a 12-Step Guide to Writing Picture Books, which is free and accessible on his website. Josh grew up in New England and studied Computer Science in school. Today, he still lives in New England and when not writing Java code or Python scripts, he drinks Java coffee and writes picture book manuscripts. Josh is terrible at writing bios, so please help fill in the blanks. Josh enjoys _______ during ________ and has always loved __________. He has played ____________ since age __ and his biggest fear in life is being eaten by a __________. Find more information about Josh at www.joshfunkbooks.com and on twitter @joshfunkbooks.
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 By Allison Pottern Hoch If you’re a regular here at 24 Carrot, you’re no stranger to setting and reaching for your goals when it comes to your writing. But why should that end with the final page of your manuscript? Marketing is how you get that big, beautiful book in front of readers. Having marketing goals helps you to focus on your strengths and make the best use of your time and energy. Because you want to be diving into the next writing project, not spending every day on a new marketing plan. So where to begin? BIG GOALS: Identify Your Audience: Remember when you started your book and you thought you knew what it would look like when you were done? Odds are it’s become something bigger and stranger and more exciting than you ever imagined. Your audience is the same – your work will touch people you never thought possible. So now it’s time to really dig in and identify who those readers are and how to best reach them (I have some tips here). Know Your Why: With each marketing strategy you try — interviews, blog posts, events — you should ask yourself ‘why?’ What are you hoping to get out of the experience? What are you hoping your readers will get from it? This can help you target specific venues and outlets that meet your marketing goals. Play to Your Strengths: There’s a time and place for all kinds of marketing. But where should you put the most energy? You don’t have to do everything to have success. Identify the strategies that get you most excited and play to your strengths. Public speaking? Social media? Blogging? {For example, I love talking, teaching, and writing so I host workshops and write for a blog}. SMALL GOALS: Start now: You can begin building your fan base right now, even without a publication. Build your online network through social media and your in-person network through conferences, writing communities, and local bookstores and libraries. Lay the groundwork now so that when you do have that book coming out, you’ll have ready and willing co-marketers. Support others: Promote others as you would like them to promote you. Attend events, review books, buy books, and let people know about the writing and authors you love. Make a plan: Get out a blank calendar and colored pens. Identify key dates (publication date, bookstore events, relevant holidays, etc.) and how you need to plan around to market your work. Booking events? Posting social media updates? Sending out an evite? Put it all on your calendar. Set aside time to market yourself: This is hard. You want to be writing, I get it. But you can’t cram the marketing in last minute – it doesn’t work that way. Build time into your weekly schedule to promote yourself, your work, and your events. Allison Pottern Hoch is a writer and event coach with over eight years of experience in marketing, publicity, sales, and event planning. She spent four years promoting academic titles at The MIT Press before she went to work for Wellesley Books as a bookseller and event coordinator. She organized, hosted, and promoted over 150 events during her tenure, ranging in size from intimate workshops and lunches to multi-media events with over 700 attendees. She’s worked with veteran authors, celebrities, and debut authors. This September, Allison is teaching a Building Events workshop at Grub Street and leading a bookstore panel at The Writer’s Loft. For more information on her workshops and coaching services, visit http://events.pottern.com  By Francine Puckly Last year we featured an interview with picture book author, Donna Mae (the-wooly-adventures-of-self-publishing-an-interview-with-donna-mae.html). Donna had so many interesting promotional ideas for her books that we’ve asked her back to answer some marketing questions for our readers! How do you market your picture books? And do you have any marketing advice for other authors? I’m fortunate that being shelved in Barnes & Noble has given me access to in-store readings and posted events. But out-of-the-box thinking is crucial to promote your books. New and unique ideas for events and school visits make the difference. Here are a few ideas I’ve used:
Let’s talk about book-specific marketing for your two picture books. How have you adjusted promotional events and items for each book? Well, Marshmallows Galore is the story of what a little boy does with giant marshmallows that fall from the sky while he’s sleeping, so those events are going to center around marshmallows!
Marketing for The Wooly Adventures of Purl, (a story of a little girl who learns to knit and chaos ensues!) is a little different:
 You pulled together a book trailer for Marshmallows Galore. What was your process? How did you go about doing it? Once again I delved into the abyss. I decided to make a YouTube video first. I knew I wanted local help, and my brother had mentioned that a friend’s son had a lot of video-making experience. We talked on the phone and I viewed some of his work. We set up a time and place to do the filming. A local farmer that had bales of hay wrapped in white plastic. They look like giant marshmallows. (Score!) I then set about writing multiple scenes I wanted to reenact. I gathered 10 children and pulled some props together. A friend sewed and stuffed a giant marshmallow for my campfire scene. My husband is very creative, and he made a very realistic campfire from poster board. All the children wore tee shirts with my book cover printed on the front (a small expense). We did three scenes from inside and outside my house. My granddaughter and I read the book with scenes from the book to coincide. The children recited The Marshmallow Pledge and held individual signs. The videographer even wrote the music. It took weeks of planning and getting everyone on the same page. In the end I was happy with the outcome. I thought, “Next year the Oscar!” HAHA!! Once again, so much fun. You can see Donna’s video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F7AMRRsRCc  Do you have plans to create a book trailer for The Wooly Adventures of Purl?
As this book was released in November 2015, I’m still trying to catch my breath. Instead of a video, I would like to have a trailer for this book. I’m thinking the abyss is now looking for me! Do you have any last additional advice to give our readers on marketing? Although I have no formal marketing background, I have owned a few businesses over the years and worked in retail. It helped me to know and understand what people like and don’t like and how they respond to different things. It’s a full-time job and as I’ve said, some out-of-the-box thinking goes a long way! Thank you, Donna! Good luck to all of you who are stepping into the book marketing world. Be creative and put all of your experiences to work for you! ~ Francine  24 Carrot Writing is pleased to present a guest blog by the wonderful Lauren Scheuer. Lauren is the author and illustrator of Once Upon a Flock: Life with my Soulful Chickens, published by Atria Books (US) and by Souvenir Press (UK). Her work can be found in American Girl, Birds and Blooms Magazine, at the Roger Williams Zoo in RI, and in her blog ScratchandPeck.blogspot.com. We know you will enjoy Lauren's marketing tips. Your Online Identity ---or---Marketing is Fun!  By Lauren Scheuer I’m neither a great author nor a great illustrator. But I do have success as author and illustrator because I have an edge: I LOVE Marketing. Your appeal to publishers is measured not only by your creative work but by your public persona. Your publisher expects you to do a good amount of marketing, and your social media account is an essential platform. A strong online following is something publishers look for in an author. Here are some simple guidelines for marketing yourself on Facebook and beyond:  Choose an identity. This one little chicken image is the icon that represents me in all social media, and I never change it. I may not always be writing about chickens, but that’s fine. It’s my art, it’s me. It’s on my business card too. To come up with your own identity, make a list of things you love, or things you write about. Think of a simple image. It could be a cute animal, a a bottle of tequila, a dripping dagger… sketch it yourself or hire an artist to do it. A simple photo portrait would work as well. Maintain a flavor. On Facebook you can post photos, quotes, recipes, whatever you write about. But stay on subject. You are, or may one day be, a public figure. Things I post: •Pictures of my chickens and other critters, and pictures of my artwork. Also, links to my Etsy page when I add a new product, and photos of me being amazing Things I don’t post:
•Drunken party-selfies •Family photos at the beach •That amazing plate of nachos I had at the restaurant last night Join groups of like-minded people. If you write about drag-racing, then join all the related Facebook groups you can find: Grannies who Drag, Draggin’ Dragons, Greased Lightning Gals (…to name a few.) Post images to those groups and comment on other posts there. It’s a great way to make new friends. Post regularly. When I’m in enthusiastic marketing-mode, I post to my own Facebook page daily. Otherwise, every few days keeps me on people’s radars. Link to your other social media. For example, you can link your Twitter and Facebook accounts to make it look like you’re tweeting even when you aren’t. * This is only the tip of the iceberg as far as social media marketing. I also use Linkedin, Instagram and Pinterest. Because every bit counts, and because it’s not a waste of time! *I un-linked my Twitter account after November 8, for emotional reasons. Now I use Twitter only for unbridled political rage, while on Facebook I remain a mild-mannered chicken-lover. ••••••••••••••••••• To learn more about Lauren visit her website at laurenscheuer.com/ or visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lauren.scheuer . You can order a signed copy of her illustrated Memoir, Once Upon a Flock: Life with my Soulful Chickens, in her Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/il-en/people/lscheuer .  With the news of Annie Cronin Romano’s debut picture book sale, the 24 Carrot Writing crew has been buzzing about how authors develop marketing plans for their books. We’ve reached out to our writing friends and colleagues for advice and they have shared some wonderful tips. All month, we will be passing their helpful marketing advice along to you. Stay tuned this month for guest blogs by author/illustrator, Lauren Scheuer; author Josh Funk; and author event coach, Allison Pottern Hoch; as well as an interview with self-published author Donna Mae Pasiczniak. We hope you enjoy! |
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