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Monday, May 12, 2014

MMGM: Children's Book Week



Today for my MMGM post, I'm joining Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews in celebrating Children's Book Week! My first post this week is a guest post from Jonathan Auxier.


Before I get to that and the giveaway I want to share some great news. My book, It's NOT Just A Dog! is now available on Netgalley if anyone would like to review it. On June 1st, I'd  love for you to join us for some great giveaways, contests and more on our month long blog tour!! There are a few open spots if you need a post for June. I'm even willing to create the entire thing for you and all you have to do cut and paste. How's that for easy?

Now, back to celebrating Children's Book Week! Today we have a guest post by Jonathan Auxier!! 


AFTER THE BOOK DEAL – Guest Post by Jonathan Auxier

The Internet is full of great advice about how to sell a book, but what about after the sale? When my first book came out, I found it was surprisingly hard to find answers to some basic questions. Like most authors, I learned most of the answers through trial and error. And so in anticipation of the launch of my new novel, The Night Gardener, I’ve decided to write down everything I learned so I don’t make the same mistakes twice!

AFTER THE BOOK DEAL is a month-long blog series detailing the twenty things I wish someone had told me before entering the exciting world of children’s publishing. Each weekday from now untilMAY 20, I will be posting an article on a different blog. Follow along and please spread the word!

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Death by 1000 Cuts: Keeping the Busywork at Bay

Last week we talked about some of the perils of being an author. I wanted to continue that conversation with one final topic: time management.

Neil Gaiman said it best: “There was a day when I looked up and realized that I had become someone who professionally replied to email, and who wrote as a hobby.”

No sooner do you start your career as a professional writer than you find yourself drowning in emails, tweets, blog posts, Skype requests, and school events. Even if you do manage to keep on top of it all (which is nearly impossible), it’s doubtful you’ll have any time or energy left to actually write your next book. Below are a few things that have helped me keel the busywork at bay ...

Unplugging

The first step is admitting you have a problem. While working from home can be fun, it can also be incredibly distracting. I, like many people, can waste an entire day reading email and Twitter and Facebook and book blogs ... all of which technically counts as “work.” Some people (we’ll gall them “grownups”) are able to be disciplined and not let these distractions get out of hand. Sadly, I’m not one of those people. In order to avoid wasting time, I have to remove the temptation altogether.

My work computer, for example, has password-protected wi-fi access ... and I don’t know the password. The only person who knows the password is my wife. At the start of every workday, I log off of the internet. Then, after dinner, my wife logs me back in so I can check up on blogs and such. Is it annoying? Absolutely! But it is also essential to keeping me focused on writing. (To be clear: this was my idea, not hers.) If you don’t have an amazing, patient wife then you should probably at least get a piece of software, likeFreedom.

Sadly, my procrastination goes beyond wi-fi. Phones are just as bad! Last year, I decided to “dumb down” my smartphone so that I wouldn’t waste so much time on Facebook and Twitter and (let’s be honest) Candy Crush. Using this LifeHacker guide, I got rid of all my apps except for maps, Wikipedia, and email. This was a wonderful change, and I could see improvements in my life almost instantly. For those who struggle with phone distractions, I would highly recommend it.




Email is not Art
As an author, I take words seriously. One result of this is that I tend to treat emails and text messages like sacred documents—often revising and proofreading to the point of absurdity. It’s taken me a while to realize that beauty has no place in emails. Let go of your ego and focus on responding quickly and efficiently.

While I’m on the subject, have you heard of Google’s “canned responses” feature? It allows you to paste pre-composed messages into emails. When you’re fielding questions about events and signings, this can be a huge timesaver. It’s also good for when people email you seeking general FAQ-style advice. No need to re-invent the wheel every time you respond!

On a related note, I think it’s important to embrace “canned responses” elsewhere in life. When you publish a book, a lot of people will want to interview you for blogs and podcasts. Most of these interviews will contain the same set of basic questions (“Where do you get your ideas?”). Don’t feel pressure to come up with unique answers to these questions. Instead, develop some well-crafted responses and accept the fact that you’ll be repeating them a lot. If the interviewer wants to go more in-depth, they’ll ask a follow up.

Protect Your “Good Hours”

One last note about time management. We’ve already established that busywork is not your real job. For that reason, I think it’s important to keep that stuff in the margins whenever possible. If, for example, you are your most creative in the morning—you shouldnever read email in the morning. Similarly, if there’s not enough time to both write and answer email in a single day, make sure it’s the email that suffers. Reserve your productive hours for the work that truly matters—your stories deserve it.

That’s it for AFTER THE BOOK DEAL! Tomorrow we’ll be talking about how to craft an effective school program! In the meantime, you can catch up on previous posts (listed below), and please-oh-please spread the word!

AFTER THE BOOK DEAL – Stops So Far

WEEK ONE: Before Your Book Comes Out
4/21 – Finding Your Tribe: entering the publishing community
4/22 – Do I Really Need a Headshot?: crafting your public persona
4/23 – I Hate Networking: surviving social media
4/24 – A Night at the Movies: the ins and outs of book trailers
4/25 – Giveaways! … are they worth it?

WEEK TWO: Your Book Launch
4/28 - Can I have Your Autograph?: 5 things to do before your first signing
4/29 – Cinderella at the Ball: planning a successful book launch
5/1 – Being Heard in the Crowd: conferences and festivals
5/2 - The Loneliest Writer in the World: surviving no-show events

WEEK THREE: The Business of Being an Author
5/5 – Handling Reviews … the Good and the Bad!
5/6 – Back to the Grindstone: writing your next book
5/7 – The Root of All Evil: some thoughts on money
5/8 – The Green-Eyed Monster: some thoughts on professional jealousy

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JONATHAN AUXIER writes strange stories for strange children. His new novel, The Night Gardener, hits bookstores on May 20—why not come to his book launch party? You can visit him online at www.TheScop.com where he blogs about children's books old and new.



Drumroll please... And now for my Children's Book Week Giveaway!!! 

I'm giving away three wonderful books along with digital copies of my new book, It's NOT Just A Dog! Unfortunately, I'm only able to send the hardcopy prizes with in the U.S. An International winner will receive my digital book and the hardcopy will go to the next winner with a U.S. address.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Join me again tomorrow for another post and more chances to win! In the meantime here are the other blogs participating in the Children's Book Week Giveaway with their own giveaways!!





28 comments:

  1. I knew a teacher that got her kids excited about reading by having a contest. Students would be challenged to read in the most imaginative place they could think of. Then they could send her a picture. It kept them interested in opening up a book.

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    1. I love that idea Jeremy! I could get my grandkids to send me pictures of reading if fun places. Thanks for sharing, I'm doing this for sure!!

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  2. I'm loving Jonathan's series all across the blogosphere, Pam. Off to Tweet about it now.

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    1. Thanks for tweeting it, Michael. He has some really worthwhile posts.

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  3. I've been a little out of the loop in the blogging world, so I didn't know you had a book coming out! (A second one, I see!) I love dogs and MG, so I'll have to read this series. :)

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    1. I would love for you to read and review my book. I think you'll love my character, Madison. She's a bit snarky, but underneath she is a good friend.

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  4. Forgot to mention -- I enjoyed Jonathan's post, too! Very good things to keep in mind!

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  5. We have a contest to see who reads the most, and also we do the library contest each summer, they usually get to go to a baseball game.

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    1. Sometimes an old fashioned competition will bring out the best. Thanks for stopping by.

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  6. I really enjoyed this post too! I'm always looking for ways to get rid of the busywork in my life--these were all great ideas!

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    1. Yes, I think I picked out several things that I'm going to implement. The Unplugging is going to be the most difficult. I love the password idea. lol

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  7. I always loved the library summer reading when I was a kid...except I was a big reader, so it was too easy for me!

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    1. I love that there are so many reading logs and trackers that you can print off on Pinterest.

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  8. Make sure you have a wide assortment of reading material available at all times. Weekly trips to the library help as does participation in the library's and various book stores summer reading programs.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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    1. Hi Nancy, I have very fond memories of taking everyone of my children to the programs they had at the library as well as using their summer reading programs. Thanks for stopping by.

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  9. letting them pick what to read

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  10. I'm working on setting up a writing club. Part of the club will involve reading each others' stories as well as searching for inspiration from published authors.

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  11. Our local pizza shop gave kids a free small pizza for so many consecutive days of reading. My boys are very food-motivated. LOL

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  12. introduce them to scifi and fantasy, always fun reading about other worlds - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com

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  13. All these giveaways are GREAT, Pam! And, like you, I'm in my fifties, too! Love the whole concept of the blog :)

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  14. My kids want to go to the library they are running at the neighborhood elementary school this summer.

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  15. I like the companies that give students incentives to read (such as drawings or other prizes). Thank you


    candieluster(at)gmail(dot)com

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  16. We do a ton of camping in the summer months. I love to read while on the road in my tent, and my kids like to snuggle and hear stories and read stories to me as well.

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  17. Wow, so many good ideas...thanks so much for Jonathan's guest post! LOVE the wi-fi login by wife trick, unfortunately, I'm not that strong and would be begging my husband to log me in by about 9:30AM. Speaking of my husband, I can't wait to find some of those canned responses for his e-mails ;)

    So glad to have connected, Pam, through the Children's Book Week Giveaway and look forward to checking out your new book.

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  18. I'm lucky. My daughter loves to read. My son is learning to read much better, thanks to all the help I've received from my blogger friends and blogs such as this. I've found that simply winning a book is all it takes to make him interested. He knows I won't put in to win a book on a topic he won't like and he loves to read as a family right before bedtime. The new graphic war novels have been a wonderful addition to his reading library. michelle_willms at yahoo dot com.

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  19. We participate in several local challenges through the public library, school, merchants, etc and give the kids "rewards" for meeting goals!

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  20. Great giveaway - thanks for joining us in the Giveaway Hop. Pinning and tweeting...

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  21. We have contests to earn extra tv time and special outings alone with mom.Most of my 4 kids love to read so I really do not have to do anything speacial.My 16 year old is like me and read every day for fun.

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I would love to hear from you!