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!!