My very own Deal News....Finally! :)

Those of you who know me may or may not know that I've been writing for 12 years.

I started in 2004 when my daughter was born and I had 5 months of paid maternity leave. I was immediately hooked and haven't looked back since.

I've had a tough road in publishing. I've written about 9 books over 12 years rejected by agents and editors. I had an amazing agent and then mutually parted ways. 

I ended up indie pubbing my Nature of Grace series (before it was cool) and worked hard to sell over 100,000 copies. I also worked hard to rise above the stigma of self-pubbing and turn off all the naysayers and criticism I received from many. TO be honest, I worked through many tears to get where I am. I stopped writing for 6 months and almost gave up at times, but I found my way back to loving writing again.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE indie pubbing and still do. It was the best decision I ever made (besides my husband :) But I always wanted a traditional deal. Whether I felt I needed to be legitimized or that I needed to prove it to myself or whether it was because I wanted to be a hybrid author and do both indie and traditional, I don't know.

But one day I got super lucky and found a new agent (my agent soulmate) and we have worked hard together to make that dream a reality.

So today, after 9 books, 2 agents,  12 years of writing, and months of holding in a secret and avoiding talking to anyone because I can't keep secrets very well...I can finally announce my first traditional deal. :) And I get to see my name in Publisher's Weekly - a dream come true.

And what's even better, it's with my best friend, Kimberly Derting (author of the Body Finder series).

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Greenwillow Preempts Pic Book Series

Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow Books preempted world rights, in a two-book deal, to a picture book series called Luna and the Scientific Method! by Kimberly Derting and Shelli Johannes-Wells. The first book is set for fall 2017. Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary represented Derting, and Lara Perkins, also at Andrea Brown, represented Johannes-Wells. Rennert said the series is about a “science-loving, question-asking girl” who discovers that “scientific inquiry... can lead to a lot of fun and adventure.” Derting (the Body Finder series) and Johannes-Wells (who uses the pseudonym S.R. Johannes and is the author of the Nature of Grace series) will be writing the series together; an illustrator for the books has yet to be chosen.

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We have no idea who will be illustrating our picture book babies, but what I can say is that Kim and I are crazy-excited to be working with Virginia Duncan, the publisher at Greenwillow, and her amazing team to bring our feisty, science-loving girl, LUNA, and her love science to girls around the world.

To me, this book is more than a traditional deal. More than a book. LUNA is a chance for us to make a difference in the lives of many future scientists to be. :)

Special shout out to our partner's in crime - Laura Rennert, Lara Perkins, and Virgina Duncan/Greenwillow for believing in me and Kim... and LUNA.

Because...

Science + Girls = AWESOME-SAUCE

YAY!!!!

Don't give up on your dreams - ever - they can happen. 

It just might take some time. :)

Yay!!!

Paint Me by Sarah Frances Hardy

This is a cute PB and finally out!

Red, blue, and yellow are just the tip of the iceberg when you have a good imagination. In this colorfully illustrated story, a young girl makes her way through the day—first painting a portrait of her dog, and then painting anything and everything she can find. 

With a simple, affectionate plot that teaches colors and embraces the “creative process” for many kids, Paint Me! offers a message of love and discovery.

Featuring a heartwarming story and simple yet striking illustrations from author and illustrator Sarah Frances Hardy, Paint Me! encourages children to explore their creativity and express themselves while learning their primary and secondary colors. For parents who remember reading Harold and the Purple Crayon when they were young, or for those who love more recent books about art such as Beautiful Oops!, this is one sweet story you won’t want to have missing from your library.

Sarah Frances Hardy

www.sfhardy.com

Children's book author/illustrator

coming soon . . .

DRESS ME!

Sky Pony Press

Spring 2015

PAINT ME!

Sky Pony Press

May 2014

PUZZLED BY PINK 

Viking Children's Books 

Spring 2012

RockABet by Kelly Polark

Today, I'm playing band manager to celebrate the release of Kelly Polark's ABC's of rock 'n' roll picture book, ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION. 

Are you ready to rock A to Z? Let's roll through some music history! ROCKABET: Classic Edition introduces classic artists of rock 'n' roll in catchy couplets. This fun book promotes the arts, literacy, and learning the ABC's. Cute illustrations depict musicians in a childlike manner. Reading rocks!


Tell me your rockin' picks if you could create your own band.

Band Name: 
First Gig: 
Lead vocals: 
Lead guitarist: 
Bass guitarist:
Drums:
Keyboards (optional):
Who would you choose for your supergroup and why?

Here's a band name generator to create your killer band name!

ROCKABET: The CLASSIC EDITION can currently be purchased online at Amazon or at select bookstores. Hardcover books will be available at various online retailers and stores in October.

Kelly Polark is Kelly Polark is a married mom of three and a children's educator and author from the Midwest. She has been featured in Spider, Ladybug, and Highlights Puzzlemania. Her published books include BIG SISTER, BABY BROTHER and HOLD THE MUSTARD! by Meegenius and ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION. In her free time, Kelly plays with her family, reads books, and sings along at rock concerts. 

Visit her websites, BOOK RECS OF THE ROCK AND FAMOUS (www.bookrecsthatrock.blogspot.com) and KELLY POLARK (www.kpolark.blogspot.com). Find her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AuthorKellyPolark) and on Twitter, too (@kellypolark)! 

She is also the author of BIG SISTER, BABY BROTHER and the upcoming HOLD THE MUSTARD! from Meegenius. Come visit her on Facebook and Twitter! Check out her website and celebrity book recommendation site, Book Recs of the Rock and Famous.

Lulu's Brew - Just in time for Halloween

Elizabeth Dulemba stops by to discuss the journey of LULU's BREW. I've known Elizabeth since high school and we recognized each other a few years ago at a Southern Breeze SCBWI conference. Small world! :)

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 My new picture book, LULA’S BREW, did not follow the normal publishing path. Yes, the dummy made the rounds in New York - twice. But that’s not how she finally entered the world. I made her into one of the first iPhone children’s book apps way back in 2009, when apps were a new and radical thing. Later I adapted her to the iPad too. She earned me a lot of press. I wrote articles for trade magazines, did some very high-tech school visits, and received several invitations to speak on the topic. I was one page ahead in the manual and that made me an expert. 

But really, I was just listening to my radar. I’ve come to trust it over the years. And this is what it tells me...

Traditional publishing is going through radical changes right now, much like the music industry did several years ago. Everybody predicted the downfall of the big publishing houses when ebooks started taking off, but I’m starting to see a trend in another direction. 

Ebooks are just another way to read. Just like paperbacks were a cheaper way to enjoy stories when they first came on the scene. Just like Gutenberg’s press made books more widely available rather than killing the hand-made book. 

I watch my young cousins with my iPad. I used to download picture books onto it, but it quickly became apparent that an electronic device meant games to them - not books. And I watch my own reading habits. I love my Kindle because I don’t have the space to keep every physical book I read. But I don’t like reading on my iPad - a backlit screen. My husband, however, reads on his iPhone and his Nook Color all the time. 

What this says to me is people like to read in different ways and now we have options. And for every method to read there is another way to create or produce a book. One of the most interesting reactions I heard on the topic was from Shelli herself over a breakfast get-together. She said her audience isn’t the same that buys physical books - it’s a completely new and different demographic. Her audience gobbles up books like candy - fast and furiously, and electronically. Fascinating.

And yet, I am coming full circle. LULA’S BREW was downloaded over 10,000 times as an app. But even with all her success, I kept getting emails from fans asking “Where can I buy the book?” Picture books, it would seem, still have strong appeal in print. 

I did consider self-publishing, but following Shelli’s experiences with her novels quickly proved to me that was an area I didn’t want to tackle. (It’s hard work!) So I was thrilled when I came across an article in Shelf Awareness about an ebook publisher, Xist Publishing, who was turning successful children’s ebooks into print books. Why? They discovered their books sold better and for more money when they were available both electronically and in print. How’s that for turning technology on its head? I immediately got in touch and happily, they flipped over LULA’S BREW and took it on.

But perhaps even more interesting is how Xist publishes books. They are a traditional house using unconventional methods. They use print-on-demand resources like Amazon’s Createspace and/or Lightning Source to produce their books as orders come in. It’s a radical idea that saves money and resources - there’s no warehousing and no waste. Might this be the wave of the future?

Two years ago everybody was predicting the demise of the print book. But today, I think we can safely say the physical book is not dead - at least in children’s books. It’s just that now we have so many ways to read. If anything, it seems that reading is a growing past-time among a growing audience!

I’m thrilled to include LULA’S BREW among the print picture books available this Halloween season.

Elizabeth Dulemba
" During my graphic design career, I was often Art Director, but always in-house illustrator, creating art mostly for child-related industries such as Buster Brown Apparel (I drew Charlie Brown and Snoopy for many years), Brach’s candy, even the Stone Mountain Laser Show. My graphic design background gave me an intimate knowledge of the publishing process and enough web savvy to create my own web site. In fact, I embrace all things technological and create my illustrations digitally. I even created one of the first picture book apps available for the iPhone way back in 2009, LULA'S BREW(downloaded over 10,000 times)."

To find her, visit her web site.

Marvelous Marketer: Tammi Sauer (Author, Chicken Dance)

Hi Tammi. Thanks for stopping by today! We appreciate you taking time out of your Chicken Dancing. :) Before we dive into your marketing advice, can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m the author of the picture books Cowboy Camp and Chicken Dance as well as the forthcoming titles Mostly Monsterly, Mr. Duck Means Business, Princess-in-Training, and Oh, Nuts! There are two additional titles I’d love to add to the list, but I’m still waiting to sign The Official Paperwork.

Although I thoroughly enjoy what I do, I never planned on being a children’s book writer. I had always assumed I’d grow up to be a third grade teacher, but two sentences from my favorite college professor at Kansas State University—Dr. Marjorie Hancock--changed my life: “Tammi, you have a gift with words. You should pursue publication.” Knowing she believed in me made me believe in myself. Marge, one of the chickens in Chicken Dance, is named in her honor.


I this it's amazing how some of us writers never actually set out to be a writer. We just followed a whim and a passion. How have you gotten yourself out into the writing world?

Online presence has been important. I have two websites and a blog.

The first website is my author site. This site is managed by me which consequently means it’s very basic.

The second website is a site devoted to Chicken Dance. Dan Santat, the book’s illustrator, did a remarkable job putting it together. I sometimes come up with content for that site, but Dan holds the well-deserved title Webmaster. He merits a crown. And maybe a cape.

I also maintain a blog pretty regularly.


I can see you think having an online presence is a good thing :). Given that, what three marketing channels - would you say - are most important to an author or illustrator?

1. A web presence is crucial. At the very minimum authors should have a website. It’s an easy way to let people know who you are, what you write, and how to contact you.

2. The idea of promotions shouldn’t make people want to curl up under their desks with a Dr. Pepper and some frozen Milky Ways. Even the most introverted authors can find ways to promote that fit within their comfort zone. Shrinking Violets offers a goldmine of suggestions that can help the shyest of authors navigate their way into well-maybe-I-can-do-that promotion.

3. Don’t evolve into such a shameless self-promoter that you turn people off. Yes, it’s great to get the word out. Yes, it’s exciting to share your news/joy/every-written-word with the world. But do it in doses people can swallow.


How do you feel about social networking as part of a marketing plan?

I'm on Facebook, LiveJournal, Twitter, Kidlit Book Trailers, and the Verla Kay Blueboards and greatly value these social networks. I’m involved in these networks not because I feel I need to be a Super Serious Promoter but because I enjoy connecting with other readers and writers. Being a children’s book writer can, at times, get a little lonely. It’s wonderful to have these online water coolers. Have I sold copies of my books because of social networking? Yes--and I am grateful for it!--but that is icing. Interacting with others who 'get it'? That’s the cake.


Besides being online as well as involved in social networking, what other advice do you have for authors/writers regarding marketing?

Strive to do something unique. Put a new spin on what others are doing. Make yourself stand out.

Keep your online content fresh. Give your readers a reason to go back to your website, Facebook Fan Page, etc. An easy-to-do example: add a What’s New? section to your website and regularly update it.


What creative things have you done to promote Chicken Dance?

Let’s see…I’ve been known to wear a chicken hat on occasion.

The Chicken Dance website offers freebies, dance lessons, and much, much more. The dance lessons portion is one of my favorites. Dan came up with the idea to post brief videos of us teaching new moves. Currently, Dan’s move “The Bellyache” is available. Every so often, we’ll be adding a new move to keep our readers (and dancers!) coming back for more.

Dan and I have a Chicken Dance Video Contest that offers faaaaabulous prizes. The link to the page and the commercial.

We also have a Chicken Dance Fan Page on Facebook that offers occasional contests, fun videos, and an "On the Road with Elvis Poultry" photo album.

In addition to my own Twitter account, I twitter from the perspective of Elvis Poultry. Always wanted to know about the life and times of a rock and roll rooster? What does he read? What does he eat? What goes on behind the scenes of the Final Doodle Doo Tour? Then follow Elvis Poultry. It’ll have you all shook up.


Did you market yourself to agents/editors before you got published?

I didn’t market myself to agents/editors before I got published. I was so new, it never occurred to me to try. Instead, I studied the craft. I readreadreadreadread. I wrote a really awful manuscript about a grandma and banana bread. But I pushed myself to get better. And better.

I joined SCBWI and attended conferences. I researched publishing houses. I researched agents. And I tried to find the perfect matches for me and for my work. Eventually, those efforts paid off. Not only am I working with some wonderful houses--Sterling, Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt, and Bloomsbury--but I have the amazing Laura Rennert for an agent.


Thanks for sharing your marketing advice with us today!

Thanks for having me, Shelli. Thanks, too, for this wonderful site. I've learned so much from my pit stops at Market My Words!