For My Shyer Readers (Help me out?)

Be one of Frannie's champions?

Recently we were polling new members at our summer swim club about how they heard about us and why they joined. The overwhelming reply: the pool was recommended by friends. All the fancy schmancy marketing in the world can't begin to touch word-of-mouth.

As a self-published author, all marketing is up to me and I'm learning as I go, but I've discovered the wonders of word-of-mouth apply even more in the world of books. Especially in the world of books. My readers fall into a few buckets:

1. Those who read and are willing to post a review in a public forum (usually Amazon or a blog mention). This, sadly for me, is the smallest contingent (2%?). (You know who you are, and I kiss you.) I had no idea public writing struck fear to the hearts of many. Public speaking, yes, but public writing?
   
   
2. Those who read and will give it a star-rating on Goodreads. No review, but a rating. I appreciate it, since at least their friends see it, and it adds to the ratings data. Again, this constitutes a handful of people (1%?).
   
   
3. Those who stop me in passing or shoot me a quick email/text to tell me they liked the book. Don't get me wrong. I am deeply appreciative, and it always makes my day, but marketingwise it doesn't go any further. (20% or more?)
   
   
4. The silent others. Granted, if they hated the book, it's probably best they keep silent. Or, I suppose, they never read it, in which case I really can't count them as readers. Hmm... (75% of the pie)

I came across an interesting re-post this morning that inspired me to take keyboard in hand and type this post for you because it had lovely suggestions for my shyer readers. If you enjoyed The Beresfords or Everliving or Mourning Becomes Cassandra or The Littlest Doubts or Mia and the Magic Cupcakes, would you consider letting someone else know?

• Post a link to the book on your Facebook page. Don't have to say much--just something like, "Need a summer read? I liked this one!" (One minute option.)
  
  
• Tweet about the book! (30 second option) Whenever I read something I would give 4 stars or higher, I tweet about it and do a Goodreads rating and post.
  
  
• Pin a copy of the book cover on your Pinterest page. Confession: I don't do Pinterest, but I'm guessing this would be another 30-second operation.
  
  
• Lend your copy out to someone you think might enjoy it. I don't mind. Maybe that person will love writing a public review. :) (No time at all!)
  
  
• Suggest it for your book club. I love to visit. Depending on your book club, this might be quick and painless to do, or you might have to prepare an oral report and be ready to do battle.
  
  
• Give a copy as a gift. Guess what all my kids' teachers are getting in a couple weeks? Uh-huh. They got Mia and the Magic Cupcakes for Christmas, so it's The Beresfords for spring.
  
  
• Invite friends to my next bookstore signing and go out for a meal/drink afterward. I'll be at University Book Store Bellevue on Wednesday, July 18, at 6:30. Walking distance to Zeek's Pizza, Black Bottle, and countless other fun places.

If you have other quick and easy and painless ideas to help me out, be sure to mention them in the comments. I so appreciate you all!

The Littlest Reviewers

They toot their own horns, but mine as well!

Ask any author what she loves, and she'll tell you it's feedback from readers. Yes, the positive stuff, but even the negative feedback has something to teach her. And book reviews--actual, official, honest-to-goodness write-ups on Amazon or Goodreads--well, those are gold.

I was in the kids' classrooms today, inventorying science kits and grading spelling tests and sharpening forests of pencils, for which the usual reward is knowing your child will not be singled out and beaten by the teacher for having slacker parents. But today there was a bonus! The third grader's teacher (who would like to be mentioned by name in my next book), surprised me with a packet of the class's book reviews. Yessir, twenty-one book reviews of Mia and the Magic Cupcakes.

Some of the highlights (spelling and grammar intact; names abbreviated to protect the innocent):

• "I thought your book was amazing, I loved your everything, it was awesome." - V.
  
• "It was so funny, I laughed my socks off." - D.
  
• "One of my favorite parts of the story was when Mia was teeny tiny and she was making frosting angels on the top of a cupcake. That made me think about being that small and thinking that a raindrop is a waterfall." - T. (is that creative, or what?)
  
• "Ms. B just read your book...to us, and when I looked around, I saw almost every kid was smiling." - N.

Love, love, love the reviews. Keep 'em coming.The earliest feedback to The Beresfords is starting to roll in--now if I could just get Ms. B to assign reviews to the adults, as well...!

Some Fireworks and a Few Duds

My patented pen-grip

Many thanks to those who turned out for my first-ever book launch party in Eastern Washington, and to my extremely loveable in-laws for hosting. Very interesting to see the ratio of physical-book to Kindle readers over there. On our side of the mountains we are somewhere between 25-40% ownership of e-readers, but only one of the 16 attendees in Richland had one. Small sample size, yes, but clearly I need to continue offering future works as physical books for the near future.

It's been a while since I posted on the fate of Everliving. My shift from quasi-Christian-fiction to paranormal romance threw a few people. Two readers told me they had difficulty suspending belief when it came to a ghost; another reported that she was reading the book only because I had written it, but it really wasn't her cup of tea. (She recommended I try whipping out a frothy book set in the Scottish Highlands. I don't currently have one in the works, but never say never.)

For those who don't mind a few things that go bump in the night, however, the response has been positive. The UW Bookstore recently selected Everliving as a Staff Favorite! For your delectation, I include the full review:

Can a ghost story be both spooky and romantic? When that ghost story is written by Bellevue author Christina Dudley, it certainly can be. With her remarkable talent in evoking a sense of place and creating atmosphere, Dudley spins an absorbing tale of lost love, mystery, and paranormal longing set amongst the towering giants of the forest and populated by a rich cast of characters, both living and dead. Her informative descriptions of trees, forests, and redwood canopies are entertaining and never dull or pedantic, and prompt even an acrophobe like me to consider roping up and viewing the world from above. I know that the next time I’m hiking through the forest, Everliving will certainly have me appreciating the trees… and also peering into the mist. -A.M.

 And in the you-learn-something-new-every-day category, it's come to my attention that people yet exist who have never ever ordered a single thing on Amazon. Yes, blog reader, I speak truth. How do I know? Because at least three people have told me they wanted to leave an Amazon review, but that meant first they'd have to buy something (i.e., have an Amazon account). If it's 2011 and they have not yet done so, I'm not holding my breath. Too bad, though, because they had great reviews:

• "A page-turner--perfect summer reading." - R. W.
• "Absolutely fantastic! I was hooked right away, and I loved how all of your characters were so real." - D. B.
• "LOVED it! The perfect amount of suspense and eerie to keep you glued up front (without scaring you to death...but enough teeth that I couldn't read it at night), and then you're so hooked on the relationship between Ben and Daphne that you just can't stop reading..." - K. F.

As always, you can find my books at the UW bookstore, from which they'll ship and gift wrap for free (1.888.335.7323) or on Amazon or the Barnes & Noble Nook.

In the Special Events department, catch me at Creative Mom Toys at the Landing in Renton on Wednesday, July 20, 10:30a for a Mia and the Magic Cupcakes reading. Very cool store with unique, quality toys and books. Despite being a Mia event, I'll have my other books with me, as always, which I'll be happy to sell like crack out of the back of my van.

Thanks for checking in!

Piece of Cake

Two outta three ain't bad.

Many thanks to stalwart fans young and old who made it to University Bookstore in Bellevue this morning for our Mia and the Magic Cupcakes event! I woke up at five stinkin' a.m. this morning having dreamt that it was Monday and I'd totally forgotten to show up. Yeeks! I thought. I didn't show and Margo had the flu, so I hope Teri went. Plus I was supposed to bring the cupcakes and cookies, so that means there weren't even any treats! In my dream I had to face the bookstore staff, weeping and apologizing.

I am relieved and happy to report that I did remember to go, and I did bring the sweets. The bit about Margo having the flu was real, unfortunately, not just because it meant she couldn't be there but also because it meant I picked up the cupcakes at Pinkabella, and not only did I get the two dozen minis, but I absolutely had to try today's Blueberry Pie flavor!

Front side of the display

And the back!

The staff at University Books outdid themselves again, from the adorable poster to the impressive display of Cupcakiana gathered from all UBS locations. Cookbooks, lip gloss, tote bags, knit caps, tissue paper, pins, Kleenex holder, Valentines, cupcake-making kits, and one very discreet volume entitled Kinky Cupcakes. These photos show the displays before they were mauled and manhandled by all the children at the reading.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Carolyn, Abby and Don--and Christian at the register! Abby went above and beyond because--wouldn't you know it--you gather any group of more than ten young children, and one of them is sure to pee his pants or throw up. In this case, we had barfing (this happened before I read the book, so don't blame Mia), and Abby valiantly took care of it because the show must go on.

And on it went. All the kids managed to follow and pay attention. We did some impromptu polling as we read. The results:

100% liked cupcakes
10% liked vegetables
0% knew what a rutabaga was

Thanks again for being a great audience and for your support of the book(s). I say books because two women showed up to buy my novels--for them the cupcake reading was pure frosting, so to speak. As a parting shot, I leave you with our book's placement. Uh huh, right next to Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing. The Leader of the Free World and your neighborhood authors and illustrators!

Hangin' with the President

A Girl's Gotta Watch Her Figure(s)

Hey, the picture may be small, but the launch sure wasn't! Thanks to friends, supporters, readers, and cupcake fanatics last night, Mia and the Magic Cupcakes sold 144 copies. The girl is off to a great start...

Putting out our own hardback children's book has been a learning experience, start to finish. Or at least start to midway point. Our work is not done until we've recouped some costs! But what a great evening. There were gifts for granddaughters (and a couple grandsons!), goddaughters,plain-old daughters, teachers, aunts, cousins, neighbors. Margo's house was storybook beautiful, as usual, with all the candles and Christmas trees (yes--plural), and did I mention the woman can bake? I enjoyed a chocolate-peppermint cupcake, but I know I saw Red Velvet and Pumpkin and Salted Caramel, among other flavors.

What a thrill it was to gather around the Christmas tree and celebrate together. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to have readers who laugh in all the right places. Your friendship is the best gift of all. XOXO.

If you missed out, catch the traveling roadshow this Sunday at Pinkabella Cupcakes in Redmond Town Center, 2-3 p.m. Kids welcome! Or Tuesday afternoon, 12/7, in Bellevue Square. And stay tuned for a University Book Store event in 2011...

Ten Things to Love About Mia

The Collaborators

Devoted readers! I know I haven't blogged in ten internet-years, but I promise it was for good reasons. For starters, Mia and the Magic Cupcakes hits the planet tomorrow, December 2! I drove to Centralia today to hang with my beloved partners in publishing, Gorham Printing, and came back 503 hardcover books heavier.

Along the way I also noted some things that will surely interest you:

1. Air Supply is coming to the Emerald Queen Casino on February 26. I kid you not. Air Supply is the ultimate wraparound band--so corny and painful that they're AWESOME. I don't know how they do it, making love out of nothing at all...
2. Everyone runs into little problems. Even the City of Olympia. Half the signs read (correctly) "Capitol," and the other half read "State Capital." Looks like our kids weren't the only ones to flunk the WASL.

But, oh yes--this post was supposed to be about Mia. And the ten reasons you would love her:

1. She has gorgeous full-color illustrations by watercolor artist Teri Sytsma.
   
2. She won the Pacific NW Writers Association Award for Best Children's Picture Book in 2010.
   
3. You can buy her at Pinkabella Cupcakes in Redmond Town Center and Bellevue Square. Which means you can get yourself a six-pack while you're there. Never met a flavor I didn't like, and Margo is always coming up with seasonal specials. Mmmm...
   
4. You can buy her at University Book Store in Bellevue or call it up to the University Book Store nearest you.
   
5. If you don't live locally, you can call University Book Store toll-free to have it shipped! 1.888.335.7323 Ask for gift-wrapping! (No Amazon on this title, I'm afraid--too expensive...)
   
6. You can attend one of the book launch parties to get your copy signed by both authors and the artist. Redmond Town Center on Sunday, December 5, from 2-3 p.m. or Bellevue Square on Tuesday, December 7, from 2-3 p.m.
   
7. You can pair her with a Pinkabella gift certificate for the perfect Christmas gift.
   
8. If you don't have younger children in your life, you can donate a copy to a favorite school or preschool.
   
9. If you lose your flashlight and the power goes out, Mia's endpapers are Pulsar Pink. Which means, if you're not familiar with the Astrobright line, that they're BLINDING. Practically glow-in-the-dark.
   
10. And finally, unlike my other books, Mia contains NO cussing and NO adult situations and is guaranteed NOT to offend any church librarians in your life. Hallelujah!

Rumor has it that one collaborator's relative is planning on buying eighteen copies, which boggles the mind. So get yours while the getting's good!

Ten Things to Be Thankful For

Oh, yeah! It's almost Thanksgiving, my personal favorite holiday because of all the food. It's like Christmas, only without all the stress of gift-giving. It's also the holiday in most danger of being overlooked because no one has yet figured out how to turn it into a retail extravaganza.

In celebration, and because gratitude is good for your health, I've come up with this list of woo-hoo things. Please feel free to add some of yours in the comments. Or in your head--I know many of you are either (1) shy, or (2) technologically stumped whenever you try to leave a comment here or on UrbanFarmJunkie.

1. Gretchen's book club is awesome! Not only do they try to out-do each other in food preparation (a wonderful thing to experience, if you're a visitor), but they were fun and lively and had a million questions about Cass and friends, the #1 burning question being, Is Daniel a real person? This is a funny one because a woman who works at our church also asked this. How could there be any appropriate answer? "Oh, yeah, he's that guy who teaches 3rd grade Sunday school. Totally hot--am I right? I've been fantasizing about that man ever since I saw him do the sock puppet skit." Anyhow, a great evening. Thanks for the enthusiasm, lack of James-bashing, and interest in the sequel.
   
2. Teri Sytsma has her new website up and running! If you don't happen to know Teri, she's the gifted illustrator of Mia and the Magic Cupcakes. The woman can draw/paint anything: people, nature, buildings, you name it. I love her work. And I should know, we have a Teri Sytsma original hanging in our family room.
   
3. Mia is coming soon! Yessiree, we've set the launch dates, so cross your fingers that the bindery will finish in time. Shoot me an email if you'd like an invitation to the Thursday, Dec 2 or Sunday, Dec 5 (Redmond Town Center Pinkabella) or Tuesday, Dec 7 (Bellevue Square) party. See my website for more details. Or heck, just show up. Mia is the perfect Christmas gift for the sweet child in your life. Pick up a few gift certificates as stocking stuffers, while you're at it!
   
4. The world is full of wonderful books. I've read two lately: Edith Wharton's The Reef and Yann Martel's Life of Pi. Yes, I know I was the last person on the planet to read the latter, but I bet I was the first person in fifty years to read the former. And you could not imagine two more different books. Great mash-up potential: stick one of those languid, Wharton dilettante men in a lifeboat with a tiger. Or let loose that hyena in the ex-pat, Parisian drawing rooms and watch the fur fly. I recommend both whole-heartedly.
   
5. The world is full of wonderful movies. Check out The Namesake if you caught Literary Night this year and got interested in the Generation Gap. That's it in a nutshell. And a much better movie than the adaptation of The Joy Luck Club. We also enjoyed The Book of Eli (post-apocalyptic wanderings with some biblical prophet stuff thrown in) and Me and Orson Welles (Zac Efron is darling).
   
6. Felix Hernandez won the Cy Young Award.
   
7. It might snow this weekend.
   
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows opens tonight.
   
9. One turkey gives you just enough leftovers that you wish you had more. Remember in Caddie Woodlawn where they had to eat the whole flock of turkeys, and they lost their taste for it. A crying shame.
   
10. Thanksgiving is about family and friends and food, and thanks be to God, we are blessed with all three.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my dear readers and friends!

Poor Man's Orlando

Yeah, Baby, the countdown is on. To the launch of Mia and the Magic Cupcakes, naturally, but, even more urgently, to opening day of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! What on earth we're all going to do when there are no more HP movies or books is beyond me. Leave wistful comments for each other on MuggleNet, I suppose. Or report the odd Daniel-Radcliffe sighting. Like the other night when we were watching the Simpsons' amusing spoof on Twilight, and Scott recognized "Edward's" voice as Daniel Radcliffe's! Will Team Edward and Team Jacob be left in the dust by underdog Team Daniel???

In any case, while we wait, the fam and I visited the AMAZING AND FABULOUS Harry Potter exhibit now featured at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. We could not believe how well-mounted this exhibit was. For the cost of a movie ticket you get to see zillions of props and costumes from the movies, grouped by scenes and themes. Everything from Hagrid's hut to Snape's dungeon lab to the Quidditch pitch to the Great Hall. They even had a copy of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore and Rita Skeeter's notebooks from the yet-to-be-released HP7! The first thing that strikes you is consuming envy that you weren't cast in any of the HP movies because the world the set designers created is so incredibly detailed. One tiny example: the Half-Blood Prince's potions textbook is on display, open to the recipe for Polyjuice potion--there's the recipe, and all over the margins and blank space are the Prince's handwritten notes! (Warning: if you haven't read all the books, do it now, before you see the exhibit. The poor (and foolish) woman next to me was checking out the little caption on the same Half-Blood Prince's textbook and said, "...And the Half-Blood Prince is Snape! Oh! Well, now we know. We hadn't gotten to that part yet" !!!)

Nor did I realize each character had his own distinct wand. I mean, when they're waving those things around in the movies on our diminutive TV screen, I couldn't make out the individual styling of each wand. Well, here they all are, from Harry's to Dumbledore's to Hermione's to Ron's Spell-o-taped wand in HP2. My personal favorites: Hermione's and...sorry...Draco Malfoy's.

There are nice little touches where you get to pretend you got enrolled at Hogwarts. In a brilliant moment of line-management worthy of Disneyland, small groups of 30ish enter the exhibit, meet a live robed gal with a lovely British accent standing by the Sorting Hat, and three fortunate children are "sorted." On this go-round, two of the fortunate three were my girls. Mostly because the accented gal said, "Could I get a vol--" and up shot the 11-year-old's hand with a speed that would have shamed Hermione. The 7-year-old noted this, and barely was her sister sorted into Ravenclaw than she had her hand up. Me, me, me--pick me! (One tiny area for improvement: I bet 90% of the kids want to be in Griffyndor, and the hat only has one Griffyndor speech, so we had to hear it twice. If you're doing three kids, better have three Griffyndor speeches.) No need to fear a lice outbreak of magical proportions, either, because the Sorting Hat just hovers right above each kid's head.

It's great fun, too, to read Umbridge's decrees and admire her "foul" kitten plates, and to see the Cedric Diggory buttons everyone wore in HP4 to show their disdain for Harry. To my disappointment, neither the plates nor the Cedric buttons were available in expensive/cheap knock-offs in the gift store. What a lost marketing opportunity. I also would have forked out for Gilderoy Lockhart's portrait of himself as Lawrence of Arabia and for Hermione's shoes at the Yule Ball and for Ron's afghan from the Griffyndor dorm room. And they probably could have charged a buck each for swooning girls to finger Cedric Diggory's school uniform or Quidditch robes. I'm just saying...

Anyhow, it's the perfect prelude to opening night. But be sure to buy ahead because if you just show up you might not get to enter right then. Better yet, go while the kids are in school--no need to elbow anyone out of the way when you want to scrutinize the sign-up list for Dumbledore's Army, and without any little ones along to steal the accented girl's sympathies, you might even be the one to get sorted.

Call Me Miss Controversy

Anyone take the New York Times? You may have seen this article then, recounting the decline in children's picture book sales and attributing said decline to pushy parents. The idea being, if you direct your preschooler toward more challenging chapter books, he will reward you with prodigal brainpower and prestigious college acceptance letters. Predictably, it's led to an online brouhaha with all sorts of accusations hurled and side-taking.

At the most recent writers conference I attended, the couple agents there who even considered representing children's picture books agreed that the market for them was tough, although I missed the session where they went into detail about it because I was at my son's swim meet. For whatever reasons--tough economic times, ambitious parents, "brilliant" children--this is not the time to put out a children's picture book.

However, I never pass up the opportunity to do something controversial or potentially financially-disastrous, so I'm pleased to announce the imminent arrival of Mia and the Magic Cupcakes. Yes, a children's picture book and my first collaborative effort. Joining me are Margo Engberg, proud proprietor of Pinkabella (the luscious cupcake stores) and artist Teri Sytsma. Three friends, three moms, one book!

In all our glory. 

It's one of the bummers in life that the best-tasting foods aren't always the best for you. Take cupcakes, for instance. Little Mia wishes her favoritest food would help her grow "big and strong," and when she receives a magical birthday cupcake, all her wishes come true. 

She thinks.

This gorgeous cover was designed by Kathy Campbell at Gorham Printing, the same designer responsible for the Mourning Becomes Cassandra and The Littlest Doubts covers.

We're hoping for a November roll-out. Believe me, you'll hear more about it!

And I thought, in honor of the still-alive-and-kicking children's picture book category, we could name some recent favorites. My kids, for example, at ages 11, 9 and 7, still enjoy the Skippyjohn Jones series. Who am I kidding? I love Skippyjohn. And Jujube. And Jillyboo! How about you?

Outtakes from a Conference

The remaining two days of the conference were a total blur, but I did glean a few more nuggets.

• The average traditionally-published book takes 18 months to hit the shelves. The countdown starts from when the book is sold, so not included are the months and years you took to find an agent and for the agent to sell the book. Of course, if you're not a first-time author, you can just estimate 18 months. The long lead time consists of editing, marketing, galley reviews, publicity, sales, etc. At gunpoint a book can be gotten out in under a year, but such "crash" books are few and far between.
  
• The Editors Panel rejected the notion that editors no longer edit. One said specifically, "First-time authors need a lot of work." Not for grammar, presumably, but for storyline. I would agree with this. When I considered whether MBC could be cut down from 130,000 words (I got it to 127,000 or so), I would have loved a professional opinion.
  
• Traditional publishing remains "very incestuous." Everyone knows each other; everyone talks. Too bad for me, since my son's swim meet meant I was a no-show for my speed-pitching appointment with five agents and then had to try to cancel a later one-on-one. I'll be known as "the flaky one." But hey--my son will still be talking to me ten years from now.
  
• It's not impossible to go from self-published to traditionally-published, especially if you're talking about a non-fiction work. With fiction, unless you sold bazillion copies out of your trunk or electronically, publishers might be more interested in what else you have. Your next project, which they can then sell to that base you knocked yourself out building.

One agent who represents everything from children's picture books to YA/adult crossover listed her "five secret ingredients to good fiction":

1. A unique, fresh voice. Authentic and age-appropriate. Avoid too much slang and use profanity as a "spice" only when necessary.
2. Memorable, dynamic characters whose lives can be imagined going on after the book ends. They don't have to be likeable, necessarily, but the reader has to be able to connect.
3. Coherent and satisfying narrative structure. Everything in the story is there for a reason, and the reader is carried forward from the very beginning. Imagine arriving at a party "fashionably late." That's when your reader should come into the story
4. The universal in the idiosyncratic. Every story has already been told. What is your unique angle?
5. Literary voice with commercial conception. Has to be pitchable. What if you thought you were an ordinary, neglected boy, but then you found out you had magical powers and people hoped you would one day defeat the most evil wizard of all time?

 There you have them: the nuggets. Let me conclude with a lowlight and a couple highlights:

Lowlight. Getting to the end of my cougar-cruise pitch during my one-and-only not-missed agent appointment, only to have her say, "Well, I do books with a male protagonist." WTH??? And why didn't I have that in my notes? (When I related this incident to another attendee, she said, not unkindly, "Oh yes, I remember her saying that." Crap! Did the agent drop this crucial bit of info when I was playing Words with Friends???)

Highlight #1. My fellow writers and would-be authors. Met one couple that told me about a psychopathic Maltese (i.e., man from Malta) with multiple-personality disorder who dated their friend. Me: "How did she find out he had multiple-personality disorder?" Them: "He kept asking her, 'Do you want to meet Vlad?'" I am so using that in a book.

Highlight #2. Having my children's picture book MIA AND THE MAGIC CUPCAKES win the First Place Zola Award in Children's Picture Book or Chapter Book! A total surprise, and, with the accompanying $600 check, a welcome one. Go, Mia!