Writers in the Storm

by Ellen Buikema

Author visits are very rewarding for everyone involved. The teaching staff have nonstop stress, much like parents do, and appreciate the visit. The staff is entertained, or at the very least have some down time, and the students like interacting with the author.

Students of all ages enjoy meeting writers. Be ready for all kinds of interesting and sometimes personal questions, such as: How old are you? Are you rich?

As authors, we can educate, entertain, become better known as writers, and sometimes receive funds.

How to book a gig at a school

For me, what worked best was personal contact with teachers and school librarians. Check your local school district and ask about author visits. Keep in mind that security is an issue and you may need to be vetted by the district before being allowed access to the classrooms.

Social media can be helpful. Search for teachers who work with students that are at the reading level for your books. This can lead to long distance—Skype or Zoom—visits which are a lot of fun.

Compensation

Be flexible. Some schools don't have the budget for a big fee, but can promote you and your books before the visit to students and their parents. That way you can sell your books on the day of your visit.

Equipment

Make sure the school has the equipment you need for your talks. But be prepared to have to go without. Technology is fantastic, until it isn’t. Let the teachers know how you'd like the classrooms set up. But be flexible. Keep in mind that sometimes more than one classroom will share the space for your visit.

Not all schools have the same level of technology. Be a good scout—be prepared for anything. You may end up using a board and markers, one never knows.

Book information

Be sure to send a list, with recommended reading ages and cost, a few weeks before your visit, so your contact at the school has time to send it out to families.

Suggestions for the classroom or school library

Instead of merely reading from your story, try incorporating a few of the following ideas if you’d like.

Children have fleeting attention spans, so take this into account. Generally, the younger the child, the shorter the attention. What works for fifth graders will not translate well for kindergarten.

Pre-K and Kinder

Very young students do well with bright, cheerful voices that allow for lots of interruptions. They love an exuberant story told with lots of emotion and gestures. Illustrations work very well for them. If you have the capability to show your illustrated book on a large screen while reading the story you’ll keep your audience captivated.

First and Second Grades

I’ve had good fortune with poetry, specifically rhyming poetry, with the early grades. Try having the students help you come up with rhyming words and make up a logical, or nonsensical poem with the rhyming words.

Third Grade and up

The rule of three

For older students, breaking up your time into three segments is helpful. You talk for the first third, have the students work in small groups for second third, and everyone gets back together to share their projects/ideas for the last segment. Note that this method works very well for adults while giving talks at conferences.

This is a great method to introduce ways to write stories.

Chat with the teachers ahead of time to find out what you can add to their Language Arts time.

And now for something completely different

Aside from reading aloud to the students, teaching short lessons on writing, and using the rule of three: talk, small group work, big group share, you might try something different—particularly for the younger students. Puppets.

Sock Puppet Tim

The inspiration for Tim arrived when our eldest child, then eight-years-old, came home from school requesting a puppet she needed to bring to school … the very next day.

My very creative husband sewed a puppet together for her. I was in graduate school during the evenings and missed the puppet construction. And so, Tim was born. Although, he didn’t receive his name until thirty or so years later when he was needed as a sidekick for a video. A story for another day.

Tim has a wacky personality and voice.

Here’s a short script I wrote for a presentation on YouTube. In a classroom of younger students, something similar can be used with a teacher asking the puppet, in this case Sock Puppet Tim, questions on a particular topic. This script is about sharing.

Sock Puppet Tim Speaks About Sharing

Tim, why do kids have trouble sharing toys?  (VO) voice over

• Well, toys are very important to kids.
• What if someone said you had to share your car and didn’t say when the car would be back? How does that make you feel?

I don’t think I’d like to share my car unless it was very important. Good point, Tim. (VO)

Parents and kids all need to learn how to share. What can parents, teachers, and babysitters do to help kids have an easier time sharing? (VO)

• Adult could say, “It’s your friend’s turn to play with the toy in five minutes.”
• It’s easier to give the toy to someone else when you know you have more time.

Tim, what do you do when someone really can’t let go of a toy? Should you take the toy away and give it to another person? (VO)

• Oh, that’s a bad idea. That will only make the child sad and maybe cry.
• It teaches the kids it is okay to do what you want if you are bigger and stronger. I think this might be how bullying starts. Kids learn how to bully. They are not born that way.
• Adult could say, “Here is a different toy. See if your friend will trade.” That works for me! One time I really wanted my friend’s cool red car. It was really fast. She wouldn’t give it to me. Tim was sad.

What did you do Tim? (VO)

• Well, I had a purple and blue car. I showed it to her and asked if we could trade. She said yes. Made Tim happy!

Wow, Tim, you know your stuff. How did you get so smart? (VO)

• Well, I may just be a sock puppet, but I pay attention. Sharing is in Ellen’s book. See, this one here. Good stuff in here.
• Gotta go.
• If anyone has questions for Tim, go to www.ellenbuikema.com  Find me there and ask me questions. I answer. Ellen types. I have no hands or feet!! Typing with nose hurts too much.
• Bye Bye.
• I love YouTube!

Final thoughts

School visits are wonderful opportunities to get the word out, market your books, as well as practice working an audience. Public speaking is an artform that benefits from practice. The students and staff are a great audience. Enjoy!

Have you ever gone to schools for author visits? If so, what worked for you? Do you use the rule of three for presentations?

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About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image is a photo sent from a classroom teacher in Vermont of our Author Skype event.

by Lynette M. Burrows

So you’ve written a first (or 100th) draft of your novel. Your emotions range from “Look how good I write” to “It’s rough, but I can fix it,” to “It’s broken beyond repair.” Maybe you’ve done this revision thing dozens of times before, but this novel is turning into a nightmare. Join me in a deep dive into revision tips, tricks, and techniques.

This isn’t a journey for the faint of heart nor for the authors who believe their books are “good enough.” This is for those who want to create the best book they can. Writing out the process in detail makes it large and ungainly. How quickly you can get through this process depends on the condition of your first draft, the level of your skills, your ability to analyze your own work, and the time you have available to work these steps. With repetition it gets faster and smoother.

Full disclosure. I’ve spent a lot of years learning from some of the best in the business. You’ll see bits of learning from Margie Lawson, Donald Maass, Holly Lisle, and Dwight V. Swain, plus a lot more. These things have worked for me in the past or are working for me now. YMMV. Cultivate what you think might work and test it. There will be bits that work for you and there will be parts that absolutely do not work for you. That’s okay. A guide is a tool to use how, when, and where you need it. 

I will give you a lot of detailed steps over the next few posts I write. While I strongly recommend you do every step the first time you deconstruct one of your own stories, as your skill grows, what and how you edit will evolve. Those of you who have experience doing this sort of thing may wish to try a few of these steps. Explore any that appeal to you. 

Preparation

This is a systematic way to check for those times when you (the author) made assumptions, forgot details, or lost track of plot threads. You know the story you meant to write. Unfortunately, what you wrote and what your reader sees aren’t necessarily the same thing. Even those of you who use detailed outlines can miss a few things in the first draft.

Let It Cool

 One of the human foibles most of us have is that when we re-read our own work, we often see what we thought we wrote. This is especially true if you recently finished writing the story. That’s why it’s recommended that you let a draft sit in a drawer (digital or real) for a while. “A while” is a different time frame for each author. Waiting allows you to “forget” some of your words and your intentions so you can see the words on the page with fresher eyes.

Get a Fresh Perspective

Alpha readers read the complete manuscript can be helpful in giving you the headspace to see your manuscript through fresh eyes. I strongly recommend that you find two or three trusted author-friends read the completed story. Consider making a list of questions to give each reader. Questions to ask can include: Which character did you want to read more about? Where did the story go too slow or too fast? Where did you get lost or not understand what was going on? Could you see what was happening in your mind’s eye? 

Don’t make the list too long or you will overwhelm your reader. Invite your readers to give additional feedback.

Consider offering these first readers a free copy of the book when it’s published. If you have the means, offer an autographed physical book. These are not rewards, but thanks for the time and work that your first readers put in on your project.

Prepare the Manuscript

There are many ways to trick your brain into seeing your manuscript with fresh eyes. Many research studies have shown that people skim electronic text, so I prefer to use a physical print out of my story.

Some people change the font or the font style. Others change the color or size of the print. Try everything. Different things might work better for you at different times or on different manuscripts.  

Space and Time

I don’t know about you, but my desk is never clean when I finish the last chapter. To prepare for editing, I clear off all the old reference notes, research books, and printouts. A clean work surface signals your brain that this is a new project. 

Changing your location for the read through is another way to trick your brain out of the writing-editing modes and into a reader’s mindset. Consider reading your manuscript in your favorite reading spot. Or take it to the library or coffee shop.

You’ll need to schedule time—large blocks of time to do your revision. The first time, you’ll need far longer than you think you will, so be generous with your estimate. Plan for thinking time and writing time, and perhaps some time for research as well. 

Supplies

I recommend hand-written notes because they slow your thoughts down, but you do you. You’ll need physical or digital index cards, tons of self-adhesive notes of various sizes, and multi-colored pens or pencils or highlighters. Plus, if you haven’t started your story bible, you’ll need a notebook or folder designated to become your story bible.

Have a dictionary and at least one thesaurus available. These can be digital or paper according to your preference.

Stock your work area with plenty of water to drink and snacks if you’re the kind to go looking for something to eat and get distracted.

The late Holly Lisle recommended choosing a set of songs you can play on endless repeat. You’ll only play this music while you are working on your revision. It’s another way to cue your editor-brain that it's time to work.

The First Step

In the first step of this process, you need to take your “editor cap” off and put your “reader cap” on. You are going to sit down and read your manuscript in as close to one sitting as possible without changing one thing. You heard me. Not one tiny edit. Don’t even change a comma. 

I don’t know about you, but I find this darn near impossible to do. The way I trick my brain into not editing at all is by using those little self-adhesive flags, dozens of them. Every time I see something that I want to edit, I stick a flag on that line. That tricks my editor-brain to let go of that because the flag means I’ll get back to it later. 

When you finish reading, write a review of the book. Yup. Remember, you’re acting as a reader. Write out what you liked and didn’t like and how the book makes you feel now that you’ve re-read it. Give the book stars, even if it’s only a one star at this point. It’s okay because you’re going to learn how to fix all those things you see as problems right now. 

Next Steps

Next month, I’ll give you guidelines on how to take your story apart. Later we’ll analyze the parts, and in the following months we’ll learn to fix the broken pieces and make the most of the good parts, and finally we’ll put them back together so your novel shines like a multi-faceted diamond.

What do you find to be the hardest part about preparing to edit your manuscript? 

About Lynette

Lynette M. Burrows is an author, blogger, creativity advocate, and Yorkie wrangler. She survived moving seventeen times between kindergarten and her high school graduation. This alone makes her uniquely qualified to write an adventure or two.

Her Fellowship series is a “chillingly realistic” dystopian alternate history where even the elite can be judged an unbeliever and hunted by the Angels of Death. Books one and two, My Soul to Keep, and  If I Should Die, are available everywhere books are sold online. Book three, And When I Wake, is scheduled to be published in 2025.

Lynette lives in the land of OZ. She is a certifiable chocoholic and coffee lover. When she’s not blogging or writing or researching her next book, she avoids housework and plays with her two Yorkshire terriers. You can find Lynette online on Facebook or on her website.

Top image by Lynette M. Burrows

Second image by Michaela, from Pixabay

by Jenn Windrow

Today we are going to talk a little about the dreaded “M” word…marketing. 

Every author needs it, but not every author is good at it. I’m one of those authors who is horrible at it. Every year I say I am going to be a better marketer, and every year, I fail.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand what I am supposed to do.

Let’s spend some time today talking about one of my favorite parts of marketing, and something I am actually good at. 

Marketing quotes.

As a self-published author it is never too early to start thinking about marketing your book. In fact, you can start thinking about marketing while you are writing and editing, and I suggest you do.

What is a marketing quote?

My definition of a marketing quote is simply a great line or lines that you pull from your book and then use in a marketing campaign, paid ads or social media posts. They can be used for any kind of marketing that you do. They can even be used to entice readers to visit your table at author events. 

Simply put, marketing quotes are one of the most valuable forms of marketing any author can have. 

Why are they so important?

Marketing quotes are a simple, cheap, and effective way to showcase your writing to new readers and to give them a hint of what to expect when they pick up your book. And if you pick the right quotes, they will help you with sales.

How do you get marketing quotes?

Finding them is the easy part. As you are writing or editing, I suggest pulling out some of your favorite lines in your manuscript and placing them in a word document, so they are easy to find when you are ready to use them. And you will use them…frequently. Here are some I pulled for my vampire series as I was writing. I keep them in my files and add to the file and pull from the file as needed.

Here is an example of some that I have saved to my file.

I slid my dagger back into its sheath and replaced it with my stake. Righty had just bought himself a fast pass to hell.

When André had reentered my life after a fifty-two-year absence, I had imagined my days filled with brother and sister bonding. What I got was free porn on constant loop and dirty boxers on the bathroom floor.

I may be getting ready to meet a heavenly being, but that didn’t mean I needed to put on airs…just pants.

Delano was stoking the sparks of fear and prejudice that still lived inside the humans, hoping it became an out-of-control fire. A fire that would lead to craziness and chaos.

What do I do with the quotes after I have them?

Once you have your quotes, it is time to create graphics to use for promotional puposes. If you don’t have access to Adobe photoshop or illustrator, there are a couple of really great sites that you can use to create graphics. BookBrush and Canva are the two that come to mind. Both sites have limited free options and of course they have paid options as well. The price points aren’t that far off from each other and in the end, I think it depends on which site you are more comfortable using. 

BookBrush

Bookbrush makes creating eye-catching marketing pieces easy. They offer background images, fonts, and 3D templates to place your book covers on and make them look like actual books. They even offer already designed templates that you can use if you don’t want to create your own.

But they don’t only make marketing material, you can also create video’s, social media headers, covers, and just recently they added the ability to create box sets.

Here are a couple of graphics I have created using BookBrush.

Canva

Canva has come a long way in the past few years. I used to prefer BookBrush, but now I find myself switching between the two depending on what I want to do design wise. I even belonged to a marketing service that would set up templates in Canva for everyone to plug their own graphics and text into to use for promotion.

The one thing missing from Canva is the ability to put your cover on a 3D book image, otherwise it really is a great program.

Here is the latest design I did in Canva.

I am sure I am missing a program that has popped up in the past few years, but you can’t go wrong with the tools and options that both BookBrush and Cava have to offer. Even someone without a background in graphic design can create something beautiful using either site.

No matter what you use, you can't go wrong with a good marketing quote to help readers one click the buy button and download your book on their Kindle.

I’d love to see some line from your WIP or even published books that are worthy of a marketing quote, so let’s fill the comments with all the well written lines!

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About Jenn

Sass. Snark. Supernatural Sizzle. 

Award winning author of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Vampires, Greek gods, and a bit of Demon Destroyer fun for everyone.

Jenn Windrow loves characters who have a pinch of spunk, a dash of attitude, and a large dollop of sex appeal. Top it all off with a huge heaping helping of snark, and you’ve got the ingredients for the kind of fast-paced stories she loves to read and write. Home is a suburb of it’s-so-hot-my-shoes-have-melted-to-the-pavement Phoenix. Where she lives with her husband, two teenagers, and a slew of animals that seem to keep following her home, at least that’s what she claims.

Website: https://jennwindrow.com/