Author Events: School Visits, Library Presentations, and Book Signings

Hello everyone!

So, once you’ve publish your book, you’re job is done, right?  Wrong!  Now more than ever, authors have to market their books.  A great marketing strategy is to book live events like school visits, library presentations, and book signings.

These sorts of interactions can by scary for authors, especially for the ones who hate public speaking or are introverts.  The following articles have tips for how to have positive author events.  I hope they help!

Tips for Authors:

“Organization & Preparation Tips” by Garr Reynolds

“How to Host a Successful Book Signing” by WestBow Press

Tips for Schools:

“7 Tips for the Perfect Author Visit” by Brad Herzog  (Authors, consider creating an event packet to give to give to schools, libraries, and other event locations to help stir up excitement for your visit – see point 4.  Trust me, as someone who’s acted since I was five, an engaged audience is way more fun than an apathetic one.)

Tips for Libraries:

“Publicity, programming and promotion – Arrange an author visit” by the Association for Library Service to Children

Happy writing and good luck marketing!

Katie

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How to Create a Successful Blog

Hello everyone!

While preparing for the 2017 NJ SCBWI Conference, I thought back to September 2015 when I became serious about getting published. I researched how to make a living as a children’s author (FYI – The answer is to publish a lot of books or get insanely lucky.). Then, I explored how to make myself appealing to agents and editors.

One term I kept seeing and hearing was “platform.” Somehow, I didn’t think they were referring to a wooden plane. Eventually, I figured out that a writer’s platform is his/her following – the people who will read the author’s newest book just because he/she wrote it. I concluded that I needed to grow an online presence.

In January 2016, I decided to create a writer’s Facebook page, website, and blog. My friends joined my Facebook page, but my blog was a graveyard. It was so disheartening to post weekly and not have anyone read my work. I wanted to delete my blog, but knew that was not a good marketing strategy. So, I stuck with it.

In early 2017, I discovered the magic of using tags and other bloggers started to find my posts. I also started using more photos to increase the visual appeal of my blog. After almost a year and a half of blogging, I finally feel like I’m getting the hang of it, and I still have room for improvement and adaptation. Isn’t that the majority of the writing process?

Below are some articles I wish I’d read before I created my blog. I hope you also find them helpful.

“The Author’s Dilemma: To Blog or Not to Blog” by Claire E. White

“How to Craft a Blog Post – 10 Crucial Points to Pause” by Darren Rowse

“How to Use Tags on Your Blog or Website” by Michael Gray

Happy writing and may you get lots of blog traffic!

Katie