Andrea J Loney on Preparing for Publication

By Susan J Berger and Andrea J Loney

Meet Andrea J Loney, whose first picture book Bunnybear will hit the shelves January 31st.
Blurb:
Although Bunnybear was born a bear, he feels more like a bunny. He prefers bouncing in the thicket to tramping in the forest, and in his heart he's fluffy and tiny, like a rabbit, instead of burly and loud, like a bear. The other bears don't understand him, and neither do the bunnies. Will Bunnybear ever find a friend who likes him just the way he is?

Sample Editorial Reviews:
"Despite the lighthearted tone, Loney's story has important things to say about identity and acceptance, and is valuable both as entertainment and a conversation-starter." Publishers Weekly, November 7, 2016

"A sweet story of friendship and acceptance…the message of being true to one's nature is one many children need to hear." Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2016

Susan's review. Funny, charming, An implied message we all need right now. I plan to buy a copy for each of my grandchildren. I loved it.

Andrea's first ever Book signing is at Children's Book World this Saturday, Feb 4th, 2:30-4:00 PM
There will be puppets and sweet things and games.
address: 10580 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles 90064
More book signings at the end of this post.

Bunnybear is not actually her first book accepted by a publisher. Andrea won the 2014 Lee & Low New Voices Award for her biographical picture book, Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee. It's illustrated by Keith Mallett ( http://www.keithmallett.com/ ) and will make it's way onto the shelves in May, 2017. 

 In other news. Andrea will be inducted as a Brown Bookshelf Honoree on February 1st.

And this just in from Publisher's Weekly:
Erin Clarke at Knopf has bought world rights to Andrea J. Loney's Double Bass Blues, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, a picture book celebrating music and family in which a black boy shoulders his beloved double bass from his suburban school to his city neighborhood. Publication is slated for spring 2019. Jill Corcoran at Corcoran Literary Agency represented the author and the artist represented himself. I couldn't be happier for Andrea, and for her agent, Jill Corocran

I asked Andrea how she prepared for her book launch. here's her answer.

Preparing for Publication

One of the things I did not know when I first started writing picture books is how long it actually takes to get them out in the world. It can take a long time. Three years from sale to publication is not unheard of, and it can take years to get a book ready for sale. I’ve heard this process described as “hurry up and wait."

 

But once a book is sold and printed and about to hit the shelves, things can speed up at a dizzying rate. I’ve heard this phase described as “wait and hurry up.” So as soon as I sold my first book, TAKE A PICTURE OF ME, JAMES VANDERZEE!, I started searching for information on how to publicize my book. Most places mentioned getting a website, staying active on social media, connecting with bloggers, and things like that. Then I found this 15-tab book marketing preparation spreadsheet  It took me a few days to even read through it, but there were so many of great ideas for promoting a book online and offline, and through various forms of media. I downloaded this spreadsheet. It's incredible. A great author tool.

 

Also as a book gets closer to publication, the publisher’s publicity department sends out an author questionnaire. This multipage list asks questions about the author’s publishing contacts, local magazines and newspapers, organizations that might be interested in the book, and more. Then the publicity department combines the author's information with their own contact information to circulate advance reading copies of the book-to-be-published. So far I’ve filled out these forms for two publishers since both books will be published in the next five months.

 

Bookstore visits and signings are also very important for promoting a new book. Luckily, my publisher connected me with Tracie, the publicist, and she booked me to read BUNNYBEAR at three local bookstores and a children’s museum. There are lots of things that Tracie is doing behind the scenes, which is great because then I can focus on promoting my book by writing blog posts, engaging potential readers on social media, and inviting everyone I know to my book events.

Thank you, Andrea. I'm definitely going to the Children's Book World signing, bar flooding or famine. You are one of the most creative teachers I know and I can't wait to see what you have planned.

Andrea other events so far:

 

The Zimmerman Museum
Thursday, February 16 at 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM6505 Wilshire Blvd. #100, Los Angeles, CA 90048

 

Vroman's Bookstore
Saturday, February 18 at 10:30 PM - 11:30 AM
695 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, California 91101

 

Pages Bookstore Monday, February 20 at 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (President’s Day)904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

 

Getting Reviews for Your Book

by Susan J Berger

The last ten days have been crazy/amazing.
My new book, Mom Is There a Santa Claus? came out on September 20.  Currently it's available as a paperback on Barnes and Noble and Amazon and as a 5.00 PDF for your eReader at Guardian Angel Publishing.

When I found out, the book was out on Amazon and B&N,  I was thrilled. (I worked a night shoot on American Horror Story on the 21st and didn't open my email for a couple of days.) Now I needed to try and get reviews. I am still working on that because I did two additional days on AHS, traveled to Port Angeles WA for my sister's 65th birthday plus I had blog posts due, an audition to film and pages due for my picture book critique group and my romance book critique group. And I am still playing catch up. I also want to find someone to translate Mom is There a Santa Claus? into Spanish. Oh the magic and confusion of living!
Getting Reviews 
I started by reaching out to fellow authors, offering a PDF ARC in exchange for reviews. I had a few takers. The offer is still open. If anyone wants a PDF ARC, email me at sueberger3@aol.com

I put Mom Is There a Santa Claus?  on SCBWI's winter reading list. I purchased an SCBWI Book Blast page.

Here is a list of reviewers I wanted to contact:

The Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/get_rev.htm Reviewing print books/CDs/DVDs is always free of charge. They charge a 50.00 Reader Fee for eBooks
I now have my books, so I will be sending one.

The Picture Book Reviews
https://thepicturebookreview.com/review-policy-disclosures/

If you’d like to contact me, please send me an email at: thepicturebookreview@gmail.com.

Review Policy: Hello! As of January 1, 2015:  I happily accept picture books for review.  If we love the book, I’ll write a review about it.   I accept physical copies only — ARCs, galleys, etc. are fine — it just needs to be something I can sit down and read with my family.Thank you so much for thinking of me.  I’m flattered that you’d like your book reviewed on my site. Also, good luck with your book!  Picture book authors and illustrators

I will be contacting her. 

Readers Favorites.Com

https://readersfavorite.com/book-reviews.htm  All reviews are free. They post on their Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You CAN pay for more stuff. I didn't want to. I submitted an ARC PDF for review on 9/25. The review was up 4 days later.

KidReads.com

Here's what their contact page says:

I am an author, publisher or publicity agent and I would like my book to be reviewed on Kidsreads.com. What do I do?
To submit a book for review on Kidsreads.com, please send it to:
The Book Report Network
250 West 57th Street
Suite 1228
New York, NY 10107
Although we cannot guarantee a review, we consider every book that comes into our office. Due to the volume of submissions that we receive, we cannot contact authors or publishers on the status of a book for review. Typically books are reviewed within 3 months of publication. We suggest you sign up for our newsletter, which will list the content that we are promoting.
Please note that at this time we do not review eBooks, POD Books and other self-published titles as we only offer books that are available with wide distribution offline as well as online.

Places I will not submit:

Kirkus Book reviews. HUGELY expensive. If your publisher is paying. Great.

The Children's Book Review

https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/dedicated-review-submissions $195 for a review. No thanks. They doo have a place where you can giveaway a copy of your book. That might be worth checking out.

 Places to check out:

 Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

They have a list of websites. I have not checked them all out yet.

Next week I am one of a group of local authors doing an event at the Burbank Public Library. Please drop by. Hilde is baking me cookies to attract buyers. My hope is a few people will be interested in buying a book, but you can have a cookie without buying a book. Also a bookmark or two.

Burbank Public Library Local Authors' Showcase

Saturday, October 15, 2016 -
1:00pm to 4:00pm
300 N. Buena Vista St
 Burbank, CA 91505

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AUTHORS.
Come and meet 50 local authors of mystery, science fiction, fantasy, children’s, young adult, self-help, romance, horror, and more!
Buy books, get autographs, and meet new authors.
Door prizes will be provided by the Friends of the Burbank Public Library.

 Now many of you are a lot more experienced than I am. Have you got any advice for me on where to get reviews, or how to get my book into a library? I am so grateful for advice. For those of you that are new at promoting. I hope the above helps.

Waiting for a Book Release

by Susan J Berger

I am so lucky. I have two picture books coming out. That's a wonderful feeling. But the wait for their actual publication can seem forever. The timing varies so much.

Mom, is There a Santa Claus had a long journey. I think I wrote the original in 2004. After many trips to the critique group, I sent it to Jennifer James at The Los Angeles Times in 2009 

I was unsure anyone would publish a story asking  if  Santa Claus was real. Those of us who cherish Santa Claus do everything in their power to keep Santa alive. But  one day most children ask the question.

Jennifer expressed an interest and asked me to cut it to 600 words. I did so and it was scheduled for publication. Then Jennifer James left and so did the column.

In 2014, I sent it to Lynda Burch at Guardian Angel Publishing. Lynda asked for changes. I made them and I signed a contract with GAP in June 2014. I knew there would be a wait because the awesome illustrator, K.C. Snider always has a huge list of books to illustrate. I got the cover picture from K.C. in July of this year.

 

I love the picture. And I'm more excited than ever to see the finished book which has  a planned debut day for the end of September.  Twenty seven months is really not a long wait. It just seems like it.

 

My other picture book  Log on Log is still in the pipeline at Beach Lane Books. I signed that contract in September 2011.  I spoke to Andrea Welsh at Conference this year. She said she would get back with me after talking to the illustrator. I have an illustrator? Happy dance!

  Greg Pincus waited eight years with Arthur Levine his delightful mid-grade book The 14 Fibs of Gregory K.  His sequel to 14 Fibs is coming out much quicker. The Homework Strike will be out January 3, 2017

 

 Andrea J.Loney had a different journey. Her delightful book, Bunny Bear will be out on December 2016. I know that both Greg and I were in the group at the Westside Schmooze which critiqued Bunny Bear in April 2014.  She had 17 rejections.  Her agent, Jill Corcoran sold the book Sept 4, 2015 and it will be out December 2016.

 

Her first book, Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee, which won the 2014 Lee and Low New Voices award in 2014 won't be out till 2017.

In end, the length of the journey doesn't matter. The joy of the journey does.

I got a lovely rejection from Melissa Manlove at Chronicle Books for Nat the Rat and Fat Cat. I need to send that one out again. Tasha the Magnificent has been on an agent's desk for two months. The miracle is that the agent asked for the full. Tasha has had thirty-five rejections so far.

Two questions: If you are published, how long did you wait between contract and publication?

If you are on the submission circuit, how many times have you submitted your ms?

Write on!

Almost forgot! If you are a local author, Burbank Public Library is doing a Local Author event on Saturday, October 14th at the Buena Vista Branch Library. Here's a link to the Event Page and Application form. http://www.burbank.lib.ca.us/news/calling-all-local-authors

 



Interview With Beth Navarro and Cami Abel

By Susan J. Berger

Beth Navarro has a new book coming out September 7th. Kiko is a charming picture book about a wave too scared to be big. When Beth told me about it, I couldn't imagine how you would humanize a wave. But illustrator, Cami Abel did a brilliant job. My review is on Goodreads. And Pen and Ink has a copy to give away. (US only, please since it is a hardcover.) There's a Rafflecopter at the end of this post.

Beth, Tell us about Kiko the Hawaiian Wave

Beth: I wrote Kiko after a trip to Hawaii. What a gorgeous place (to point out the obvious). Hanging out on the beach and watching the surfers carving up the warm crystal waters got me thinking about the connection surfers have with the ocean. So of course my mind leapt to, “What if a wave was too scared to leave the safety of shore to fulfill his dream of finding his surfer and becoming a big wave?” I wrote it without really thinking about the illustrations. When Cami signed on to do the illustrations I realized, oh this might be a challenge…. But she did such a beautiful job! Every page is a work of art.

Humanizing a wave looks to me like a huge problem. How did you get there? 

Cami: YES! this was tricky, my background is Scientific Illustration and Fine Art so going to the abstract was something I dabbled in in college but a leap for me professionally, it was really interesting to play and experiment. Because of how Beth described the waves, I worked to give them personality and maybe reflect the struggles that a new surfer would feel.

What do you want kids to get out of this book?
Beth: This story is really about taking the leap. Believing in yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone. What would you do if you had the courage? If someone reading this book gets that, I’ve done my job.

Beth and Cami, Are you working on anything else right now?
Beth: I am! I am working on a sequel to my first book, Grambo. It’s called Grambo and the Art Thief and this time it’s in comic book form! I’m also working on two different young adult books right now. One a contemporary story with a little bit of alien magic and another a historical fantasy. Very excited about all these stories!

Cami: just finished a project for the City of San Diego, doing trail signs for Tecolote Nature Center. This summer Im working on a kids nature trail guide as part of a collaboration for the Clairemont Mesa Education Foundation and Tecolote ESCAPe program, connecting local school kids with our neighborhood canyons. I also work for a local wine company designing their domestic wine labels, and I'm a family/ lifestyle photographer.

I love firsts, so tell me about the moment when a publisher told you they wanted to publish your book.
Beth: Thrilling! To hear someone else get as excited about your story as you are is exciting. When I heard from Mary and Allison at Be There Bedtime stories I’m pretty sure I was jumping up and down.

Cami: I have to 'ditto' Beth, it was super thrilling to get the call from Be There Bedtime Stories! I jump from one project to another rather quickly so I was really excited to be able to come back to Kiko and work with the publisher for fine tuning. Be There Bedtime Stories has been fantastic to work with.

Other than your own, who are your favorite (heroes/heroines/writers) in your genre?
Beth: My favorite PB writers… oh man there are so many. Drew Daywalt, Chris Van Allsberg, Samantha Berger and Dan Santat, anything he writes or illustrates I love (Beekle, you are are the very best.)

Cami: I truly love the artwork of Jim Kay, he is such a inspiring and gifted artist, I really study his drawings. I also follow Russ Cox of Smiling Otis Studio and Alice Tillotson Ratteree who provide me with constant inspiration via Facebook and Instagram, they are all tremendously talented.

What is your favorite pastime, other than writing?
Beth: When I’m not chasing my daughters around I love cooking. I obsessively watch the Food Network. (Chopped!) I also love anything nerdy. San Diego Comic Con is the land of my people.

Cami: I chase kids too! I have two boys (10 and 8) and we spend the vast majority of our time in the water and on the beach here in San Diego, we swim, snorkel and the boys are becoming really good surfers. I have been an open water swimmer in La Jolla for over 20 years.

Any advice for new writers just starting out?
Beth: It takes work. There is no secret formula. No short cut. If you want to be a writer, you have to get your butt in the chair and write. And if you want to get into children’s book writing, join SCBWI. Starting out that helped me in so many ways. Meeting other writers, hearing amazing speakers, just getting into that world. It taught me (and continues to teach me) so much.

Cami: Suggestions for new Illustrators-Draw Draw Draw, take classes, study the experts, experiment. I bring a sketch book everywhere with me. I think the more diverse an illustrator is the more work there is out there, but classical training seems to usually be the best place to start. Be brave and be humble.

And finally, where can we find you?
Beth: You can find more about me at www.bethnavarro.com. Sign up for my email newsletter and quarterly I’ll send you cool links about writing and reading and share a little bit of writing you won’t find anywhere else.

Cami: My websites are: www.camiabel.com and www.coastalfolks.net
Other stuff!

To preorder Grambo, go to www.bethnavarro.com. Get a signed book and special deals when you preorder through Be There Bedtime Stories!

Thank you for being here, Beth and Cami. Enter to win a hardcover of Kiko, the Hawaiian Wave below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

St. Valentine's Day

St. Valentine's Day

by Hilde Garcia

Valentines Day has had a long-standing tradition that dates back to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration celebrated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I named this pagan festival as a feast day around 496 a. C. for Christians, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, all of whom were martyred. One legend says that when Emperor Claudius II decided that single men were better for the army than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. The priest was believed to have defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret. When Valentine was caught, he was sentenced to death.

Another story says that the imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself to the daughter of the jailer because he had fallen in love with her. Before he died, he wrote her a letter and signed it “From your Valentine,” an expression that we still use today.

Every legend emphasizes that he was sympathetic and heroic. By the Middle Ages, St. Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in most of Europe.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages. However, written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. He wrote it from the Tower of London and it is believed to be the oldest recorded valentine.

Je suis desja d’amour tanné

Ma tres doulce Valentinée…

I am already sick of love

My very gentle Valentine…

However, the his wife, the duchess, died before the poem could reach her. During the 25 years he was in prison, he wrote his wife 60 poems of love. They are considered to be the first examples of “valentines.”

Today, because of printing advances, most people don’t hand write cards, they simply buy them. I still hand write cards!  Messages are long as well as short, but all share a common bond that sentiments and emotions for someone else should be shared.

My husband wrote me a poem when we first started dating and gave it to me on Valentine's Day. I can't help thinking how many hundreds of years and millions of poems have been shared, and how it doesn't end. Our need to express love is as alive as it was for Valentine himself when he expressed his affection for his beloved while awaiting his execution.

So in the spirit of love, and may it live on forever, here’s a list of some popular picture books, middle grade stories, and young adult novels that explore the spirit of Valentine’s Day and the theme of love.

Fee free to add to the list!

LOVE ON!

PICTURE BOOKS:

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch

Love Splat

The Very Fairy Princess Follows Her Heart

Here Comes Valentine Cat

Guess How Much I Love You

Snowy Valentine

You're Lovable to Me

Too Many Valentines

MIDDLE GRADE:

Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine

Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink

Junie B.Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime (Junie B. Jones #14)

Four Stupid Cupids (HamletChronicles)

YOUNG ADULT:

Heart Thief: A Valentine's Day Novelette

Vegan Virgin Valentine

Valentine's Day Sucks (A Young Adult Romance Novella)