Thursday, May 31, 2012
Passing The Hat
Thursday, August 6, 2009
52 days to go...
When you wake up at 3 am on a regular basis you know that something is occupying your mind.
There is always the odd thought...you hope could be a story, but mostly you know it is going to be conference related.
Over in Los Angeles, I’ll bet the organisers of the SCBWI conference (society of children’s book writers and illustrators)are having sleepless nights. The 38th summer conference kicks off today. Four days. 66 presenters. Over 1000 delegates .
There are a couple of kiwis going over...Frances Plumpton is among them and I can’t wait to pick her brains at our conference to see what they were talking about over there.
My guess is that we will be talking about much the same topics...
Marketing and Promotion...Here is a great link to the top ten marketing tips from an author who bills herself as The Shameless Promoter
New technology and how to use it... The creativepenn (a great site) has a post on 5 easy steps to do podcasting...ramp up your website with some excerpts of your work in progress.... Or you could check out Fifis cool book trailer for GLORY
Maybe they will be talking about, and to, amazing authors like Karen Cushman, winner of the Newberry medal who will be a presenter. There is a great interview with her on the cuppajolie blog
I have a new quote for my wall from reading this interview.
“The best reason to write is just to find out what happens.” Karen Cushman
So True. (My planned plots usually last about five chapters...then I need to write to find out what happens.)
They will be talking about the future of publishing... Jane Friedman’s current post about the future of publishing is a must read. Click on the sidebar link or Go Here to read it...
If you check out our conference timetable above you will see that we address all these topics...
But mostly I think the LA delegates will be soaking up the atmosphere.
Alice Pope, The editor of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators market (writers digest annual) is leading a team of bloggers who are blogging the entire conference as well as presenting. Go here to check out some amazing interviews already.
We have got some awesome presenters, great workshops and panels and our delegates come from all over New Zealand and are at all different stages of their writing and illustrating careers.
It’s going to be great.
Now if I could get some sleep to prepare for it.
maureenpic is our conference schedule...click on it to bring it up in a large new window....
Thursday, July 23, 2009
On the way to becoming famous...
It all generates interest and excitement and makes your website look up to date etc.
And when it is finally finished...you will be knocked out...all with free technology...something else to go on her already spiffing website.
There is a little snippit below I recommend taking time to read the whole post...(it’s not long)
Platform 101 was about laying the foundation, physically and virtually. Once you have your foundation in place, you will slowly begin to attract an audience, some of whom might one day become enthusiastic fans who will not only buy your books (and short stories, and CDs, and t-shirts, etc.) but, perhaps more importantly, will also mobilize and spread the word far and wide on your behalf, sometimes without your even having to ask.
Platform 201 is about attracting, engaging and energizing that community, and these are three fundamental points to keep in mind while doing so:
Platform 201: Engaging the Community
Along with the three points to go to the next step, Guy also has a video on his site that features Malcolm Gladwell of Outliers fame. Malcolm has excited comment with his book stating that to master a craft or become successful you need to put in 10,000 hours effort or about ten years...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Catching The Speeding Train in the Writing Journey
This week I have been thinking of added content....following on from ideas sparked by the 1000 true fans post and talking to various friends about the widening fields of being a content provider(author)
On Monday I was at Te Papa for the Institute of Modern letters Monday lunchtime talk series which featured Kate de Goldi talking to Vic. Writer In Residence, Paula Boock. Paula’s journey from editor to YA writer to script writer to TV Film producing to writing her first adult novel which we were privileged to listen to a bit of...(main character is a child tho, so she hasn’t strayed far away from us) and it got me thinking about the writing journey.
A long time ago I scribbled stories for myself then I thought I‘d better learn how to write so I went looking for the magic formula.(guess what... there isn’t one) Along the way I collected rejections...then I got an acceptance...I’ve made it, I thought...No I hadn’t.
Our writing journeys take us into many lands where the language is different and the culture is foreign and obstacles look insurmountable...and so it is with the new ideas of writing content and digital media to the children’s author. But in essence it is applying your skills in a different way using a different medium or media. (I joked to Fifi on Monday that Paula could be a poster child for the Spinning Gold Conference as she has applied her skills across two or three medias. Fifi is a poster child...Martin Baynton is the poster child, Janice Marriot who is writing scripts for the Wot Wots is a poster child... (they are all marvelous New Zealand children's authors trying their hand at new media.)
They are leading the way for the rest of us...and I will learn from them by osmosis and posting little snippets of interest to you all, who are struggling, like I am, to make sense of the speeding train called ‘Social and Digital media as it applies to our craft.
So onto the Future....Eeeeek I’m not ready.....
Fourth Story Media a new publishing company in the ‘states’ are ready to launch The Amanda Project. CEO Mike Smith describes the company this way on their website.
— Michael Smith, CEO & Owner, Mind Candy and Perplex City
To have a look at what they are doing with The Amanda Project go here or just look at the video below.
Chorion based in the United Kingdom is working with a range of writers and literary estates to add media content to enhance the book presence. Here’s what they have done for Agatha Christie but their flagship is Children’s lit....(their slide show is really cool)go take a look at their website.
Stage: We license first class productions worldwide and actively oversee the hugely successful Agatha Christie Theatre Company's ongoing professional tours in the UK.
Online: The official website at http://www.agathachristie.com/ features blogs, games, downloadable content, information on Agatha Christie and every story she wrote, newsletters and a very popular forum for her fans.
The world is getting bigger and bigger for the author(content provider)...but seriously have you thought about turning some of your writing into added content slogans for merchandise????
And finally as a present to Tania Hutley...(stat counter says her site sends the most people over to read my blog...I’m awed...) the following video because she loved the Buffy staked Edward post.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Marketing 101b -5 things you need to know...
Got your attention did I?
More Little Gems from the ‘Online Marketing Heroes’ book (see previous post.)
1. Be Web friendly in your Online writing.
Reading large chunks of text on screen is hard on the eyes. Try to have your text blocks in small to medium chunks in a good size font. This makes your message very user friendly.
2. Use Web friendly headlines... and sub headings.
Search engines just love these - especially if you hyperlink them to another page on your site. Be a little mysterious....5 things you need to know????
How many times have you found yourself just having to go and have a look...because there is a number in the heading and a question to be answered?
3. Use key phrases
and hyperlink them to other parts of your site...or where ever.
Check out the personal book review on the Bones blog. Use key phrases in the body of your text . Don’t use too many -see my previous post, just strategically place them for the search engine to find.
4.People love people.
Use photos to make your website/blog more interesting. Try to use a photo every post you make.
Check out Fifi’s blog. She is doing a great job of highlighting her artwork and her poetry. Every post has a different style of art which showcases her unique style and tells the world she is a great illustrator....and available for that special commission....
5. ‘Above the fold’
Don’t forget that newspapers do this all the time -the big picture or headline to grab your attention is at the top... even if we are not interested in the latest scandal in parliament, our eyes are dragged to the big headline...PETERS TO GO... shopping for a new suit...
and so it should be on your website.
I hope that these ideas give you food for thought. I am enjoying the research...
I have lots of sticky notes all over this great book and have gathered some great ideas for authors on using interactive content to the best advantage on your website...but that is for the next post.
Maureen
P.S. I’ll try to post it before next week... but you know how it is... school holidays...laundry....WIPwriting....