news, views and Booklaunch 2.0

Well this week had it's highs and lows....the high at the beginning was one of the kids doing well in a competition...all the practice does pay off...not to mention the endless trips in the car ferrying said child to practice three times a week.....60k round trips....

lows
Creative New Zealand felt that professional development for Children's Writers and Illustrators wasn't worth funding....but we are still going ahead....pull out Plan B...limited money, virtual speakers....WE CAN DO IT....

But the Creative New Zealand decision was such a cruel blow. As an industry we are struggling to remain upbeat and focussed as the opportunities dry up here.

In the end...New Zealand has to ask itself... Do you want New Zealand children growing up on a diet of books from overseas...Support your Writers and Illustrators!

I heard this week of an illustrator who had a contract job with a north american publisher. They were asked to illustrate an aboriginal story. So the illustrator researched as they do and put together a series of pictures of aboriginal children and parents for the project and was told
'could you make them less dark...sort of more latte coloured.'
What message is that sending to the children who will be reading this book...?


There is a video by Dennis Cass being shared around authors and editors in the US.
It perfectly illustrates what is facing authors in the digital world.
It is very funny but as many authors comment....it is scary too as we all see ourselves in the hapless authors position.








maureen

Sometimes the computer goes nuts...

I have no idea why Blogger decided that the last post had to be in an almost unreadable font colour.

I tried to change it many times and gave up and posted it...

So if you gave up as well I don’t blame you.

The main points I was making....Networking, building communities, and having your website reflect this, is where marketing and promotion in the online world is going.

For the lonely writer sitting in their garret...but with an internet connection....this is a good way to go. Start with posting comments on blogs you are interested in. Visit web communities that have links in to your writing audience...or are the same people as you...starving in a garret....

As you get more familiar with the web...create your blog and have a go...it is very easy to do and easy to delete if you don’t like it.

The web can be a scary place for authors who are just used to using Google for research and a word processing programme for everything else.

Scott Francis has a marketing blog for authors on the writers digest site. He offers these great tips for a media kit...but they can be useful if you are looking to see what a website should have.

A media kit can be a great tool for promoting your work and can be used to try to get mentions in publications or to try to get speaking engagements or spots on radio or TV.

A few do's and don'ts:

• Do include your complete contact information as well as your website/blog address
• Do include a personal biography and a photograph of yourself
• Do include a business card
• Do include any recent articles or endorsements
• Do include a good cover sheet that summarizes the contents of your media kit
• Do include a copy of your latest book
• Don't over do it--these days everyone is busy and have short attention spans. Keep it relevant and to the point.
• Don't include clippings of every press mention that you've ever gotten--go with either the most recent or the most impressive. Everything else can be summarized on your cover sheet (remember to be concise).

A website is a marketing brochure, a blog is a newsletter that shows off you voice and style.

A blog doesn’t have to be long....but it should be interesting...a picture, a few links, a thought provoking question and you are done....

So...if you are new to blogs stop in and comment...you can use my gmail address if you need to.

If you were coming to the National Conference of Children’s Writers and illustrators would you like to see a workshop on being online? What do you think should be in it?

Maureen

the pic is from a beautiful Artists website...Isn't it lovely! Go to

www.patipelz.com

to see some more stunning pictures...Pati's website is a good example of marketing.