Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I'm Back...
I've been away for a bit (chuckles deeply…) I had a new book released January 1st, and have been up to my eyeballs with it and some other stuff. I'm involved in a "blog tour" right now. You know what? I didn't even know what a blog tour was. You know what else, I love these people! My PR company, who I pay a LOT of money to (and I think it is paying off) enrolled me in this. Essentially, bloggers talk about the book and do a giveaway if they want. It's awesome, and has launched The Sneezy Wheezy Day into the top 100 amazon free e-book downloads! You may ask, "so what, what's the point of a free download?" Exposure…let me say that again…EXPOSURE! I am not well known, and neither are you or you wouldn't be here, and so any exposure is good! And here's another thing, If you see that someone has reviewed the book, even if it's a bad review, be gracious and thank them! You can even say, "Thank you so much for reviewing my book, blah blah blah, and I'm so sorry you hated it, but seriously, thank you for taking the time to decide that! Sincerely, so n' so." A little bit of humility goes a long way in a world that is a lot smaller than you think it is.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
How To Publish a Children's Book Yourself
One of the most common questions I get asked when I go to a book signing, fair, tradeshow, etc. goes something like this, "I have this great idea for a kids book and I wanna get it published. Who should I call?" Some of the questions are more like, "I have this great book… When will the publishers come find me?" and some are more like, "What can you (meaning me) do to get my book published?"
I love these questions. I have also spent hours answering these questions. The reason I can answer these questions is because if there was a mistake to be made, I have made it…
Let's start at the beginning. You have a book that you have written. Chances are you did not illustrate it yourself, or, you have a "family member" who poorly illustrated it, or, by the grace of God, you actually have some artistic talent or someone in your family does. Presuming the more likely scenario, you need an illustrator.
Join the SCBWI. This stands for Society for Children's Bookwriters and Illustrators. The cost is nominal, I think like $75 a year or something like that, and there is scores of opportunity in it for you, including a GREAT list of illustrators for you to thumb through. There's also other things like local workshops in your area that allow you to meet agents, editors, publishers; you know, people in the biz that you MUST know to make it in the biz.
So; now that we have the horse WELL in front of the cart, lets back the ponycart up. You have written a book, you may even have an illustrator for your picture or chapter book. Now what? You've sent out galleys to the big six (Simon Schuster, Random House, Penguin, Scholastic, blah blah blah) and nobody is interested. That is because… nobody wants to be interested. They are inundated with material, in excess of 1000 new submissions per week.
At this point, you've probably asked, "What's a galley?" Here is secret number one… nobody wants to review your book after it is published and released! NOBODY!!!
That's just plain stupid you are thinking. Guess what; you're absolutely right! But it doesn't make it not true… There is a protocol to getting a children's book released and I will walk you through that. Otherwise, you will wind up with a garage full of books you can hardly sell… Trust me… been there, done that.
So, stay tuned… there is a method and I will teach you the method.
I love these questions. I have also spent hours answering these questions. The reason I can answer these questions is because if there was a mistake to be made, I have made it…
Let's start at the beginning. You have a book that you have written. Chances are you did not illustrate it yourself, or, you have a "family member" who poorly illustrated it, or, by the grace of God, you actually have some artistic talent or someone in your family does. Presuming the more likely scenario, you need an illustrator.
Join the SCBWI. This stands for Society for Children's Bookwriters and Illustrators. The cost is nominal, I think like $75 a year or something like that, and there is scores of opportunity in it for you, including a GREAT list of illustrators for you to thumb through. There's also other things like local workshops in your area that allow you to meet agents, editors, publishers; you know, people in the biz that you MUST know to make it in the biz.
So; now that we have the horse WELL in front of the cart, lets back the ponycart up. You have written a book, you may even have an illustrator for your picture or chapter book. Now what? You've sent out galleys to the big six (Simon Schuster, Random House, Penguin, Scholastic, blah blah blah) and nobody is interested. That is because… nobody wants to be interested. They are inundated with material, in excess of 1000 new submissions per week.
At this point, you've probably asked, "What's a galley?" Here is secret number one… nobody wants to review your book after it is published and released! NOBODY!!!
That's just plain stupid you are thinking. Guess what; you're absolutely right! But it doesn't make it not true… There is a protocol to getting a children's book released and I will walk you through that. Otherwise, you will wind up with a garage full of books you can hardly sell… Trust me… been there, done that.
So, stay tuned… there is a method and I will teach you the method.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Free E-Book for kids: Free E-Book For Kids!
Free E-Book for kids: Free E-Book For Kids!: "Hi! My name is Sharon Cramer and I am the author and Illustrator of a series of Children's books called Cougar Cub Tales. Cougar Cub Tal..."
Monday, July 4, 2011
Free E-Book For Kids!
Hi!
My name is Sharon Cramer and I am the author and Illustrator of a series of Children's books called Cougar Cub Tales. Cougar Cub Tales: I'm Just Like You is FREE through Amazon for the summer! The download site is http://www.amazon.com/Cougar-Cub-Tales-Just-ebook/dp/B004HD5TV6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1309810219&sr=1-1.
It's such a great way to keep kids reading through the summer. It is getting five star reviews and there is a new release coming soon.
Anyway, just wanted to include the kids across the big puddle. We are getting thousands of downloads over here.
Thanks and I hope your kids enjoy the book! They can hear me reading it at www.cougarcubtales.com
Sincerely,
Sharon
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