Friday, February 5, 2016

Tip du Jour: You Are the #1 Pitch Person for Your Book by Robin Newman

Nobody else knows your book as well as you do, and nobody else will be as passionate about your book as you are. Even if you’re the most introverted person in the world, and that’s why you chose to become a writer, once your book is out, you become the #1 pitch person for your book. You need to talk up your book to EVERYONE and ANYONE! I’m not just talking librarians, booksellers, teachers, colleagues, and friends. Don’t forget journalists, pediatricians, pediatric dentists, politicians, babysitters, ex-boyfriends, frenemies, and what the heck, might as well include your favorite funeral director and the recently deceased to the list. (Let’s face it. Of all people, these folks could benefit from a funny picture book!)

So, what does one have to do? Good question.

-         Think outside of the box. What’s the craziest way you can market your book?
-         Be one with your character and enjoy being silly. If you write about bunnies, you’d better enjoy wearing bunny ears! 
-         What kind of cheap cool swag can you come up with to help market the book?
-         Make a book trailer. It’ll cost you, but it’s money well spent. (You can use it at school and bookstore visits, conferences, etc.)
-         Prepare a teacher’s guide for your book. Make it easy for teachers to figure out how to incorporate your book into their curriculum.
-         Don’t be a stranger at your local bookstore.
-         Be sure to support your fellow authors and illustrators. (It’s not just about you.)
-         Don’t be afraid to fail. If you don’t try, you’ll regret it more than your fear of failure.

It took me eight years from start to finish before I finally held a copy of The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake. That translates to:  

96 months
or 417 weeks 3 days
or 2,922 days
or 70,128 hours
or 4,207,680 minutes
or 252,460,800 seconds

But who’s counting?


All that effort deserves that you put your best foot forward in pitching your book. In the end, remember to also have fun and enjoy the moment.

My books:
 
The Case of the MissingCarrot Cake, illustrated by Deborah Zemke (Creston Books 2015), is an early chapter book mystery about two hardboiled mouse detectives working their beat from a shoebox on Ed’s farm. They are MFIs, Missing Food Investigators, and on their seminal case they’re on the hunt for Miss Rabbit’s missing carrot cake. (Note the names of the animals have been changed to protect the good guys.) For ages 5-9.

The teacher’s guide and book trailer are located on my website:

The Case of the MissingCarrot Cake is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your favorite local indie.

Click here to watch the Trailer on You Tube:



HildieBitterpickles Needs Her Sleep, illustrated by Chris Ewald (Creston Books 2016), is a fractured fairy tale picture book about a witch whose quiet neighborhood has been turned upside down by the sudden noisy arrival of the big bad wolf, the old lady living in a shoe, and other fairy tale characters. What will poor Hildie have to do to get a good night’s sleep? For ages 4-8.

The teacher’s guide and book trailer are located on my website:
http://www.robinnewmanbooks.com/Books.html

Hildie BitterpicklesNeeds Her Sleep flies onto bookshelves April 12, 2016.

Hildie BitterpicklesNeeds Her Sleep is currently available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local indie.

Click here to watch the Trailer on You Tube: 


A bit about Robin:


Robin Newman was a practicing attorney and legal editor, but she now prefers to write about witches, mice, pigs, and peacocks. She lives in New York, among many noisy neighbors.

Please come by and say hello!

Twitter: @robinnewmanbook

And please e-mail me at robin@robinnewmanbooks.com, if you’re interested in having me do a school visit.





11 comments:

  1. I can testify that Robin is an ace at promoting her books! We've done some book signings together and it's been so much fun!

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    1. Darlene, You're amazing at promotion. Those little hearts that you made for the Wheels of Change signing were beyond adorable. (So wish I could sew.) I hope we get to do more signings together. Always fun! p.s. Would be nice if we could do a Creston signing, with Laurie, et al. xoxo

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  2. Such a small world -- I know Robin too and was in an SCBWI New Jersey Conference Critique Group with her! Thanks for visiting, @DarleneBeckJacobson, and also for stopping by My Word Playground to share your inspiration!

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  3. Great information on this post. So very glad I stopped my. Supporting your fellow authors. That is a huge responsibility. One that I must begin to honor and work harder on. Thank you for this particular reminder. Again, love this post.

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  4. Lynne, Many thanks for inviting me to do a post on your wonderful blog. :)

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  5. Oops! I meant to write Lynne Marie. . . Typing quickly does not seem to work well for me.

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  6. I go by both, Robin -- no problem :) And thank you, @Robin Newman for a fabulous Guest Post, and @Pam for visiting with us!

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  7. Robin is amazing! And she'd be the first one in line to support other authors. Great post! :)

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  8. I like how creative Robin is in promoting her books. Really good advice.

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