Creating Publicity For Your Book

Ah, what a naughty blogger I am. Especially when I'm just trying to organise a blog tour for my new book, George and Ghost.

It is released on March 10th and suddenly I'm in that mad time when publicity is crucial. It's been an extra long wait for me, as it was released in the UK in November but was held over in Australia until the start of the school year.

In the past, a book launch has been one of my primary focii (that word never seems right to me!). However, it involves some amount of personal anxiety, a lot of organisation and an over reliance on my friends to purchase books. I usually treat my launches as a celebration of something long awaited, like the birth of a new baby. I'm still not sure if I want to do one???@$#@%

Last year was my first experience with blog touring when Puggle was released. I went into the exercise with some hesitation as I wasn't sure who would be reading them if anyone...and would it be a case of navel gazing amongst fellow children's authors. Puggle has gone on to be a great success and I hope that some of that was due to the blog tour. The kind blog hosts I visited were so generous and asked some great questions. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and the information remains on the web for those who want to find out more about Puggle, or puggles in general.

So what is my plan this year?

These days, authors are expected to put a great deal of effort into promotion and have an on-line presence. Being a picture book author, my publicity budget is probably $10 and the publicist only looks at you for the month your book is releaed so I have to be pro-active.

I'm a bit scatterbrained at times, especially at the start of a new school year when I'm also getting my head around new classes. Maybe if I write it down I'll remember. Maybe some other people will get some ideas.

1. Schedule blog tour for dates around release date:

Done...scheduled for 7-12 th of March through aussieblogtours and with some other invitees.
Have asked publisher to provide review copies and this has been agreed to.

2. Advertise blog tour.
Last year, I wasn't as pro-active in this regard as I should have been, so I'll be making sure I put posts in PIO and twitter.

3. Contact book stores regarding signing opportunities.

Not sure how successful that will be. You have to be a big name. I'm just a little wee name, writing books for little wee ones. Last year Jeffrey's books in Malvern supported my book launch and this year they have asked me to visit. Shall follow this up.

Have dropped off a copy at Tim's Bookstore in Maling Rd...wonder if they'll like it?

4. Think about where I will be on holidays, and whether I can do library visits.
I'll be around Mansfield at Easter...maybe I can pop in there? I popped in during the summer break and the staff were really welcoming and asked me to come back if I was ever in the area.

5. Book promotions and Give Aways.
Contacting magazines. Have contacted a magazine I write regularly for ...haven't heard back.

Have contacted teaching magazine and they are interested in a giveaway for back page...yay! Maybe it'll even lead to an article.

Think about contacting local newspapers??

6. Look for opportunities to show book to primary teachers and highlight curriculum links to science.

Selling a picture book to schools is really important. They are so expensive that most sales go through schools and libraries rather than the local bookstore.

I've put my name down as a presenter at the STAV primary school science teachers conference. Will they accept me? Who knows. Am already thinking in my head the types of activieties I could do, including measuring volume by water displacement and trying to weigh music!

I've already written a set of curriculum notes which I've posted on my website, trying to show links between both the UK and Australian primary science curricula.

7. Investigate home schooling?
My twitter page seems to be followed by many home schoolers...perhaps this is because My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day is so popular. Are there any avenues to show curriculum links there?

8. Gifted and Talented.
Since George and Ghost offers the launching pad for an almost limitless discussion on the nature of reality... What opportunities exist there?

Let me know if anyone else has any good ideas.

And then...I have to do it all again in April when Our Gags is released!!! Arrgh.

Sometimes I wish writing books was about....WRITING BOOKS.

A Little Bit of Pond Magic

Writing for Girls...

Today, I'd like to welcome Angela Sunde to my blog to talk about her new book, Pond Magic, which is one of Peguin's Aussie Chomps series. Angela has a love for languages and previously worked as a teacher. She now works as a children's writer in the beautiful Gold Coast hinterland, where she lives with her family, her manx cat, two cockatiels and three bush rats in the compost heap. In 2009 she was awarded 3rd place in the CYA Conference 'Illustrated Picture Book ' category for Chee Chee and Mia and two of her childrens stories were short-listed for the Charlotte Duncan Award. Pond Magic is Angela's first published children's book.

Lily Padd, an intolerant, self-obsessed 'tween', finds her relationships with her family, her best friend and a French exchange student are made all the more difficult by a little magic and a lot of burping.

Fitting in at school is hard enough when you're small and your mother drives a beaten-up old French car, without the added embarrassment of turning green.

Hi Angela, great to have you here as part of your blog tour for Pond Magic. Firstly, can you tell us what the target reading range is for Pond Magic?

Pond Magic is one of the Aussie Chomps series published by Penguin Australia. Aussie Chomps are targeted at the 8-12 year old market.

The book's main character is a girl, do you like writing stories for girls in particular?

The main character, Lily Padd, is the sort of girl I was at twelve. At that age problems seemed unsurmountable and I would worry about the smallest thing. For Lily, the problem of being unable to stop burping causes all sorts of hilarious consequences and Lily’s reactions to these challenges and embarrassing situations show a strong personality which the target readers (girls or boys) will be able to relate to. When I wrote Pond Magic I didn’t feel I was writing a story especially for girls.

What are the challenges in writing books for girls... do you see these as being any different from writing stories for boys?

Stories for girls focus more on relationships with peers and while girls will ‘cross over’ and read stories for boys, the opposite is not generally common. Perhaps boys don’t want to be seen with a pink-coloured book in their hand. But if girls are reading boys’ books, I’d ask - why? Is it because they’ve run out of girls’ books in the library? I doubt it. Perhaps it’s because boys’ books for the 8-12 year old market are generally fast paced and packed with physical problems, action, drama and humour. They are hard to put down.


I don’t approach writing for girls differently to writing for boys. When writing Pond Magic I was influenced by the boys’ books I had read. Those are the stories I enjoy and buy, not because the protagonist is a boy, but because they reflect the interests of many girl readers too. One of the most successful girls’ cross over series is Deborah Abela’s ‘Max Remy Super Spy’. At twelve my son was a huge fan and it wasn’t until I pointed it out to him that he realised Max was short for Maxine. So, girls can do anything.

How old are your children and do they play any part in your writing or editing processes? eg do they read the stories and comment?

My daughter who is now eighteen is one of my critique readers. I rely on her opinions. She has a good eye for detail. My son, fifteen, won’t read my work until it is finished and edited.

What strategies do you have for making the 'voice' authentic?

Each character’s voice is unique and the children cannot sound like mini adults. I have been a teacher for many years, teaching in primary and high schools, and I spent a lot of time in conversation with my students and was privy to a lot of tween talk. As a writer you have to ‘speak’ from the child’s perspective. Their views on everything from burping in public to trying to fit in with their friends will be very different from my own. Adult wisdom does not exist and they may make rash choices.

The action tags which accompany their speech help to add authenticity to the dialogue too and I include internal monologue throughout so the reader is aware of Lily’s thoughts and opinions. For example, for the first half of the book she never addresses or refers to the French exchange student, Rainier, by name, but in her thoughts she makes up all sorts of nicknames for him: Raingauge, Raincoat, Dolphin Boy. As Lily becomes more tolerant she begins to call him Rainy and then finally Rainier. This helps to show her development as a character. Lily’s voice is not just about what she says, but what she doesn’t say too.

What is next for you, Angela?

I’m working on the illustrations for a picture book I have written and I have nearly completed a junior novel. I’m looking forward to visiting schools to talk about Pond Magic and the writing process and I give workshops on writing and illustrating. I’m also collaborating on a picture book project with my sister, who is a children’s playwright and songwriter. I’m very excited about the future.


Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Catriona. I enjoyed my visit!

You're welcome. Good luck with Pond Magic ...and I hope all goes well for both you and Lily.

For more about Angela and Pond Magic, you can visit her blog at http://angelasunde.blogspot.com

Or.... visit some of these other blogs as Angela tours the blogging world.

22nd October – Write and Read with Dale – Dale Harcombe
Review and Developing a Character
http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale/

23rd October – Sally Murphy’s Writing for Children Blog
Getting Published for the First Time
http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com

24th October – Cat Up Over - Catriona Hoy
What Girls Read
http://catrionahoy.blogspot.com

26th October – Tuesday Writing Tips – Dee White
Writing to this Length
http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com

27th October – Kids’ Book Capers – Boomerang Books
Review and Where Story Ideas Come From
http://content.boomerangbooks.com.au/kids-book-capers-blog

28th October – Kids Book Review
The Aussie Chomp Format
www.kids-book-review.blogspot.com

29th October – Tales I Tell - Mabel Kaplan
Promoting your First Book & Planning a Book Launch
http://belka37.blogspot.com

30th October – SherylGwyther4Kids
Once upon a time in a far away place…
http://sherylgwyther4kids.wordpress.com/

Please leave a comment if you've visited, to encourage both Angela and me!

A Woman Who Cares

Today I’d like to welcome to my blog , friend and author Clare Mulley. Clare and I met when I lived in the UK in a little town called Saffron Walden and our children attended the same school. Clare was also a member of the same book club and I must say that I sadly miss the challenging and stimulating books and conversations...and of course the odd glass of red wine.
Clare’s book, The Woman Who Saved The Children, is the biography of Eglantyne Jebb, founder of Save The Children. It has just been released in Australia, so I’ve invited her over for a chat. Clare won the Daily Mail Biographer’s Prize in 2007 and all royalties from the book go to the charity.She has a strong social conscience and is a source of great inspiration.


Welcome Clare, from the other end of the world!

Hello, thank you for hosting me Catriona!


Clare, who was Eglantyne Jebb and what makes her story interesting and relevant today?

Eglantyne was the founder of the world's largest independent children's charity - Save the Children - and author of the pioneering statement of children's human rights that has since evolved into the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; the most widely accepted human rights instrument in history. What makes her story so pertinent today is partly that although much has been done children's human rights are sadly yet to be fully realised. 'It is not impossible to save the children of the world', Eglantyne once said. 'It is only impossible if we make it so, by our refusal to attempt it'. Inspiring stuff.


But it is not just this - Eglantyne's personal story also resonates deeply with modern life. A woman with many inner conflicts, one of the things I love most about her is the fact that despite dedicating her life to promoting children's welfare and rights she was not fond of individual children, whom she once called 'the little wretches', and she never had any of her own. This is not a sentimental story about frustrated maternal impulse, but that of a passionate and compassionate woman, with whom we might all identify, who found children tiring, noisy and stressful but recognised that they hold both huge appeal in the present and collective responsibility for the future and who, unlike those around her, when confronted with children starving to death, bravely decided to do something about it whatever the costs.



Eglantyne’s story takes place long ago and far away from Australia. Can you set the scene for us in terms of the socio economic conditions of the time and the broader context of what was happening in Europe?

In 1919 Eglantyne was arrested in London's Trafalgar Square for distributing leaflets showing photographs of starving Austrian children, that had not been cleared by the British Government censors. Eglantyne was outraged that despite the armistice the Liberal government had decided to continue the economic blockade of Europe to push through harsh peace terms with the defeated countries after the First World War. The net result was that children and the elderly, particularly in Austria and Germany, were starving to death in huge numbers. At her trial Eglantyne insisted on conducting her own defence, focusing on the moral case and giving the court reporters plenty to pad out their stories with. She was found technically guilty and fined £5, 'which', she wrote home triumphantly 'is the equivalent of victory'. The Crown Prosecutor then pressed £5 into her hands - the sum of her fine and the first donation put towards Eglantyne's new 'Save the Children Fund'. Within a year, and after several adventures, Eglantyne had raised over £10,000 and saved the lives of many thousands of children. A few years later, having won the support of the Pope for her non-religious, non-political cause, after a skirt-raising chase round the Vatican, she had moved the charity headquarters to the international city of Geneva and made its programmes truly global. Australia was one of the first countries to set up an affiliate Save the Children Fund, which is still today coordinating fantastic international children's programmes from its base in Melbourne.


What was it about Eglantyne’s character that resonated with you ? To what extent were her life choices different to the conventions of her time?

Eglantyne was a rebel from the start. One of just the second generation of women allowed a university education, when presented with the college rules on her arrival she wondered whether she should 'leave immediately or stay long enough to break all the rules and be sent down...' She stayed but not quietly, and later went on to break just about every social convention going when she chose to teach in a working-class school, decided against marriage and children, embarked on a passionate affair with the younger sister of the economist John Maynard Keynes, undertook secret war work in the Balkans in 1913, rejected the established church for her own spiritual brand of Christianity, and was finally arrested in Trafalgar Square for daring to suggest that the country treat the children of its former enemies with compassion. Courageous, smart and driven, she fought plenty of her own demons, even considering suicide more than once, but finally succeeded in putting children's human rights and welfare on the world agenda for the first time. Like most people I like a flawed heroine, defying convention in the cause of the greater good.


As a fiction writer, I have to get inside my character’s head...even if it’s a baby echidna. To what degree did you get inside Eglantyne’s head . Did you find, like a method actor, that you were taking on aspects of Eglantyne’s persona?

Not really! I used to work for Save the Children as a rather struggling fundraiser, and started researching the book when I left the Fund to have my first child - thereby showing far less commitment to the cause than Eglantyne who of course never had children and remained devoted to the Fund throughout her life. As time went on I became increasingly aware of the irony as I found myself creeping away from some of my childcare responsibilities to research the life of this children's champion, who did not care much for individual children herself. At times I felt like a sort of anti-Jebb! By the end of the book I had been through the whole gamut of affinity and disillusionment, and I hope come to some sort of more objective picture of what Eglantyne was like. But I had certainly inhabited her space in some emotional as well as occasionally literal sense, and I still feel very close to this dead woman whom I have never met.


What is a baby echidna like on the inside?

Answer: wordless! Responds to smells and touch!...


You spent a long time writing Eglantyne’s story. How did you feel when you wrote the last words?

Yes, the book took seven years, in between having kids and the other stuff that life throws at you, so it was very hard to let go, although I was also ready to move on really. Luckily I was late delivering to the publisher already, otherwise I think I could have kept on adding and amending forever. My husband on the other hand was more relieved!


What’s next for you Clare...any chance of branching out into writing for children, or fiction perhaps?

Yes, not fiction, but I am working on two book proposals at the moment, one of which is for a beautiful children's illustrated life of Eglantyne which will look at the issues of children's rights etc through her story. I have a fantastic illustrator to work with so it is very exciting. The other book is a group biography of three passionate, dissident Victorian sisters burdened with the inheritance of having a hugely infamous father. I think it will be great looking at family dynamics, especially now that I have three daughters of my own to manage centre stage.

That sounds fantastic Clare. Keep me posted as I'd love to get copies of both books. It's been great catching up and I'm going out to buy our book club's latest choice and be with you all in spirit.

If you'd like to find out more about Clare, her website is www.claremulley.com

You can hear and see Clare in action here.

Her book can be ordered through all good bookstores .
For a sneak preview, click here

Clare's book can also be ordered online at boomerang books.

For futher reading, visit some of my friends blogs...

http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/the-woman-who-saved-the-children-meet-the-author/
http://letshavewords.blogspot.com/2010/07/welcome-clare.html

Clowning Around

Today is another first for me. I've invited childrens author Sheryl Gwyther over to talk about, amongst other things, her new book Princess Clown.

This blog tour is to celebrate the launch of Princess Clown, Sheryl Gwyther’s latest book. Every day until the official book launch on Friday, 16th July, Princess Belle and Sheryl will be visiting a new blogsite. Check out the list below.


Welcome Sheryl, you're my firstest ever guest!
Can you briefly tell us about Princess Clown and what age group it is aimed at?
Thank you for having me on your blog, Cat. 
Princess Clown is a chapter book for 7-8 year olds. It's the funny story of Belle, a princess who wants more than anything to be a clown. But one thing stands in her way – she is the heir to the throne. Does that stop Princess Belle wanting to follow her dream? No way!

What age groups do you prefer to write for?

I usually write Junior Fiction – that's for ages 10-13 year olds, but last year I started writing this new genre – chapter books. I love them. They are faster to write, but require a lot of thought and consideration about the plot and the structure.
Chapter books are designed for young readers who have discovered the joys of reading stories. They have moved beyond the 'learning to read' readers. Now they're able to have a go at books that look like what the big kids read – with chapters. The stories usually have lots of illustrations, shorter sentences, strong plot lines and a likeable main character. Kids in this age bracket love humour and adventure especially.

Are there any teaching notes supplied for this and is it part of a series?

Yes, there are teaching notes and ideas to enhance the reading. They’re in the back of the book and kids can access them themselves. Princess Clown is part of Blake Publishing's Gigglers Blue Series 2. It is one of eight stories.
I've heard that some of the ideas for Princess Clown came when you put two words together that didn't seem to fit. Can you tell me how you developed your characters from there? Are they based on any real princesses or clowns?
I did start Princess Clown as a challenge to put to words together that didn't match – that's what provides conflict. Conflict is what pushes the story. The character of Belle tumbled out of my head quickly – she is a lot like me, I suspect. Not that I can somersault! The story came as I thought of obstacles for Belle – there are tons of things that can go wrong for a princess with a mind of her own. The only princesses and clowns I know live in my head!


Some of my students tell me they have a clown phobia and I'm always a little uncertain as to whether they are pulling my leg...any comments?

I can understand that very well – when adults dress up with painted white faces, huge red lips and frothy clown wigs, their real identity is masked. I think I’m still affected by that creepy, horror movie of Stephen King’s book called It. So freaky!
But I do applaud all those clowns who work hard at their jobs to make kids laugh – especially the Doctor Clowns who work in hospitals to make sick kids happier.

When I was interviewed by Kat Apel, we chatted about wearing different 'hats'. As well as being a talented children's author, you are also an ex teacher and literacy coordinator...can you tell us about your recent involvement in the fight to save Australian school libraries?

Yes, I have been outspoken in the current campaign to rescue Australian school libraries and the jobs of trained Teacher-Librarians, especially those in public state schools. They and the small Catholic schools are the ones that need help the most.


In the past you have been a strong campaigner against parallel importation of books into Australia. When you take on something like that, there is sometimes some negative backlash, especially personal comments in the media. How did you handle the pressure of being in the media spotlight?

Funny you should ask that, Cat. I was pushed into a bit of media spotlight in the fight against Parallel Importation of Books into this country. It was not something I was comfortable with, but practice makes perfect, as they say. I and many other children's authors felt so strongly about this issue, we set up a blog called SAVING AUSSIE BOOKS – if you want to see what we did, here is the link. http://savingaussiebooks.wordpress.com
The fight was successful. During the campaign, my integrity was attacked by an anonymous source (I know who it was, of course). A journalist alerted me, and I refuted the comments. But it did show me how desperate the other side was – and I could understand it, they felt their profits were at risk by the Parallel Importation Restrictions. It didn't stop me speaking out – the cause to protect Australian children's books was too important to scare us off.

Well Done!
And a final question Sheryl, what's the book you want to write but haven't written yet?

I have started this book – it is one so important to me I sometimes dream about it. It's called Mountain. The story is set in far north Queensland where I was born. Place holds a significant part for me in many of my stories. It is the same with this one. The mountain in my story is a real mountain – and it is one that is embedded deep in my consciousness.
It is the place where a terrible tragedy happened in 1921 – a coal mine explosion where 75 miners were killed; a third of the small town's population. My uncle was the last stationmaster before the mining company finally shut down its town in 1959. I spent my school holidays there and have never forgotten the mountain, a spectacular sight of sandstone cliffs, red and raw against the startling blue skies of north Queensland.
I have travelled back there twice since starting writing my story. The mountain affects me every time, especially when I stand in the small graveyard of that ghost town and read the headstones of the dead miners. In 2008, I was awarded a May Gibbs Literature Trust Fellowship residency in Adelaide to work on the story. I will be ever grateful to them.
So yes, this story will get finished one day – I have to.

Thanks Sheryl for visitng and all the best for the launch of Princess Clown. And 'goodonya' for the hard work you put in on behalf of literacy and making reading accessable to children.

Join Sheryl on the rest of her blog tour at:

Blog Tour Dates:

06 July 2010
Dee White – http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com
07 July 2010
Alphabet Soup magazine – http://soupblog.wordpress.com

08 July 2010
Robyn Opie – http://www.robynopie.blogspot.com

09 July 2010
Catriona Hoy – http://catrionahoy.blogspot.com

10 July 2010
Kat Apel – http://katswhiskers.wordpress.com

11 July 2010
Sheryl Gwyther – http://sherylgwyther4kids.wordpress.com

12 July 2010
Sandy Fussell – http://sandyfussell.blogspot.com/

13 July 2010
Sally Murphy – http://www.sallymurphy.blogspot.com

14 July 2010
Claire Saxby – http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com

15 July 2010
Mabel Kaplan – http://belka37.blogspot.com

Goodnight Music Tree

I have now reached a milestone in my writing career that leaves me a little sad. The Music Tree, my first acceptance, has gone out of print and the rights have been returned to me. There are no more copies in the warehouse and silly me didn't think to check how many were left. I can still buy copies on Amazon UK or Amazon US. Since they've been reduced over there they are actually much cheaper than they would be here, even taking postage into account. So I'm going to order some of those last remaining copies. Seems silly that they'll have travelled all around the world to end up back where they started. A bit like our family really!

I loved The Music Tree because it was so good for reading aloud to children at school visits. I had my little suitcase full of bells, hubcaps, clangers and bangers. When I went to the UK, I even started up another collection which I sadly had to deposit back at the charity shops when we left.

Liam, the subject of the story, has long since deserted his music tree for a basketball court and is now in high school. Lothian, my original publisher, is now part of Hachette, a huge multinational publishing company. Helen Chamberlin, the editor who gave me my first break has retired. The world moves on and we must move with it.

Liam put his arms around the trunk of the ree and laid his cheek against the rough, war bark. 'Goodnight Music Tree,' he whispered.

Back in bed, Liam thought he heard the wind chimes call, 'Goodnight, Liam', but he couldn't really be sure.

Puggle visits Clayton Library

Yesterday I visited Clayton library to read Puggle at their preschool storytime. As I'd spent most of the weekend in bed with a virus, it all went well considering! As I drove there I was wishing I could be curled up under my doona. I was welcomed by Michelle and Suzi, the libarians and a host of little curious faces. The library also had copies of all my books, which is always a good start.

I'm always amazed by the enthusiasm of librarians who organise these sessions. Michelle began the session with a song, then an exercise to get the wriggles out. She read one of Rod Campbells stories to begin with and then a photographer from Waverley Leader took some photos. I always hate my photo in newspapers. They always choose the wrinkliest one of me I'm sure! At least there will be some kids in there for the cuteness factor.

Reading Puggle to a roomful of wriggly, squiggly two to three year olds was a challenge, but I had a few older children who sat in front of me and nodded in the right places. It wasn't the venue to amaze them with my new found echidna knowledge.

Michelle finished up with an echidna puppet, which she made eat imaginary 'ants' out of the children's hands. I really need a puppet! I'll do better next time Michelle...

Suzi Jenkins, the Youth Services Librarian, had drawn a picture of an echidna. All the children were able to colour in a copy and stick on spines made of coloured matchsticks. It was such a great idea and so simple. I'd been trying to think of things to do with toothpicks and plasticine but this was much safer and less messy.

Back to bed now...in the company of my youngest daughter who seems to have come down with the same thing.

My First Blog Tour

Well it all starts next week. I'm touring some blogs to chat about Puggle and writing in general. I hope I can think of enough things to say! Please join me on some of the dates and cyberplaces below.

At the last blog, I'll be evaluating what I've found out about blog touring.

April 12 http://scribblygum.wordpress.com/
April 13 http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com
April 14 http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com/
April 15 http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com/
April 16 http://orangedale.livejournal.com/
April 17 http://sherylgwyther.wordpress.com/
April 18 http://sandyfussell.blogspot.com/
April 19 http://katswhiskers.wordpress.com/
April 20 http://belka37.blogspot.com
April 21 http://angelasunde.blogspot.com/
April 22 http://trudietrewin.com/blog-ramblings/