Writing and Selling the YA Novel (25 page)

BUT WHAT ABOUT
YOU?

Of course, it might be well and good for your character to be withdrawn from the modern world, but what about you? As an author for teen readers, do you need to stay current, accessing teens through all the latest technologies and presenting yourself as the literary equivalent of Justin Timberlake? (Let's see how quickly that reference becomes dated!)

This is a difficult question. If you're J.K. Rowling, do you need to focus on your image and invest yourself in promotion? Nope. At this point, I doubt she needs to do any marketing of her books or of herself as an author. Her books are selling quite well on their own, thank you. But for the rest of us, promoting ourselves to teen readers can be a challenge as we discover the world of forums, blogs, Web sites, book trailers, and podcasts.

Although it is your publisher's job to sell your book once it's produced, you can't sit back and wait for a bestseller. Or even a decent seller. For most of us, it's necessary to join in the process of marketing our teen novels through personal appearances and online resources. The good news is, new technologies are making it possible for us to reach teens in a more direct manner than ever before. They offer us opportunities for publicity that are not dependent on our publisher's limited budgets.

205 Writing & Selling the Vjfo y\.«vtl

PERSONAL APPEARANCES

Personal appearances can run the gamut from author visits to schools and libraries, speeches, workshops, and bookstore signings to visiting a college class as a guest lecturer or doing a reading at a book festival. Depending on your level of comfort speaking in public, you'll need to gauge how many of these visits you want to do per year and how actively you pursue these opportunities.

If you're interested in making personal appearances a part of your publicity repertoire, a good place to start when you first get published is the local level. Contact your community bookstore, especially if you have an independent bookstore nearby, and see if you can set up a book signing. Chances are the store will be open to this idea, but you will probably need to send out some of your own invitations to the event. When I worked at the Merritt Bookstore in Cold Spring, New York, I found that the most successful events were the ones where the authors played an active role, sending out invitations to friends and family. It's difficult for a small store to generate large crowds, so if you want people to attend your event, help out by publicizing your visit.

Local schools and libraries may also be open to hosting a visiting author. You can contact them with a formal business letter, or if you have a friend who might put in a good word for you, that's even better. You might also consider printing a small flier with your biographical information, some information about your presentation, and the name and ISBN of your book(s). Fliers can be expensive if done professionally, but the return is often worth the money spent. You can also print something on your own using the publishing software offered on most computers. Consider purchasing a mailing list as well. Most printing places offer mailing lists tailored to your specifications.

Want to do school or library visits within a one hundred-mile radius of where you live? You might be surprised to find out how many schools and libraries you've never even heard of.

I'd also recommend you offer to do your first few school or library visits for free so you can work out your presentation and establish references. Once you have a firm footing, you can set a fair price based both on what you feel you have to offer and on what most schools and libraries in your area can afford. Fees for author visits vary dramatically ranging from token amounts like fifty or one hundred dollars that just cover your costs and might leave you with a little bit extra, to fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars that award-winning authors with a long track record might receive. Remember that your fee should change according to how many presentations you're doing (you might do one presentation for a library or up to three separate presentations for a school visit), the
length
of
time you're
asked to present for, and the size of the program. I highly recommend you iron out all of these details in writing at the time you schedule the event.

Unlike school visits, library visits, and bookstore signings, it's a little more difficult to pursue keynote speeches, workshops, and panels at conferences. Most of the time, the coordinators of the larger conferences such as those hosted by the SCBWI, the American Library Association (ALA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Writer's Digest Books, or BookExpo America, will want to contact you or your publisher, not the other way around. However, if you can find out the name of a conference coordinator there's probably no harm in submitting your resume and pitching your idea for a speech or workshop. SCBWI hosts regional conferences in addition to their large annual conferences, and they just might be looking for a workshop exactly like the one you have in mind.

If you're very eager to book speaking engagements, make sure your name is listed in as many speakers directories as possible. If you follow the path of traditional publishing, your publisher will probably have an author coordinator on staff, and she will most likely list information about the programs their authors offer. Make sure to introduce yourself to this person and double check that your name is listed on any Web site they maintain. SGBWI offers a directory listing public speakers, and in my area, the New England Booksellers Association publishes a directory every two years. Chances are there's something similar in your area, too. Forums (which we'll discuss more in a moment) also provide opportunities to share personalized tips and exchange information with other writers. Every area of the country offers unique opportunities that other YA writers may already have access to.

WEB SITES

What if you're not comfortable with public speaking? Are there other ways to publicize your books that don't require you to stand in front of an audience? Certainly. We're fortunate in this day and age to have plenty of opportunities available through the Internet. Web sites can be created at an affordable cost, and I highly recommend maintaining one. They're great ways for teens to find out more about you and your books.

Obviously, the easiest way to procure a Web site is to ask a friend, family member, or acquaintance who knows how to create them. Many people can build Web sites these days—if you have a teenager in your family, you might start by asking him. The Authors Guild also offers free Web sites to new members, although this offer won't continue indefinitely. Still, it's a great deal while it lasts, and even if you're not a

new member or the offer expires, their normal Web site design and hosting costs are very reasonable.

If you don't know someone who can design a site, you can also go to your local chamber of commerce and look for Web designers. As with anything, you want to be careful to choose someone reputable to work with. It's easy to get taken advantage of, so don't be afraid to ask for references. You should plan to meet with several designers, and before you speak with them try to determine how you envision your site and what you'd like the site to do for you. Gome up with different statements about what you want and need. Examples might be:

• "I want a site that can promote my books."

• "I want a Web site where teens can have fun."

• "I want a Web site where teachers and librarians can find resources."

Ask plenty of questions and make sure the person you're speaking to is able to explain her work in terms you understand. Find out how she handles updates to sites because author Web sites tend to change as each new book or review is available.

Make sure your Web designer will provide hosting and register your domain name. Hosting for Web sites is the equivalent of renting office space for your business. A Web site needs bandwidth to exist, and those who "host" sites do so for a fee. Your domain name is the name that points people to your site, such as
klgoing.com orfatkidrulestheworld.com.
It is very important that your domain name be registered in YOUR name and not in the name of the person who creates your Web site. Your domain belongs to you, and should you decide to change Web designers, you'll need to be in control. You'll also want to be clear on whose responsibility it is to renew your domain name
before
it expires so you don't lose it.

Depending on how large a site you want, you can expect to pay anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars to develop a Web site. While it might seem like choosing a free site or a low-cost site is the obvious way to go, don't discount sites that cost more to develop. Many Web sites contain beautiful graphics, but they don't attract browsers because they don't have the text that search engines are looking for. You want to build a successful Web site that will meet your expectations, rather than simply posting a page online that might or might not attract readers.

FORUMS

Forums are online venues for conversation. When you go to a forum, you'll find multiple topics posted that are awaiting readers' responses. You can click on any topic and read what people have to say. Forums can be large and complex with many different topics in many different categories, or they can be relatively small and simple. You can reply to a particular topic (called a thread) or to an individual response (called a post). You can even post your own topic and see how others respond to you.

I maintain a small forum on my Web site (
www.klgoing.com/fo-
rums). It offers me a chance to interact with my readers by posting about common interests. My categories are broad because the forum is designed for any reader who'd like to participate. For my purposes, I've found that sticking with general categories like books, movies, current events, and writing works just fine. Within each category people have posted many different threads. For example, in the "Books" category someone might start a thread about whatever book he just finished reading. He could ask if others have read it and what they thought, and then other people can post their responses. Topics that have recent posts move to the top of the list, so someone can post on an old topic if it's one they'd like to bring back to people's attention or they can post something new and their thread will appear at the top of the list. You're welcome to visit me on my forum and practice posting! I'd love to hear about the projects you're working on and the books you love.

My forum is a good one to start out on if you're feeling nervous because many forums are much larger than mine. If you're comfortable with posting, there are quite a few forums specifically designed for adults
trying
to become published
writers.
Check
out the
SCBWI forum if you're a member, or the Absolute Write Water Cooler (www. absolutewrite.com/forums). Author Verla Kay hosts a forum called the Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Chat Board that's very popular with children's book writers (
www.verlakay.com/boards
). Sites such as these offer valuable opportunities to network with other writers, and they have many different categories for discussion including topics like "the craft of writing," "publicity and promotion," "legal questions," and "submission to agents and editors." There are even places to share your rejection letters.

You'd be surprised at how generous most writers are with information and how much you'll learn from participating in a forum. You might even find a critique group or link up with someone who's willing to serve as a reader for your manuscript. Forums might seem overwhelming at first, but remember, you don't have to post anything immediately. You can start by reading through the various threads, old and new, and when you feel ready you can reply to others or ask your own questions.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Connecting with others is so important. Ask almost anyone and they will tell you that the key to success in most fields is networking. But

what if you don't have a ton of connections? How can you realistically expect to meet and greet people from all across the country? This is where social networking sites come into play. Popular sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster allow you to create a personal profile complete with photographs and information about yourself, and you can join groups with other people who share common interests. You can also add friends to your page and visit other people's pages, leaving them public comments or personal messages. These sites are great ways to connect directly to your fans no matter where they are, and they're a perfect way to get to know a large number of people all across the country.