Ellen Feld – Niche Marketing Your Children’s Book

Posted by on January 21, 2012 No comments
On January 19th, 2012 Susan Violante and Victor R. Volkman spoke with award-winning children’s author, marketing expert, and entrepreneur Ellen Feld about how to target-market your children”s books. Her first book, Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse, went on to win a coveted “Children’s Choices” award, co-sponsored by The International Reading Association and The Children’s Book Council.  The book was then picked up by an international toy company and packaged with a toy horse made to resemble Blackjack, the star of the series.  Blackjack continues to sell well and to date has sold over 30,000 copies.  Ellen shared her lessons learned and hard won experience with us on a variety of topics including:

  • on-line advertising: where/when it works/doesn’t work
  • Selling at regional events, shows, and other public venues outside the bookstore
  • Why you need to think in terms of a series
  • Importance of author selling/marketing, the personal touch
  • Book signings – what works, what to have at your booth
  • Finding and keeping an illustrator
  • Cultivating your reputation as an expert
  • The importance of professional help with your project.

Ellen Feld with Annie

Ellen Feld with Annie
Award-winning author Ellen Feld began writing about horses more than twenty years ago. Her first writing jobs were for horse magazines.  At first, she wrote for small, regional publications, but within a few short years her work began to appear regularly in large, national publications. Her articles have appeared in publications such as The Morgan Horse, Stable Management, Equestrian, Young Rider, Just About Horses, Horsemen’s Yankee Pedlar, Tri-State Horse, and The Appaloosa Journal.One day, back in 2001, while waiting for her next assignment to come in, Ellen wrote a short story about a Morgan Horse.  Several of her friends encouraged her to expand on the story and try writing a book.  That short story became the first chapter of “Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse.”

Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse

Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse
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Nancy Barr – Writing Regional Mysteries

Posted by on January 7, 2012 No comments
On January 4th, 2012 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with regional mystery maven Nancy Barr.  Nancy served as news editor at the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton for three years and now works at Michigan Technological University, where she recently earned a master’s degree in Rhetoric and Technical Communication.  Her novels include Page One: Hit and Run(July 2006), “Page One: Vanished” (May 2007), and “Page One: Whiteout” (November 2009), all from Arbutus Press. She spoke with us on all the particulars of regional mystery writing including:

  • Challenges of writing about real locations in rural areas
  • Character development — deciding who deserves a repeat appearance and who is a one-book wonder
  • Plotting versus characterization.  Each book has been different for me.
  • Other mysteries worth reading that feature the rural upper Midwest.
  • The pros and cons of small, regional publishing houses.
  • Marketing

Nancy Barr

Nancy Barr
A transplant to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula at the age of 9, Nancy Barr grew up in the tiny town of Rapid River nestled at the top of Little Bay de Noc. She earned an associate’s degree with honors from Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, Mich., and graduated cum laude from Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., with a bachelor’s degree. Her love of reading and writing led her to a career in newspaper journalism where she spent several years covering police, courts, schools and local governments for the Daily Press in Escanaba.  An animal aficionado, she lives on the Keweenaw Peninsula with two demanding, but lovable, cats. When not writing, Nancy enjoys hiking and photographing the natural beauty that abounds in the Upper Peninsula.

Page One: Hit and Run

Page One: Hit and Run
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Donna Winters – Writing Regional Historical Romances

Posted by on December 17, 2011 No comments
On December 14th, 2011 Irene Watson and Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke with romance author, publisher, and entrepreneur Donna Winters about writing regional historical romances.  Donna Winters and her husband Fred Winters are the owners of Bigwater Publishing. Since 1989 they have released 15 of Donna’s historical romances for ages 12 and up under the Great Lakes Romances imprint.  We covered a wide-range of topics from writing to marketing, including:

  • Historical romances vs. contemporary romances
  • Research methods
  • Historical characters
  • Images
  • Names
  • Character development
  • Historical dialog
  • Historical costumes
  • Historical transportation

Donna Winters

Donna Winters
Donna adopted Michigan as her home state in 1971 when she moved from a small town outside of Rochester, New York. She began penning novels in 1982 while working full time for an electronics firm in Grand Rapids.She resigned from her job in 1984 following a contract offer for her first book. Since then, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Zondervan Publishing House, Guideposts, and Bigwater Publishing have published her novels. Her husband, Fred, a former American History teacher, shares her enthusiasm for history. Together, they visit historical sites, restored villages, museums, and lake ports, purchasing books and reference materials for use in Donna’s research.

Donna has lived all of her life in states bordering on the Great Lakes. Her familiarity and fascination with these remarkable inland waters and her residence in the heart of Great Lakes Country in Upper Michigan, make her the perfect candidate for writing Great Lakes Romances®.

  
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JC Simonds – How to Start a Publishing Company

Posted by on December 2, 2011 2 comments
On December 1st, 2011 Susan Violante and Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke with publisher and marketing guru Jacqueline Church (“JC”) Simonds.  She is the co-owner of Beagle Bay, Inc, a book packaging and distribution company. Jacqueline is also the author of the historical novel Captain Mary, Buccaneer.  We went back to basics for this episode and touched on all the fundamentals you need, including:

  • Self-Publishing = Entrepreneurship.  Can you handle the business or do you need a partner?
  • Publishing is a $3 TRILLION a year, global business. Are you ready to compete?
  • Most new publishers are woefully lacking in knowledge about the book business.
  • Should you go for a “Doing Business As” (dba) or incorporate?
  • How many ISBNs should you buy – 1? 10? 1000
  • Understand the new business models of Print on Demand (POD) + distribution, eBooks, and offset printing.
  • Marketing = Sales. How do you plan to reach your reader/buyer in the first few months, and from then on?

Jacqueline Church Simonds

Jacqueline Church Simonds
Jacqueline is a book shepherd, assisting self-publishers and start-up presses in launching their businesses. Much of her knowledge about publishing can be found at the Creative Minds Press site New Self-Publisher’s FAQIn Captain Mary, Buccaneer, Simonds has crafted an enduring tale that will satisfy readers with its swashbuckling action, dark intrigue, and torrid romance. The book is the result of Simonds’ extensive research into the pirate subculture of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries. From the tales of real women pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read who were tried for piracy in Spanishtown, Jamaica in 1721, Simonds has created a character who would be as at home on Wall Street as she is on the heaving deck of an 18th century brigantine. If you enjoy curling up in your favorite chair with a great adventure story, then this book is for you!

 

 

Captain Mary, Buccaneer
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