WILL WRITE AND ILLUSTRATE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS, PARENTS, TEACHERS, LIBRARIANS,
AND BOOK LOVERS EVERYWHERE

TODAY’S GUESTS’ 2023 BOOKS

Author groups are becoming more and more popular – and I’m thrilled that KidLit Caravan is back – Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! They’ve created a unique post for Will Write for Cookies…they are going to share the things they did for promotion and marketing last year as debut authors – and what they’ve done this year for their second books! I hope everyone is taking notes…this is GOOD stuff! Take it away Rebecca, Kimberly, Suma. Harshita, and Carrie.

KidLit Caravan Members Share Book Promotion Tips Learned During Their Debut Year

Vivian, thank you so much for inviting Kidlit Caravan back to your blog! We are a group of 13 authors whose debut picture books released in 2022. We are excited to share that 6 of us have released or are releasing our second books in 2023!

As debut authors, we learned (often the hard way!) about what worked and didn’t work when it came to promotion. Below each of us recount a few promotional things we decided to repeat and a few things we did differently the second time around. We hope other new authors will find these stories helpful as they begin to plan their own book promotion journeys!

Author: Rebecca Gardyn Levington

Debut book: BRAINSTORM! Illustrated by Kate Kronreif (Sleeping Bear Press, 8/15/22)

Sophomore book: WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW, Illustrated by Mariona Cabassa (Barefoot Books, 3/7/23)

WHAT I DID THE SAME (and why!):

I got a costume! This was really my husband’s idea, but I bought a ridiculous-yet-awesome storm cloud hat (complete with rain drops and lightning!) to wear to book festivals, readings, and author visits when I’m sharing BRAINSTORM! I’ve found that the hat helps me connect with the kids because they can see right away that I’m friendly (and a little crazy!) which gets them talking. When it came to the launch of WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW, I knew I had to find something similar. I ended up finding an antennae headband and a beautiful butterfly cape in the colors of my book cover. It too has been a HUGE hit with the kids!

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY (and why!):

With BRAINSTORM! I did a LOT of blog interviews, and I tried really hard not to answer questions the same way each time. But interviewers often wanted to know a lot of the same things: my inspiration for the book, how had the story changed from initial idea to finished book, etc. and I found it difficult to find new ways to answer the same question. I also found that crafting thoughtful answers took SO much longer than I expected. So, with WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW, I did three things differently: 1) I didn’t do as many interviews overall. I tried to focus only on the blogs that I personally love and read, 2) I created a “Q&A Master List” document, which contains my already-crafted answers to some of the more common questions. I still tweak my answers for each blog post, but it saves a lot of time not having to start from scratch, and 3) I spread out the blog schedule (from several months before the launch to several months afterwards) so (hopefully!) no one gets too sick of reading about me and my books!

Author: Kimberly Wilson

Debut Book: A PENNY’S WORTH, illustrated by Mark Hoffmann, (Page Street Kids, 4/19/22)

Sophomore Book: A DOLLAR’S GRAND DREAM, illustrated by Mark Hoffmann (Page Street Kids, 7/11/23)

WHAT I DID THE SAME (and why!):

I am still in the process of planning, but my approach to social media for both books has been very similar. I do what I’m comfortable with and don’t stress out too much about it, which makes it a fun way to promote my books. The Page Street Kids marketing and publicity team is incredible, and we are always working together to get the word out. In fact, I’ll be joining them at the ALA Annual Conference again this June. I’ve also continued to collaborate with my Kidlit Caravan friends as we support each other and our 2023 releases. Last year, I had an amazing in-person launch event for A Penny’s Worth at my fabulous local indie bookstore, Park Road Books––and I can’t wait to do it again for A Dollar’s Grand Dream!

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY (and why!):

My second book is a summer release, so there are definitely things I’m doing things differently this time around. Instead of jumping headfirst into school visits, I’m scheduling more story times and signings around the launch. Though I can’t wait to get back in the classroom with kids in the fall! During the release of my debut, I did a lot of blog posts, which was wonderful, but this time I’m switching it up a little and am putting that time into getting advance reader reviews, which I have learned is extremely valuable. I also hope to do a podcast or two––I really enjoy chatting with others about all things kidlit! 

Author: Carrie Tillotson

Debut Book: COUNTING TO BANANAS, Illustrated by Estrela Lourenço (Flamingo Books/Penguin Young Readers, 4/12/22)

Sophomore Book: B IS FOR BANANAS, illustrated by Estrela Lourenço (Flamingo Books/Penguin Young Readers, 4/11/23)

WHAT I DID THE SAME (and why!):

Although I’ve never been a big fan of public speaking, last year I took a scary step and pitched myself to be on a couple of podcasts. The first one was terrifying— I was drenched in sweat by the end! But then I did another, and another, and found that I loved talking about writing and books! This year, I’ve pitched myself to be on more podcasts. I find it easier to talk on a podcast than write a blog-post, where I tend to think and re-think my responses a thousand times over. No time for that on a podcast!

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY (and why!):

I am a bit of an experimenter, and like to try out different things, so this year I decided to try doing a preorder swag campaign. Illustrator Estrela Lourenço graciously gave me some art files so I could make stickers and bookmarks, and we offered them to anyone who preordered a copy of the book, plus a giveaway of a PB manuscript critique from me and a PB dummy critique from Estrela. We only had 3 entries! So I probably wouldn’t do that again, for the time involved. But I’m still glad we did it, as I now have bookmarks and stickers to hand out at events!

Author: Robyn McGrath

Debut Book: DOLLY! THE STORY OF DOLLY PARTON AND HER BIG DREAM, Illustrated by Ellen Surrey (Little Brown/Christy Ottaviano Books, 6/08/22)

Sophomore Book: THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE, illustrated by Ishaa Lobo (Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 8/28/23)

WHAT I DID THE SAME (and why!): 

This year I’m continuing to utilize social media for outreach and promotion about my upcoming book. As well as continuing to support other authors through Kidlit Caravan and Storyjammers. It’s a thrill being on this ride with other authors.

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY (and why!): 

Last year I was a ball of nerves preparing for the release of DOLLY! Someone told me then, “the book will come out no matter what you do, or don’t do.” With that knowledge in mind, this year I’m going into the release knowing that things will happen just the way they are supposed to. And that I’m going to choose things I enjoy to promote the book vs. things I think I “should” do. One author’s journey to their book release doesn’t have to look like another’s. It can/”should” be as unique and different as our books! 

Author: Harshita Jerath

Debut Book: THE LEAPING LADDOO, Illustrated by Kamala Nair (Albert Whitman, 3/1/22)

Sophomore Book: COOLER THAN LEMONADE, Illustrated by Chloe Burgett (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 03/07/23)

WHAT I DID THE SAME (and why!):

I collaborated with fellow authors through KidLitCaravan and other author friends to co-promote the book on social media. This helped the book reach wider audiences, and I enjoyed supporting other authors, which is a win-win situation!

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY (and why!):

This year, I did an in-person book launch, something I sorely missed last year because of the challenging COVID times. To foster community building and cross-promote, I contacted local businesses to sponsor the launch giveaways. I received several rejections (not new for an author), and then there was a ‘yes’ from a local ice cream shop that my family loves. Their involvement perfectly aligned with my book’s theme and added an extra touch of delight to my book launch event.

Author: Suma Subramaniam

Debut Books: NAMASTE IS A GREETING, Illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Candlewick, 10/11/22) and SHE SANG FOR INDIA: How M.S. Subbulakshmi Used Her Voice for Change (Macmillan/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 11/8/22)

Sophomore Book: THE RUNAWAY DOSA, Illustrated by Parvati Pillar (Little Bee Books, 9/5/23)

WHAT I DID THE SAME (and why!):

I stayed on with my fabulous support group, Kidlit Caravan, because 1. I’m not in this journey alone. 2.  It’s easier to promote each other rather than our own books all the time  2. The visibility for our books increases tenfold because we are in it together.

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY (and why!):

I’m carving out time to travel because when I’m away and not tied up with regular chores, promotional ideas come to me more naturally.

WOWOWOWOW!!! Thank you so much! This was AMAZING!!! So much kidlit awesomeness in one blog post! You’ve given all of us such a great gift…the gift of your experience! But of course, we shouldn’t be surprised…you are KIDLIT Caravan, right?
And I know you aren’t done yet…since this IS a Will Write for Cookies post, Suma is kindly sharing a very savory treat…as many of you may know, the first dinner date I went on with my husband-to-be was in 1964 to an Indian restaurant in NYC (where we lived at the time) and we fell in love with curries and each other that night!

Dosa Recipe from The Runaway Dosa….
About Dosa:
A dosa or dose or dosai is a prominent meal in many Indian households. The cook creates a batter with rice and lentils. Then the batter is poured in a spiral from the inside out onto a hot cast iron pan or griddle. The result is a round crepe. There are many different versions of the dosa. The most popular version is a masala dosa with a dry potato curry filling, chutney, and sambar (lentil soup).

How to make a dosa:
This recipe belongs to my mother and is the one that we make at home. Don’t feel overwhelmed by the number of steps. If you can’t make the batter, you can always buy it from the Indian grocery store in your neighborhood.
Serves: approximately 20 dosas

Ingredients:

1 cup of parboiled rice
1 cup of regular rice
1 cup of whole urad dal (whole white lentils)
1 teaspoon of chana dal (gram lentils)
1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
1 cup of flattened rice
6 cups of water
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons of oil

To make the batter:
1. Rinse and soak parboiled and regular rice, dals, and fenugreek seeds in separate bowls for a minimum of four hours.
2. Soak the flattened rice for 30 minutes.
3. Drain the water.
4. Grind the mixture in a blender.
5. Add water as needed to make the desired smooth texture and consistency of fluffy crepe batter.
6. Add salt.
7. Leave the batter at room temperature for 8-10 hours or overnight for fermentation.

To cook the dosa:
1. Heat a griddle or a cast iron pan over a medium flame.
2. Add a teaspoon of oil and spread it evenly with a spatula.
3. Pour a ladle of the batter over the griddle or pan and swirl in a spiral motion from the inside out to form a circle
4. Add oil around the edges of the dosa and a little over it.
5. Cook until the bottom surface turns light brown.
6. Flip it and reduce the flame.
7. Cook for a few seconds over a low flame.
8. Transfer it to a plate.
9. Enjoy a thin, crispy dosa, or make a thick one so it won’t roll away!

YUM!!!
I know this is a post that many of you will return to again and again. Lots of great info!
Please support your favorite authors and illustrators in the ways that help them the most:
Buy their books!
Review their books!
Tell friends about their books!
Ask your local library to purchase copies of their books!