Book Signings

Well this weekend is book signing weekend. I have 3 schedule.

Whew....

I just hope I have enough books.

This kids are really cute, especially when they are engaged into conversation and into the story. They have such insight and curiosity, it amazes me.

Tomorrow will be early to rise and on my way to Exton, PA for a signing/story time and the Wellington Square Bookshoppe. It is a really cool place, even has a coffee shop inside.

Sunday will be at the Ridley Library, I know a lot of my friends will be there. Oh boy...it is easy to perform in front of kids, but when the parents are watching I tend to get a little shy.

Monday will be just a book signing if I have any books left at the Helen Kate Furness Library in Wallingford. The kids will be reading books to the PALS therapy animals. How cute is that?

Next weekend will be the last book signing for the season. Over in Salem County, hope to see all my PGHS classmates there. And again, hope I have enough books.

So off I go to sign a bunch of books and see some sweet smiles.

A Query Letter

I've just done some research on how to write a query letter. Whew!!! A lot of pressure to perfect a 1 page letter to an editor. If you don't get their attention in the first line, your letter will go directly to the reject pile.

I should know, I sent out 94 and received 94 rejections.

My query letter was not professional.

So back to the drawing board.

I have a great story that I believe could be a great seller, but how do I convey this in 1 small page?

Also, what about experience, awards, etc. I don't have much in the writing realm with awards, but I suppose that personal and professional experience and awards will work.

There is a ton of samples out there, if you are struggling to write a query letter.

I have some samples as well as dos and don'ts.

I will post my query letter as a sample if it becomes successful enough to get a literary agent to want to work with me.

Wish me luck!

The Halloween Mystery!

What is Halloween without Brutus and Baby?

What could be more adorable than doggie PI's? Nothing, that's for sure! How could anyone resist these cute, little, curly sleuth hounds?

Brutus and Baby are back in action and not a ten-foot, red haired monster can stop them from solving the Haunted Halloween Mystery!!!

Come share in the exciting "whodunit" story that includes all kinds of Halloween fun with spooky and scary themes.

This book will tantalize children of all ages. If that special child in your life loves Halloween and doggies, then they will just be head over heels for Brutus and Baby!

Get your copy of The Adventures of Brutus and Baby, A Haunted Halloween.
A children's color illustrated story book.

Available at a discounted price with Amazon.com

The Switch Up

Well, been typing, brainstorming and rethinking this new manuscript I'm working on. Funny how some stories start out small, but then turn into so much more.

I think I'm going to switch this to a chapter book. About 5 - 7 chapters. This way nothing is shorted and nothing is over written.

When writing a children's story, you have to take into account that kids are way smart. They have imaginations and are professional questioners.

Yours stuff has to make sense and not leave the reader wondering something that was omitted and skipped over to save words or time.

This new book has really taken on a life of its own. I think if I go into little more detail about somethings it will be better for me and the reader.

Okay, back to the drawing board. Will take a little longer, but I think it will pay off in the long run.

Let's start with Chapter 1. Place and characters, everyone wants a good idea of characters and their personalities. That way the reader can relate and have an emotional pull to read on.

Sometimes writing is like cleaning a house. The mind gets lazy and doesn't want to do the details. Just wants to do the light dusting.

So off I go into the imagination room to fill in the chapters.

More to come.....

Writing A Children's Book

Well I have been hard a work writing my new manuscript. Or should I say, my imagination has been hard at work. I'm leaving the poodles behind for this book. I think I need to get a little more creative. I hope that this book will capture the interest of an Agent. I need to find a good publisher and real publisher.

But back to the writing part. Once you have the character names and an idea about what you want your story to be about, you will be amazed at how it just takes off.

Like a child that fantasizes about magical kingdoms and far away lands of all kinds of creatures, your mind....my mind just goes on a tangent.

Some things you may tweak along the way, like names, settings, maybe even story lines; but you get on that roll.

Sometime I amaze myself and thank God for this amazing talent and very vivid imagination.

If you're not sure how to get started and what to say once you start, my advice is to start with creating the characters. Writing their names down, what they look like, what are their personalities. Write down what the setting is; is it a town, city, farm, space, maybe a magical forest.

Then start with, "Once upon a time, in a far away land....." Let the imagination roll. Then when you are done, read through it. This is when the tweaking happens.

Love to write, you are a writer and will be a published writer. Just keep at it; it will happen for you and me.

Never go with a "print-on-demand" publisher!!

SBG - Strategic Book Group is not a "real" publisher. They are a glorified "self" publishing company.

I didn't have to pay up front, but the fees they charge, plus not helping with marketing is where they really get you. Everything for a price and then they are so slow.

With my contract, there wasn't an option for "returnable" books. Seems that is an extra service that costs $99.00 and a $200.00 deposit. HA, are you kidding me.

Well, I've been on my phone trying to book some book stores for my Fall Book Tour. I actually got a Barnes & Noble store to call me back and inquire about my book. Well as soon as they heard who it was published with, they decline. UGH....

Now I really have to get this new story going so that I can poll these Literary Agents again to try and get a REAL book deal with a REAL publisher.

Just beware of the sub-publishing companies.

New Book - New Direction

After getting about 30 rejections from the queries I sent out to the Literary Agents and seeing pretty much the same response, not for me, not a drawl, etc; I decided to leave the Poodles behind for a book or two.

I have been wanting to write a different children's book. A magical fantasy of sorts.

I have had the characters names for a while and have been brainstorming the plot and the citizens now.

I think I have a good start now. Now I just need to begin the story, figure out a villain and an adventure. Which you know each story should always have these to keep the kids interest. That is why Disney always has a villain and a triumph at the end of the adventure.

When writing a children's book, don't be afraid to go way out in your creativity. Set your imagination loose. Sometimes it is amazing the stories you can come up with. Tap into that inner child. There is a mountain of creative story lines and characters waiting.

My goal is to finish this book by the end of July and start sending queries out to the same Literary Agents that shot me down before. Maybe this magically fairy tale will spark their interest more.

More to come as I continue to build the story.

Agents or lack there of....

Getting an agent is like the hardest thing ever. I always thought the publisher would be harder, but that is not the case.

When querying agents, you really have to sell them on your book. Have them believe that your story is what they are searching for. This way they will want to represent you and work hard to find you the best publisher.

I have sent out about 90 queries in the past week. So far only rejections. I'm staying hopeful though, I think I have at least a 1 in 90 odds.

When trying to get an agent, research how to write queries. Look at sample queries. You can find all this on the web.

Is it the luck of the drawl.

An Image In The Clouds

Have you ever seen an image in the clouds? A shape, a figure or maybe a face?

When you do, what do you think it is or means? Do you think it is just a coincidence? Or maybe a sign? Could it be a shape looming our atmosphere that has been illuminated by the mist and foggy existence of a cloud?

When I was a child about 6 or 7 years old, I remember laying on the ground staring up at the clouds with a friend. We saw a cloud formation that looked like a face staring down at us and we were convinced that it was God watching us. I still believe that it was!

The other night I was out side while my dogs were doing their business in the yard. I happen to look up and saw an amazing cloud. I had to call my spouse out to look at it with me.

It appeared to be a man riding a horse with wings. Could it have been Jesus? As the cloud's shape began to shift in the wind, it started to then look like an angel riding a horse.

What an amazing formation, the image of a celestial being riding through our skies. Could it have been a sign, part of the four horseman or maybe just a happy resident of Heaven out for a stroll?

Please view the picture, take a minute to ponder it and see what it is saying to you.

Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley is one of the most beautiful and tranquil places on earth. Just stand a top a stone wall and look out over the valley.

Shenandoah

I stand a top of Stony Man
And gaze down upon my father’s land
Miles of green where twisted river runs
A top of trees and the blazing sun
I close my eyes to imagine a time before
When a different species roamed the lore
And the plains that embraced a heritage more
Same river, same green, same trees and blaze
But a different sound would carry up to the twilight haze
So now I stand captured in time
A part of this history, apart of my line
Smelling the fires to blacken the land
And gazing up the mountain so grand
I watch many climb the broadened hill
Up along the rocky and towards Hawk’s Bill
Young men, brave and strong with bow in hand
Hoping to steal a mighty beast from the vast land
But I myself have a different view
I climb the rock and sit upon a crescent pew
To gaze along fields of labor and toil
To gaze among the citizens of my father’s spoil
Braids and feathers flow through the air
Songs of white tails, wing-ed beast and bear
And still I sit and gaze and smell the freshened sky
Filled with the scent of blooms that past way by
And wander along the top of this mount
To Dark Hallow and swim in its fount
And on again I gaze and conceive
Of this mighty mass cloaked in its winter freeze
Oh yes, a magic befalls
The foggy walk along the Hallow falls
A daughter of the stars and of the night
A mystical land scaped in my second sight
A graze of peace
A graze of love
A graze of nation red
A mount so high
Full of history and full of lives
Never a care, never a lonely cry
For all would trust the Spirit in the sky
Now those centuries have past and with it, change
Of progress, of fleeting and of the strange
No more braided and no more brave
And all is quiet from songs of yesterday
But yet I still gaze and dream upon Stony Man
Eyes are open, but still I see that land
Of my once upon a time and long ago
And of my bloodline past, a place called Shenandoah

Michelle Elizabeth Rogers 10/08/2009

I need a new publisher!

Looking for a publisher is no easy task. First you have to get a Literary Agent and that can be just as hard.

I have sent out about 30 Queries so far to many Agents all over the US. I found this website that lists them all. http://www.agentquery.com/

What a find. There are 94 that are accepting new clients in the children's genre. I am hitting them all in hopes that I get at least 1 willing to work with me.

I know my work is good and I won't stop until it is a success!

Funny Story

Let's break up the seriousness with a funny story.

I had a wedding last Saturday. Made the mistake of getting dressed for the event BEFORE we took the dogs (you know those crazy greyhounds Hayden and Dasha) to the Pet Hotel before going to the wedding.

We decided to stay over at the hotel so that we could tie one on and have a good time, so doggies went to their hotel.

Well Hayden, the nervous boy that he is, likes to pee on everything. And while I was checking the dogs in, he promptly lifted his leg and pee'd all over both pant legs of my spouse!

Needless to say, there was not a happy camper! No time to run home and change, as we were running late for the ceremony.

Spent the night in pants that had dog urine on them.

But here's the best part, that was soon forgotten during the celebration at the reception with many alcoholic beverages.

Doesn't it say somewhere that dog urine is good luck? LOL!!!

Marketing Your Book

It is amazing how slow time can drag when you are trying to get things scheduled, ordered and moving.

My publisher is so slow with email responses, it drives me crazy. I'll bet if I were Steven King they would be banging down my door. Ah...someday.

Well, I made myself a list of things I need to work on...you know the "to do list".
1. Create an author page on Amazon. They have 4 of my books for sale.
-They also have my new one at a 22% discount....Wow..I should just order from them instead of the publisher. Won't pay too much more, I will get a royalty and it will count towards my required sales.
2. Get the bookstore contact list from the publisher that I created.
- I will start to call them all and schedule some book signings.
3. New head shots
- One day more money is going to come in instead of go out.
4. Contact the publisher for marketing items.
- I did this a couple of times already, but they are so very slow in responding.
- Need Posters, Kiosks, Bookmarks and Review cards
5. Create that You Tube video...
6. Review books on Amazon.
- Take time to put a review on Amazon for books that I have read and purchased, always signing it with my name, author status and website.
7. Fax those wonderful Press Releases to all the book stores and newspapers.
8. Call local newspapers and ask them to put in an article in about my book.

Whew, a lot to do in a little time. Since this book is based on the Halloween Holiday, I need to get some signings booked soon. Good thing is that there is more than one Halloween and I can schedule book signings each year.

Once these items are completed, then we start on getting the publisher to take on the new book and begin created the next.

The work of a published writer is never done!

The Writing Spirit

I DO HAVE A VOICE

Today's post I'm going to talk about our voices in writing. No matter what genre of writing we toil in, we have a voice! We can be experts or self-proclaimed experts, have an imagination, be innovated and of course unique.

Our styles with our voice have a quality that is needed and wanted in the writing world!

Try never to let someone sell you short or make you think that you don't know what you’re saying. You have a voice! I have a voice!

Not only that, others want to hear it!

I write children's books. I have two that have been published, just finished a third and working on my next one.

I am no expert by any means, but I have an imagination and think I tell a pretty captivating, interesting and exciting child's tale about 2 crazy poodles and their adventures.

Someone just had the nerve to ask me "What do you know what to say to them", because I don't have children. Not only was that rude and throwing negative vibes at me, but so completely wrong. Who doesn't know what to say to kids, I was a kid once, I have been around children and I have 4 nieces and 1 nephew.

Yes I was offended, but I didn't allow the remark to hinder me or my confidence in any way.

Just remember that if your passion is writing in any genre, you have a voice and others will want to hear it!!!

Hayden and Dasha - Greyhounds

I put up a picture of my two greyhounds, Hayden and Dasha. They are so sweet and love to be included in everything. Although they don't travel well. Last vacation we brought along the fur-kids. You know, have dog will travel.

As soon as we walked in the hotel, Hayden proceeded to lift his leg on the wall. Mess 1 to clean up. We left them along in the room for 5 minutes to get the bags. When we came back to the room we were met with a pungent odor of dog mess. Mess 2 to clean up. Then the all too familiar gag and hurl sounds were coming from the boy. Threw up a bucket of kibble. Mess 3 to clean up.

It looked like that was it. I was taking a rest on the bed after cleaning up all the smelly messes from the boy named Hayden. But I couldn't help but notice there was still remnants of dog poop in the room. It seemed like it was right next to me. I got up and searched the room. Nothing.

Then I noticed some icky mess on my foot and on the bottom of my jeans. How in the world did it get there? Then I noticed it was all over my pants. What? Where did it come from? I looked at the black bed spread with a paisley design and didn't see anything. Then I looked closer. Yuck! It was a flattened pile of dog poo! How did it get up there? What, did he poop on the bed first? How did I miss it? I guess it blended in with the bed spread. Okay, mess 4 to clean up then off to the shower.

This is why the doggies now stay at the Petsmart Hotel. LOL!

More fun with Marketing

Today I'm just not sure where to start with the marketing process. I have been waiting for my publisher to get back to me on some questions and items I wanted. That may take a while; they don't have a sense of urgency. After all, I'm one of many many many writers and not well-known enough for extra-special attention.

I think what I will do is start a list of book stores and begin to call them. I need to be able to put posters out and possibly set up some book signings.

I'll tell ya, this is a hard business. But I will keep trudging along.

The biggest thing with publishing when your "not" well known is that you have to do most of the marketing. But how and where to I start.

I took my nieces to see the new Shrek movie, it was great. I laughed out loud!

On the way home I was admiring the imaginations of the writers of this movie. And then thinking what an amazing job that would be. Just to come up with these stories and characters all day. How do I get that job?

For now, I will continue to look for marketing avenues and ways to get an audience for my children stories.

This is my very first post. It was a little difficult figuring out how to build this blog. Still have much work to do.

My 2nd Brutus and Baby book has been released. Now comes the hard and frustrating part. Marketing, schedulding book signings and selling books.

Whew...I remember when "getting" the book deal was the hard part.

Any writers out there that have these issues...please share your frustrations or any way you had success with sales.

I will continue to post on my progress with the marketing, future books and my frustrations over this crazy and difficult process.