Do You Give Your Books Away?

I have spoken with many fellow authors about whether or not they believe in giving away sample copies of their books. The results seemed to fall equally on both sides of the fence. The main reason cited for not giving away books seems to be that “if someone is genuinely interested, they should at least be willing to cover the cost of the book”. Also heard a few times was, “my books are not free to me, so why should they be free to others.”

On the other side of the fence, I have had a number of very large sales that were direct results of my freebies. Two days ago I visited a major bookstore that did not have my books on the shelf. (The books are in the computer, but were not in that particular store.)I asked the manager if she would be interested in ordering a few books and said that I would be happy to come back when the books are in to sign them. I then handed her a copy of each of my three books (along with my contact information and some bookmarks) and told her that they were a gift to her to acquaint her with the books. I also suggested that she might use them as display copies to generate interest in the books. Two days later I received a call from the manager saying that she did display the books and then she read them during storytime. She also held a drawing in the store, using the books as prizes. She thanked me for sharing the books with her and asked me to please stop by in a few days to sign the 30 books that she had ordered for her store. In addition, she requested a book signing which we scheduled that day. All this from three sample books.

The same day I dropped off three books in an upscale children’s boutique. I introduced myself to the owner and gave her the books “as a gift, to acquaint her with the books” which I assured her would enhance the already wonderful gift selection in her store. This time it was only one day before she called to place an order for her store.

I also give free books to my close friends and relatives. They have turned out to be quite vocal when it comes to sharing my books with their friends and relatives, resulting in many, many sales.

A few guidelines that I use:
Just don’t be too free with your freebies. I give away only one of each book to each customer.

Don’t take the books back. If a store manager decides not to purchase books, I never go back to reclaim my books. I told them they were a gift. Let them keep them or sell them. You never know what will come of it.

Be sure to leave your contact information. This means a professional business card or colorful postcard, not a scribbled cell number on a scrap of paper.

Be sure to follow up. While people mean well, many need a friendly reminder.

Don’t forget to ask your tax professional if you are entitled to a tax deduction for the free books.

Good luck.
Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Why Don’t Men “Get” the Silent Signals?

Have you ever noticed that women have the innate ability to communicate by silently mouthing words to each other? Age is irrelevant. I can silently “talk” to my granddaughters, my daughter and my mother. My best friend and I have been sending each other silent signals since high school. We definitely had the advantage on double dates when we could send each other message such as, “He’s hot,” right in front of the boys without them ever catching on.

Why do men just not get it? My husband and I have been married for 30 years and yet he is clueless when I try to send him a silent signal. Just yesterday we had a meeting with what turned out to be a very persistent salesperson. I looked across the table at my hubby and mouthed “tell him no”. Hubby gave me a look that clearly said “huh?” (Women are also great at reading looks.) I then mouthed “let’s go”. No use. Next I resorted to one of those famous kicks under the table. You guessed it. He responded with “ouch”. Really!

You’ve heard that popular expression, “read my lips?” It doesn’t seem to work with men. Try it with the men in your life. They just don’t get it.


Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Authors, Are You Engaging?

As I watched the adorable little faces on the childen in the class I visited yesterday, a question crossed my mind: Am I engaging? (I think the answer is “yes”. At least, I hope so.)

Nope, I’m not talking about being attractive or delightful. Yes, it does help to have an engaging personality, and it does come in handy when working with children. But, while this is important if you wish to prevent the risk of boring them to death, I’m talking about the word “engaging” when used as a verb. Most parents and teachers have probably realized that the longer you talk to children, the less they hear. Talk too long and they hear nothing…nada. Engage them and you have an entirely different situation.

This really holds true if you are an author and are doing classroom visits. If you talk “at” children, if you bore them to tears, not only will they not respond to you, but they also won’t buy your books.

Here are a few clues as to whether or not a group of children is bored with your presentation:

1.The children's eyes appear to have glazed over.
2.You call on a child and their answer is "huh?"
3.You ask the group a question and no one raises their hand.
4.You tell a joke and no one gets it.
5.You ask a question about your book and someone raises their hand to tell you a totally unrelated story about their new cat.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m in no way suggesting that we act like a clowns or think we are there to be entertainers. However, it's really important to ask the children questions throughout your presentation. Do you have some props to show them, such as a lantern like one in your book or a hat like the one worn by your character? Can you interject a song? Can you have the group repeat a difficult word that you have used or read aloud with you a line of text? Do you have colorful pictures or charts that you can hold up? If we do these types of things, we can make the class a part of the experience, rather than just a group of onlookers. You’ve probably heard that expression, “I see your lips moving, but all I hear is blah, blah, blah.”


Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Do students reflect the personality of their teacher?

During a recent school visit I made a very interesting observation.

I was in the process of setting up for my presentation in the school media center. About 5 minutes before the designated starting time the third grade class arrived, led by their student teacher. Their classroom teacher was nowhere in sight. The children were seated and my presentation began. During my presentations I ask a lot of questions, always encouraging interaction and engaging the students. It didn’t take me long to realize that most of the children in this class, with unpleasant frowns on their faces, didn’t particularly want to be engaged. The answers to my questions tended toward the negative and, when asked to create their own fairy ideas for a story, many of the children contributed ideas such as the Robber Fairy, the Toy Fairy (steals toys) and other mean-spirited fairies. I should mention here that this particular school is in a rather upscale suburban neighborhood.

Twenty minutes into the presentation the children finally seemed to relax and we were having a nice discussion. Then the classroom teacher appeared. No surprise – she had the same negative expression on her face that the children had had when they entered the room. In fact, the first words out of her mouth were, “Sara, stop talking. Jason, put that pencil away.” She proceeded to sit, arms crossed, staring into space while I went on with my presentation. Is this why the children acted the way they did?

When this class left the media center and the next class arrived, I watched carefully. These children entered the room smiling, accompanied by their teacher who was also smiling. This presentation proved to be one of the most enjoyable I have ever had. Not only did the children have lots of creative ideas, but the teacher even raised her hand a few times and offered her own creative story ideas. The children and the teacher all had the same positive attitudes. The ideas this class offered for their fairy stories were kind fairies such as the rainbow fairy, the snow fairy and the messy desk fairy. In retrospect, the teacher of this class looked and acted as much as Mary Poppins as anyone I have ever met. What lucky kids!
L
ooking at these two examples, coming from the same school on the same day, I have to wonder - is this a coincidence or do teachers have this much influence on the personalities of our children?

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Have Hobbies Vanished?

Have Hobbies Vanished?

Oh, no! I just asked a group of third graders about their hobbies (hoping some would say “reading”), but they didn’t know what I was talking about! Really! Is it that kids don’t have hobbies these days or that they simply call them something other than hobbies? Either way, hobbies (or whatever you call them) are not what they used to be. I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s when almost every neighborhood had an actual “hobby shop”. These little shops were always packed with goodies such as gimp, balsa wood and paint-by-number kits. They were places where the owners actually knew all of the neighborhood children.

Without getting too sentimental. do you remember when children actually did things after school? They played ball, took walks, roller skated, built forts, did arts and crafts, learned to knit, collected bugs, read books! Now they sit, electronic equipment in hand, and they twitter, send instant messages and chat on facebook. Ok, I guess I am old, but maybe I have lived to be old by being active, having hobbies and actually doing things. I’m fearful that the next generation will be plagued by weight problems, shrinking grey matter, giant thumbs and carpal tunnel problems.

C’mon parents, get you kids up and doing something. How about an hour of computer for every hour of exercise? How about an hour of Wii after an hour of reading? How about family games in place of TV during the week? How about bowling? Photography? How about talking to each other? How about a hobby?

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Have You Ever Wondered How an Audio Book is Created?

Have you ever wondered how an audio book is created? I have. While I was writing my first children’s book, I often thought about the interactive books with tapes that I used to listen to with my own children. What if I could create a CD to accompany my book? Of course I could! To make a long story very short, I’ve put together the basic steps I followed in creating the CD for my first book. It worked out so well that I also created CDs for my second, third and (just recently) fourth books.

• First, plan the entire content of the CD. For a children’s book, the story narration is the key element. Also, a song would be nice. And background music. How about some interesting sound effects?

• Write the entire script including every word and every pause. Decide who will read the story. Most people prefer to hear the author reading the story, so be prepared to practice, practice, practice.

• Locate a reputable sound studio and meet with the audio engineer to work out the details. How long will it take to record? Will he/she adjust the sound levels and timing, add the sound effects, delete any unwanted sounds and create the finished product? Be aware that it’s not as easy as simply strolling into the studio, reading your book and waltzing out with a CD in your hand.

• What music will you use? Music is protected by copyright laws, so you will need to write your own words. You may be able to use the tunes from old nursery rhymes that are now in the “public domain.” Just be sure to do the research on the song you choose to make sure it’s available.

• Who will sing the song? Finding musicians was relatively easy even though I live in a small town. I called music schools and local bands and was amazed at how many talented people live nearby.

• Be prepared for a lot of fine tuning at the end. This is where the audio engineer can provide the same “magic” that a graphic designer provides for illustrations.

The process was a real exercise in creativity and quite a learning experience! And I can’t wait to do it again! By the way, how do you like my “non-union” chorus of grandchildren and friends?

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Writing a Children's Book - The Illustrations are Complete. What's the Next Step?

OK. So, you have written a children's book. You have hired an illustrator and worked diligently with this person to make sure your pictures match - and enhance - your written words. Now you have a beautiful set of pictures, however your project still does not resemble a book. What's the next step?

Now is the time to turn the pictures over to the graphic designer. Unfortunately, many authors eliminate this important step. I'm not sure if this is to save time or save money, however this step is crucial to the overall quality of the finished book. The graphic designer places the text on each page, coordinates the colors of the backgrounds, designs the extra pages (such as the copyright page and the end flaps) and "punches up" the colors of the illustrations if necessary. This is the person that ties up all the loose ends and presents the book to the printer in "camera ready" form. In many cases, this person also designs the cover.

It's important to work as closely with the designer as with the illustrator. They can really perform magic. For example, one of the children in my new book had a hand that just looked strange to me. No problem. My illustrious designer simply copied a hand from another child and replaced the one I didn't like. We were also able to test a number of end flap colors and overall color schemes with ease. (See photo)

So don't skimp here. This step is too crucial to eliminate.

The next step is finding the right printer. Stay tuned...

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com