Marketing Madness Surprise! 5/30

What better post for a surprise post than one telling how a mistake in Photoshop

 became a wonderful surprise ending for a story?

Soar!  is a picture-book about two friends and overcoming jealousy.

Soar!  A story of friendship and friendship healed.

While working on a sandcastle for this story, I wandered into the Filter>Extrude
BAM! Extrude blew up the castle.  As I was just about to do a Mulligan and Step back-- I thought, that castle looks kind of cool all exploding like that.  In Soar, a group of crabs builds this castle, when they aren't too busy pestering seagull Gully. 

                                     Gully now soars into that castle at story end,                                                after having one too many a feather plucked by a crab!

 Lesson learned, save your 'mistakes"  you never know when they may come in handy.

    To buy books or for info publishing your own book to Createspace, contact the author --

Robin Smith  smithr8020@gmail.com   www.orderchildrensbooks.com

 Soar!  Copyright 2014 - All Rights Reserved - Robin Smith

Marketing Madness Collaboration! 4/30

Collaborating on story telling and publishing can be a joyful, bumpy, exciting trip.

Although I still create picture books solo, I also enjoy teaming up with other creatives.

Tana Bevan and I have been creating stories from the get-go, and we have some tales to tell, trust me.

Like the case of the under-water rainbow, when Tana quipped that "rainbows are not under water."

Hold ya horses there Tana, Mermaids don't exist either, you know, right?   Among a fit of laughter, the rainbow was added under-water.  Then there was the time I felt challenged by Tana to write a certain type of story, when she announced, "We are not writing a story about a child who swears!"

Challenge accepted I wrote just that story!  Then, like a child avoiding peas like the plague, Tana did not want to see the story -- which I called Sailor Talk. After more refusals than a reading of  the classic Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham, I finally got her to listen as I told the elevator version of the story. As a past preschool teacher, I found creative, fun ways to avoid a single swear word in a book about swearing.

And Tana loved it!  

  Sailor Talk will be published soon, and Tana is on-board!

Collaboration is a tricky thing and sometimes other life events interfere. One water-color artist  had to drop out of a project (Sorrow Birds)  when she found she was expecting and needed the time for family. (But has given permission to use the pictures she did create, so she will still be part of that story!)  Sometimes, the process is so easy, you can't believe it!  Travis Shorey worked fast and brilliantly painting over 20 brightly colored original monster paintings for Monster Mash.

Six year old Melanie Patino, quickly delivered her artwork for the picture-book, The Artiste, and then waited patiently for me to complete the work.  I've collaborated with my son, James Gunderson -- who contributed some artwork to Fleur de lis Spree.  

If you need to find artwork for a book or project, consider working with a talented friend, a local artist, or reaching out on the web!  Collaboration, sharing ideas, stories and projects can be tricky, but it's well-worth the process.

The Artiste will publish early August 2014 on CreateSpace.com.  

To order books or for info on how to publish your book to CreateSpace,

Contact this author, Robin Smith

smithr8020@gmail.com

http://www.orderchildrensbooks.com

Copyright 2014 Robin Smith
All Rights Reserved

Markerting Madness Extra! Extra! 3/30

Here's a shameless plug for another author's book - (nice change?)

   Prize Inside by Seth Godin 

 http://amzn.com/1591841674 

Reading Seth's book has been both a  joy and a fear inspiring challenge.

There is so much great marketing advice in his book, but one of the most important take-a-ways for me was the idea that people don't just like MORE, or WANT MORE, they are absolutely CRAZY about getting MORE!  

 So, as writers marketing a book, or a creative selling anything at all,                                                we'd have to be crazy not to give them MORE!

For me the challenge is how do I give my readers, their parents and teachers more in my picture books?  I wanted to find fun, creative ways to add more value to each book.  Beyond telling an interesting , fun, silly or meaningful story with fab illustrations, how can I give the buyer more-for-their-money?

Without giving away the farm -- here are some simple, and some not so simple, ways I am adding value, and putting a "surprise inside"  picture books.  

With the very first book, Mer The mermaid and the Pearl, I instinctively created added value by ending the book on a beautiful blue ocean background.  Having been a preschool teacher for many years, I knew teachers could copy out this page for their students to add their own Merfolk drawings.  Perhaps for use in  a Merfolk bulletin board, book covers or greet cards!  This was a very simple "prize inside."

Today I'm working on a new story called Monster Mash, and together with artist/illustrator Travis Shorey, I'm are gonna get his monsters moving!   It's started with a simple PowerPoint Presentation, and morphed into getting help from a student on making the animation in flash.  I even hope to include a cut-out Zeotrope  (See Wikipedia here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope) , of the Monster Mash monsters dancing.  This is a fun "prize inside"  that's not so simple!

 All illustrations for Monster Mash and story are copyrighted
Copyright 2014

by Robin Smith and Travis Shorey

I have  several stories planned that I've requested a very special prize be created by my daughter.  After nearly 10 years of guitar playing , my force of nature daughter is playing in a band and writing her own songs.  (Those guitar lessons DO pay off parents!)

I've asked said daughter, Kathleen Gunderson, to write two songs:   STORM, and Rainy Day Blues.

Kat's songs will be offered as a free download for a set time (one year sounds fair), in Storm!  -
-a picture book is about a father and son weathering the storm in a small sailboat; and the song Rainy Day Blues will be featured in two books -- I Like Ella, and Rainy Day Blues.

It's early days, but as Seth Godin suggests, I think readers, teachers and parents 

will enjoy getting just a bit more -- everyone loves a surprise!  

Monster Mash

by Robin Smith, Illustrated by Travis Shorey

 Everybody DANCE Now!

To see a preview of the Monster Mash monsters dancing in a PowerPoint file,

email me at smithr8020@gmail.com

Monster Zeotrope

To order books or for info on how to publish your book to CreateSpace,

Contact this author, Robin Smith

smithr8020@gmail.com

http://www.orderchildrensbooks.com

Marketing Madness! New Story Idea 2/30

Do you remember the story of the Ugly Duckling?

This story has a warm place in my heart.  As a premature, underweight baby,  my worried parents were comforted by my grandfather -- who promised them I'd someday grow into a swan!

                                       Getting inspired from the heart of the Ugly Duckling story,                                          I wanted to make that feeling into my own telling.

 I wanted to write something a bit different, but still giving the feelings of growing into one's own.

What could be more different than a Stripeless Zebra?

Zee was born in the story book titled

Zee the Stripeless Zebra

Unlike the Ugly Duckling, Zee changes on the inside, not the outside. 

 At first, being so different is painful to Zee, and he wants nothing more than to get stripes!

It's even his wish as Zee blows out his birthday candles. 

Then something wonderful happens, as friends and family tell Zee --

 "Every Zebra is different, you're just more different." 

Dare to be Different!

Co-Written and Illustrated by Robin Smith and Tana Bevan

Zee the Stripeless Zebra

 will publish in early August 2014

on Amazon.com

To order books or for info on how to

publishing your own book on CreateSpace:

Contact this author Robin Smith

www.orderchildrensbooks.com

smithr8020@gmail.com

Marketing Madness? A Simple Marketing Plan for all!

mar·ket·ing

noun: marketing

1. the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

   

    MARKETING MADNESS   1/30

   Writing, illustrating and dreaming up creative picture book stories                                                                                                       is a joy.  

                                           Inspiration is all around!

                       Story ideas come to me at all hours of the day, or night.  

   Marketing on the other hand, is a bug-a-boo. 

   I have decided to take this challenge head-on with 30 days of actions repeated three times over the next 30 days.  

   If you need to market, feel free to copy this marketing 30 days plan!

         Easy P-easy! Follow these 10 steps, then repeat 3 times!

   1. Introduce one book on the blog, and post its image on http://www.pinterest.com.
              (oh and Twitter Too!)
   

   2. Blog about a new story idea.
   

   3. Blog about the 'extra' pages, or extra-interest features about a particular book or books.
   

   4. Explore the joys and challenges of collaboration.
   

   5. Surprise Post!  Post one surprising thing on this blog!
   

   6. Reader Responses --              
               Just for fun, ask for name suggestions for a character
                               or feedback on a story ideas.
   

   7. Free card day -- post a free, original card for download.

                      (Personal use please)
   

   8. Journal pages day - post a few journal pages for free use.

               (We all get to use them /personal use please!)
   

   9.  Animation splash!  Post an under a minute PowerPoint Presentation.
   

   10. Have a "free book contest" for visitors in the comments section --  with specific rules!

    

   So, without further a do,  First post - 1/30 

   
   

   INTRO a BOOK

   Let me introduce you to ...

                    MER The Mermaid and the Pearl

      

   Order a copy of MER

    The Mermaid and the Pearl is a lively retelling of         Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea. 

    

           Original art, doodles and colorful backgrounds combine to                     create a watery world of Mer romance.

    This is a flipped version of the classic Hans Christian Andersen's                     The Princess and the Pea, told with Merfolk.

   This story idea came to me as I was buying Christmas presents for my daughter.  I started to group presents around a Princess&Pea theme.  A hand mirror with a pea-pod and leaf attached by a ribbon,  green drop earrings, a blanket with a "pea"  bead stitched on.  And I wondered; Had anyone written this story using a mermaid and a pearl?  An exhausted Google and Amazon search said no! 

   
   

   
   

   I enlisted the talented and wonderful Doodle Encourager, Tana Bevan, for the artwork, and together we wrote a mermaid, rhyming version of the tale. 
   

   MER: The Mermaid and the Pearl was Tana and my very first picture book together.

   
   We've gone on to write many more  and many more are planed under a joint branding soon to be announced.                   
                    

   

   
   

   Inspiration:  

   The inspiration for flipping this story into a Merfolk telling came from a love of the sea, mermaids and asking:
    I wonder, or what if questions.  I wonder if anyone has done this?  What if we tell the story with mermaids and Merfolk?
   

   Fun facts:

                            A sequel to MER The Mermaid and the Pearl is planned, titled                                                                             MER The Scaredy-Cat Sea-Dragon.                                                          

          

          Hans Christian Andersen's story was NOT rhymed, 

   and is lass than half a typed page!

   
   

    

   Click to order a copy of MER

    

    

   To order books, or for information on how to bring your

    book to CreateSpace:

   
   

   Contact the author Robin Smith

   smithr8020@gmail.com

   www.orderchildrensbooks.com 

   
   

   MER The Mermaid and the Pearl

   Copyright 2010 

   Robin Smith & Tana Bevan

   All Rights Reserved