How a book is born: Who prints books?
December 9, 2009 at 11:07 am | In Educators, Kids and reading, Mystery books, Publishing your story, Writing | Leave a CommentTags: book publishing, children and reading, getting your book published, Hudson Valley Parent, printing your book, the Undercover Kids, working with a printer, writing a book
Now I am really immersed in the book, the copy, layout and illustrations. It is time to find a printer. The printer we use for our magazines does not have book printer contacts. Many of the publishers I spoke to used niche printers that were not appropriate for me: like soft cover printers, picture book printers and oversees printers.
I looked on the web, but felt that it would be a crap shoot picking someone blind, even with references. So I kept looking. Finally, I found Woodstock Press with offices in upstate New York and in Manhatten. I was lucky to be referred to Olivia Blanchflower from Overlook Press. She put me in contact with printers that Overlook Press uses. Her support was invaluable.
I found that the book publishing industry is a new world with a new language. Trade book page. Linen embossed gloss. Head and foot bands. Bar code labels. Burst casebind. Kappa board. And the list goes on.
Some printers do covers only. Others only do paperback or the inside guts. I chose two printers who could do it all. And then I tried to get the best deal. I was told that the best prices come through China but I decided to stay in the states so I could have more control over the process.
I used Berryville Graphics in Virginia. They delivered what they promised. There were several things I learned. First, the output of the pages for books is very different from magazines that are printed on newsprint. The copies from our printer look great. But the proofs we got back did not match. Their output is more sensitive to the blending of grays, and we had to change our pages so the grey backgrounds for captions did not overwhelm the copy. And second was the issue of price and how many books to print. But that I will deal with in another blog.
How a book is born: Working with a distributor
December 2, 2009 at 12:02 pm | In Education, Educators, Kids and reading, Mystery books, Parents, Publishing your story, Writing | Leave a CommentTags: book publishing, children and reading, children's books, distributing your book, getting your book published, Gloria Smith Zawaski, marketing and public relations, publishing advice, publishing newcomers, the Undercover Kids, Writing
I looked for distribution houses, even though I knew the liabilities associated with them: small financial rewards and many book returns. The larger groups don’t accept publishers like me with only one book under our belt. I was referred to Greenleaf Book Group. They work with newcomers. To be considered, you must complete a series of questions, which is essentially a business plan. Once you submit the information together with your manuscript, they promised to get back to you.
And they did. First a received a series of emails telling me they were very interested in my manuscript. I was wary of this email communication approach and asked to receive a call. It took a while but finally a pleasant young man called saying they were very interested in sell my book and they will develop a comprehensive marketing plan. Great thought. There is always a but. All promotional expenses are mine. I pay all shipping costs. I am responsible for returns. And the percentage they take (sorry, I don’t remember the numbers) is huge. So huge, that after I figured the numbers, I would owe them money for selling my book. No earnings for me.
Now I am curious how this works. Who signs up for such a program? According to their website, the numbers are substantial.
So I looked for answers to three questions:
1. How many children’s books have they promoted?
2. What would my marketing plan look like?
The answer to the first question was, “Not many.”
“Then how do you know your marketing strategies will work?”
“We can’t offer any guarantee, but it has worked before.”
“Not for children’s books!”
“How about referrals? I would like to speak to someone you have worked with recently.”
It took a while, but finally I spoke to an author in California. He confirmed my worst fears. He was spending promotional dollars and had not seen any return.
I called Greenleaf back. “I would like to speak to someone in your marketing department to understand their approach to my book.” After all they are the ones who said they really liked the manuscript. The rep said he would get back to me.
I’d like to insert a note: I own a marketing and public relations company. In my 36 years in practice I never found that a client stole my marketing plan ideas after I introduced the program. If they could do it on their own, they wouldn’t bother contacting me.
The Greenleaf rep never got back to me. I let Greenleaf go. Or, maybe they let me go.
How a book is born: Reaching out to other publishers
November 25, 2009 at 11:08 am | In Education, Educators, Kids and reading, Mystery books, Publishing your story, Writing | Leave a CommentTags: book publishing, book series for children, copy proofing, getting your book published, Gloria Smith Zawaski, reading, Terrie Goldstein, the Undercover Kids, Writing, writing a book
My book is taking shape. I hired two people to proof copy. We worked with an editor who helped improve the story. (I’ll tell you about that later.) The layout looks great. The illustrations are almost complete. But I wondered how other small publishers get their books in front of their readers.
Here is what I discovered:
- Two publishers only work with authors who are will to spend their time promoting their books. They feel the author will be the primary sales person. For example, one author is a psychologist who speaks at large conventions. She sells the books are the conferences. Another author does the school circuit and puts books in the trunk to sell.
- All the publishers list their books on Amazon.com and BN.com, but they do not get a great return.
- One sells through Scholastic Books. They order large quantities, 12,000-15,000 books, but the money he makes has been diminishing.
- One sells through a book distributor, but there is a small return on investment and they have to worry about book returns.
- One publisher would only speak to me if I paid her for her time. Oh well. You can’t win them all.
I learned two things:
1.Very small publishing groups have a really rough hall. As I am writing this blog, two of the publishers I spoke to have closed down their operations.
2. There is not one distribution channel. I will have to try a number of different ways to get my book into the hands of readers before I realize what works for me and what doesn’t.
How a book is born: Bringing the book to life with illustrations
November 11, 2009 at 11:45 am | In Education, Educators, Kids and reading, Mystery books, Parents, Publishing your story, Writing | Leave a CommentTags: Writing, publishing, the Undercover Kids, Hudson Valley Parent, illustrators, Kids and reading
Our publisher Terrie Goldstein continues to discuss how she brought the Undercover Kids book series to life.
I am still using my first rough edit to complete the initial layout with 11 chapters. Now I am ready to decide what illustrations will support the story. For this phase, my magazine publishing experience comes in handy. I grid the pages using ½ and full-page illustrations, as well as two full-page layouts and two half-page layouts. I decide not to use graphics for the chapter headings or to use spot illustrations which are placed anywhere on the page. (Although in the final layout I insert two spot drawings because it supported the story.)
I decide how many illustrations I need and the sizes. And then I create a 5 page Request for Proposal, commonly called an RFP. But how much am I willing to pay? No idea! So I call some of my artist friends to discover the going rate and balance it with what I think I can afford.
My author is local, so I would like a local artist as well. I sent the RFP to all the artists I know plus all the local art organizations. I get back 10 responses and contact five.
I ask them to create their version of Katie and Jake. I wanted to make sure I had someone who understood Katie and Jake. Once that happened, everything else would be a piece of cake. Boy…was I wrong.
I picked an illustrator and asked for he first full-page drawing. We went back and forth maybe five times before I realized that this just was not going to work. I paid for the illustration, even though I wasn’t going to use it.
Now I am in trouble. I have no illustrator and my printing deadline is fast approaching.
Phillip Ritzenberg, my book layout guru, comes to the rescue. Childrensillustrators.com shows great worldwide talent.
Since I really botched my first attempt at hiring an illustrator, I call in the big guns…my husband, who is a fine artist. We go through the site together and we both realize from my first hire, that not all illustrators can draw people AND animals. For us that is important, because Cooper, Katie and Jake’s dog, plays an important role.
While researching the illustrators on the web, I return to the library and the bookstore to find illustrators that I enjoy. For example, Dave McKean’s illustrations for Neil Gaiman’s book The Graveyard Book is one of my favorites. His black and white drawings set the stage for Gaiman’s wistful tale.
Research done and I am ready to pick a new illustrator. Wish me luck.
The Undercover Kids Journey Continues: Alden Place Elementary
November 9, 2009 at 4:23 pm | In Education, Educators, Kids and reading, Librarians, Mystery books, Parent Teacher Groups, Parents, Puppets, Writing | Leave a CommentTags: Alden Place Elementary, children's books, Gloria Smith Zawaski, Hudson Valley Parent, Mystery books, reading, school performances, the Undercover Kids, Writing
The Undercover Kids have now performed at three schools and we are practically pros. Last week we visited Alden Place Elementary with Gloria and The Undercover Kids (Katie, Jake and of course Cooper). The performances went well. But while we were at the school, I couldn’t help but think about how whirlwind these past couple of months have been. As I started looking back towards our past, I couldn’t believe how far we’ve come. Two months ago we didn’t have our puppets or even a script and now as almost through magic we have managed to visit three schools and provide a show for children. I think this is a testament to how hard work can pay off and if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything. Another thing that surprises me about our performances is the reactions from the kids. So far, every school has been different. Some groups are rowdy and some are more reserved, but they are always full of curiosity. For example the children really enjoy interacting with Gloria (Katie and Jake too!) and asking her questions. My favorite question and answer interaction between Gloria and a student would have to be when a young boy from Alden Place asked Gloria if she could write a book about a car and when Gloria said sure what kind of car, The boy replied, “A 1969 Ford Mustang.” As funny as that response was it really made me think that kids really know what they want and we really have to listen to them. We will have to keep that in mind for any future performances we have in the future. Until next time!
How a Book is Born: Copy doesn’t just jump off the page
November 5, 2009 at 3:46 pm | In Publishing your story, Writing | Leave a CommentTags: books, editing, Hudson Valley Life and Hudson Valley Parent, publishing, reading, the Undercover Kids, Writing
You never know what you don’t know until it hits you in the face. That’s my new motto.
For the past 16 years I have been the publisher of two niche magazines. I have been responsible for getting at least 250 publications to press. On the other side of the coin, I am also an avid reader. So how hard could it be to oversee the publication of one book? As I look back over the last year and a half, I realize that I didn’t have a clue on how to approach this new project.
I had my author and the rough edit had been completed. What about an illustrator? It was only then that I realized that I couldn’t see an illustrator until I created chapters and completed the layout. Layout? With our magazine we studied which fonts work best for families…that which is most easily readable… and what works for older adults. But what do we use for kids? I know I wanted an easy to read font but fonts are not part of my expertise. So I turn to my two favorite sources…the public library and bookstores. I copy pages from books that I like. For example, I love the font family used in Cornelius Funk’s books. (Actually I love her storytelling techniques. Ever read The Thief Lord?)
So what fonts do I have to look for…body copy, chapter headings, table of contents, illustration captions, cover copy, book title, author and illustrator copy? It’s too much for me so I turn to Philip Ritzenberg, a longtime newspaper designer who has won many awards. He admits this is his first book (Mine too. So we are in good company.) but he feels good design is good design.
He uses some of Gloria’s story copy and completes layouts for my review. Not only do I have to approve the font, but the font size, spacing between lines, page size and margins and more. Decisions don’t come easy but I finally choose Nimrod for the body copy and Clearface for all chapter heads.
Now more than ever I realize that I have to turn to experts to produce a quality children’s book.
HOW A BOOK IS BORN: Illustrations and doing my homework
October 28, 2009 at 5:07 pm | In Publishing your story | Leave a CommentTags: books, illustrators fiction, publishing
July 29, 2008
Re: meeting notes
To: Gloria and Clay
Results: Get together in one week.
Gloria will develop three story outlines for three counties
Clay will create sketches of the kids
Terrie will get price quotes and develop marketing strategies for the product.
It is interesting reading my old meeting notes. My husband Clay, who is a wonderful fine artist, said he would develop the illustrations for us. But he realized that it would take time and talent he felt he could not offer. Clay and I started our marketing agency over 25 years ago, so he knows how to work with me, but finding someone else would be an adventure.
Since Clay would not be part of our team, I now had to do my homework. I reviewed all types of kids’ books in the library and at book stores. I noted the illustrations I really liked and why. I researched the illustrators and their styles. I bought books. And took out more books from the library. I was overwhelmed
Books can open the door to new discoveries
October 23, 2009 at 4:52 pm | In Education, Educators, Kids and reading, Librarians, Mystery books, Parent Teacher Groups, Parents, Writing | Leave a CommentTags: children and reading, imagination, teachers, the Undercover Kids, Writing
When I was young and read a book, I never did any activities that went along with that book. I might have said to my parents, “I just read a really great book,” but that’s it. I would just move on and start reading another book (or as much as I hate to admit this, wait for the movie to come out). But, there are so many other activities that you do while you are reading a book. That’s what is so great about the Undercover Kids, even though it is just one book there is so much you can do along with it for fun. For example, we just developed a teacher’s guide that is filled with great activities teachers and students can do together with or without reading the Undercover Kids. You can download it on the Undercover Kids homepage. Also, be on the lookout for our Undercover Kids Column in Hudson Valley Parent magazine, where we will post various fun and educational activities that you can participate in with your family. If you are a student reading this blog tell your teacher about the guide and if you are a parent or a teacher thanks for visiting our page! Remember open up a book and let it take you on an adventure and have fun. Happy reading!
Katie, Jake & Cooper
Great adventure, Mystery & history books for kids. Plus fundraising opportunities for community groups.
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