Tuesday Tip #141 AND GIVEAWAY OF THE MOON COIN

Tip Tuesday features writers' tips on craft, research, querying, blogging, marketing, inspiration, and more. If you'd like to send in a tip, please e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com.

Hi there! Natalie here today instead of Casey. Today I'm excited to share a tip from Richard Due and a giveaway of his middle grade book THE MOON COIN. I've read a number of great reviews for the book and the illustrations so I'm hoping that one of you and your middle grade kids would enjoy Richard's book. Details about the book and the contest will be after Richard's tip.

So here's Richard's tip on self-publishing:

Read the genre you want to write in until your eyeballs fall out. Then put them back in and read some more. Repeat.

Make sure your novel's word count matches the target genre you're writing for. And remember, first time novelists don't—as a rule—get to break rules.

If you think your novel is all finished, it isn't—get back to work. Repeat.

When you finish editing it, and you're sure it's ready, print it out double spaced and edit it on paper. Repeat.

Get thee to an editor, or do not pass go. Personally, I work with two! I met one of my editors years ago, when she was 14. Her mother would bring her into my bookstore on Saturdays after soccer. She would run to the young adult section, still in uniform, and raid our Lois Leppard books. Now she edits full-time at a publishing house. Lesson?: Yep, even soccer players can become editors . . . um, wait . . . okay, seriously: KEEP YOUR CONNECTIONS!

Go to writers' conferences and take advantage of their workshops and writers' critiques with real live editors and agents. In addition to smaller, more local events, I've been to two of the big SCBWI conferences in New York City. I actually met my illustrator, Carolyn Arcabascio, at the 2011 one. Lesson?: MAKE NEW CONNECTIONS!

Join a local writers' group. Listen to criticism of your work. If one person in the group thinks you need to change something in particular, it's probably fine. If three or more people in the group think it needs to change, you've got work to do. Between family, running a bookstore, and writing, I don't get to my writer's group nearly as much as I'd like. But every time I go there, I learn something new and useful.

Get social: Goodreads.com, LibraryThing, Shelfsafari, facebook, twitter, tumblr. And make sure to start an author blog. I use WordPress, but there are many good blogging sites—just pick one and get started. A blog is a great place for an author to let readers know what's going on: new books, interviews, signings, appearances, giveaways, links to other social networks, everything.

After you've published on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the iTunes iBookstore, submit your book to book bloggers in your genre. http://hampton-networks.com/ maintains a nice list. If you have a budget, you can afford some of the paid professionals: ForeWord Reviews, Kirkus Indie, Blue Ink, Publishers Weekly, etc. These folks can help get your book in front of library staff, people in the publishing industry, and indie readers.

If you thought having a printed book or eBook was the end of your journey, think again. Your next marathon is just starting. It's called marketing. Check out Amazon's KDP Select program and see if it's a good fit for your book. Enter your book into indie awards contests. Try and arrange a book signing with your local library or bookshop.

And don't be shy about offering your book for local schools and libraries to purchase. Often, they're quite supportive of local writers. Hint: if you happen to time it at the end of the fiscal year and they still have some money to spend, all the better!

Research book festivals and other literary-themed events in your area. For a small fee, or sometimes no fee, you can set up a booth and publicize your product, sell your book, promote your "brand," do a giveaway, add new names to your mailing list, meet other writers. . . . 

Thanks Richard for your advice. Here's a blurb about Richard's book from Amazon:

 "Tales, unlike stories, never lie. You see, a tale is an account of things in their due order, often divulged secretly, or as gossip. Would you like to hear one?" -Lord Autumn

Uncle Ebb was so good at telling his tales of the Moon Realm that sometimes it sounded like he'd been there himself.

As children, Lily and Jasper listened raptly to his bedtime tales of a place where nine moons swirled around one another, each inhabited by strange and wondrous beings: magical lunamancers; undersea merfolk; wise birds; winged dragons; and Lily's favorite, the heroic, leonine Rinn.

There was only one rule: don't tell a soul.

You can find Richard at his website.

Richard is offering one copy of THE MOON COIN for a giveaway.  To enter the contest, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment by September 15th. I’ll announce the winner on September 17th. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment. International entries are welcome.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry.