STEPHANIE FARIS INTERVIEW and PIPER MORGAN PLANS A PARTY GIVEAWAY

Happy Monday Everyone! Hope that you had a great Thanksgiving holiday.

HELPFUL AGENT INFORMATION FOR TRIDENT MEDIA GROUP

Here's some helpful information that Mark Gottlieb from Trident Media Group e-mailed me about. #1 Literary Agency Trident Media Group's Leading Literary Agents Take Book Publishing Q&As in #TMGTalks on Twitter Mon. Dec. 11, 12-2 PM EDT. This is a great opportunity for you to get your questions answered!

Today I’m excited to have follower and author Stephanie Faris here to share about the fifth book in the Piper Morgan series, PIPER MORGAN PLANS A PARTY. This sounds like a fun early middle grade series that I would have loved to read with my daughter when she was younger. I love the party theme of the story and the problems.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

Piper tries to plan the perfect party in the fifth book of the charming Piper Morgan series.

Piper is excited to help her mom plan a big party for another girl her age. After all, who doesn’t love a good party? But when Piper and her mom arrive, they are in for an unpleasant surprise: A spoiled little girl, a huge mansion, and a list of impossible demands from the birthday girl that includes a real-life princess and grape jelly beans. How will they ever pull off the show-stopping party that Emmy is demanding? It seems like no matter what they suggest, Emmy is never happy. Can Piper help her mom pull off the best party ever? Or will the party turn into a big fat mess?

Hi Stephanie! Thanks so much for joining us!

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

I was working for my state arts agency in my younger years when my job involved looking through some writing contest entries. I was inspired by what I was reading and decided to try my hand at literary fiction. Soon after, I realized commercial fiction was definitely more my thing, especially since that’s what I’ve always preferred to read.

2. That's a cool way to start writing. Where did you get the idea for the Piper Morgan series and your new book in the series?

I was inspired to write Piper Morgan after reading every single book in the Junie B. Jones series. I wanted someone spunky and fun, but I also wanted her to have different adventures in each book. The idea for Piper Morgan Plans a Party came from a brainstorming session with my amazing editor, Alyson Heller. Aladdin already had a party-planning book (the You’re Invited series). But this one focuses heavily on two children’s birthday parties. And delicious cake!

3. I love Junie B. Jones! Share about Piper and how she’s grown as a character throughout the series and in this new book.

Piper continues to learn and grow, but I think in this book we see her really starting to understand that she needs to be more responsible.

4. These books are shorter chapter books where you must tell the whole story in about 100 pages or less. That doesn’t sound easy to do. How do you plot out these stories and tell the whole the story with fewer words?

I actually do better writing shorter. Even my middle grade novels come in at around 40,000 words at best. When I wrote romance, I always veered toward the shorter books published by Harlequin. I don’t really even like to read long books. I think it’s just the way I’m wired!

5. I don't love really long books either. You’ve had five books in this series published since 2016. How are you planning out a series like this? And writing them so quickly? What advice do you have for other writers wanting to write a series like this?

With each chapter book being only 8,000 words or so, five a year only come to 40,000 words! So that’s five books in the same length you’d tell a middle grade, young adult, or short adult novel. You definitely need to sit down and make a list of all the books you plan to write in the future as part of your proposal. The publisher doesn’t just want to see the three chapters and synopsis for the first book with chapter books—they’re almost always buying a series.

6. Your agent is Natalie Lakosil. How did she become your agent and what was your road to publication like?

I queried her with my series about tween ghost hunters. She requested the full—I’d been through the

ups and downs of an agent/editor being interested and it not panning out, so I tried not to get my hopes up. When I got the email that she wanted to represent me, it was one of those life-changing moments! But my road to publication goes all the way back to 1995, when I wrote my first novel and began collecting rejections. I wrote lighthearted romance and when chick lit came and went, lighthearted romance was instantly out, but I was so excited to see middle grade and YA was hot by then. I knew my voice was perfect for younger readers, and once I found that “sweet spot,” I got an agent soon after.

7. That's an awesome agent story. This series is not your first published books. You also have two upper middle grade books, 30 DAYS OF NO GOSSIP and 25 ROSES, which were published in 2014 and 2015. Do you have any advice for the rest of us on how to continue to write and sell our books like you’ve been able to do?

I think we’re all waiting for our next book to sell. I hear that from authors who have 20+ books on shelves. There are never any guarantees, but all you can control is the writing. My advice is always to just focus on writing the next book while getting your previous books out there to agents and editors and hoping for the best.

8. What have you learned about building a social media platform and marketing your books over the years? What advice do you have for the rest of us on what works and doesn’t work?

For children’s writers, it may be different than other genres. We’re often told we must do school visits. I’ve done more than a few school visits that only sold one book, so I now have a rule that it must sell 50 books for me to set my freelance writing clients aside for a day to do it. Right now, I’m experimenting with book fairs and, honestly, those seem to be the best. Unlike bookstores, where people are walking in to buy a Starbucks or browse the magazine section, the people who go to book fairs are there to meet authors and buy books. If you find the right book fairs, you can definitely get your books in the hands of readers. Other than that, I haven’t found much we can do that makes a significant dent in sales. Most of the time, you’re just networking and supporting other authors in the hopes that they’ll return the favor.

9. That's great advice! What are you working on now?

I’m working on a spooky middle grade that I’m trying to get to my agent ASAP. I’m on the last few chapters, which is my favorite part of the book besides the very beginning! I also have two (yes, TWO!) chapter book series ideas brewing—one fiction and one nonfiction. So, fingers crossed my agent likes those once I get the proposals all written up.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Stephanie. You can find Stephanie at http://www.stephaniefaris.com or http://stephie5741.blogspot.com.

Stephanie has generously offered PIPER MORGAN PLANS A PARTY for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through December 9th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter either contest.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This giveaway is U.S.

Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Messenger. You can find the participating blogs on Greg Pattridge's blog.

Here's what's coming up:

Wednesday, December 6th I have a guest post with debut author Amanda Searcy and a giveaway of her YA psychological thriller THE TRUTH BENEATH THE LIES and my IWSG post

Monday, December 11th I  have an interview with Natalie Rompella and a giveaway of her MG Cookie Cutters and Sled Runners

Tuesday, December 12th I'm participating in the Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway Hop

Thursday, December 21st I'm participating in the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop--my last post for the year!

Hope to see you on Wednesday December 6th!