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12 May
382 Post by
Aimed at readers aged eight and under for a solo or accompanied read, these delightful rhyming verses use rhythm and pacing to create their own beat as the story is read aloud. Comparisons and opposites match with the varied illustrations of dancing styles to show a variety of races, genders, body types and ability levels enjoying dance together. What results is a bright and vivacious book that educates and empowers on many levels, as well as providing a lively, upbeat read for its audience. https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/everybody-can-dance
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Categories: Reviews

The French Village Diaries review – Simone LaFray

12 May
381 Post by
"I loved Simone’s character and enjoyed her daily life in Paris, from strolls in the park to helping out in the patisserie, to working undercover in the art galleries. Her attention to detail, the way her eyes expertly sweep a room and mentally take everything in; calculating how many people, who is acting suspiciously and who is genuine, was matched only by the attention to detail in the author’s descriptions. There is a lot that makes Simone unusual and different, including her love of routine and precision, but these were the things I enjoyed most about her. As a children’s novel, her quirky perfection will I’m sure strike a chord with those kids who maybe don’t feel they fit in with the norm." Read the whole review here.
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Categories: Reviews

Why It’s Time to Write Your Next Book

30 Apr
580 Post by
Each one of you has been published or is in the process of publishing a book. Congrats! You’ve experienced firsthand how arduous and exacting the process can be, but hopefully you’ve also reaped some of the rewards. It's important not to lose steam, so start thinking about releasing your second book. Your momentum is building, and your authorial fame is just starting to grow! If you published your book some time ago, don’t worry--it’s never too late to publish your second book (just ask Harper Lee!). This email is directed toward people who have written one book and are considering a second, but please note that this also applies to your third or fourth or fifth book! You Already Know How to Do This Do you remember how scary publishing your first book was? Putting yourself out there to publishers and agents; navigating the publishing contract process; passing your book over to your editor, hoping they will do it justice; finally holding that printer’s proof in your hand; and ultimately, marketing and selling it. For a first-time author, this list is daunting! But you’re a pro now. Either you’ve already done all of this, or you’re somewhere in production. You have gained many skills and experiences since you started this process. Think about how much you’ve improved as a writer since having your work professionally edited. Think about the things you could do differently the second time, knowing what you know now. Think about how nervous you felt on the first run, and how far you’ve come in championing your book and yourself. The whole process is often much easier the second time. Use all of your resources from your last book to inform your marketing plan for your new project. You likely already have lists you can use: an email newsletter list, lists of media contacts, a list of local and regional bookstores, a list of local venues for appearances. Start from the top and use all of these resources again with your second book. Keep Your Name Active Nothing will help to retain your online and other media presence more than releasing a second book. When your first book came out, we sent out a press release to media all over the world, and we continue to post about your book on social media and our website, not to mention all the wonderful promotional work you’ve done yourself! Launching a second book, you show your followers that you are an actively writing author with more than one book in your head. Use the Success from One Book to Drive Sales to the Other When people search for your first book, they may be directed to your second book, and vice versa. For example, if a person buys your first book from Amazon, they may click on your name to see what else you’ve written. Some online retailers have options for “More By This Author,” “Related Titles,” or similar buttons. Even on our own website, a person can easily travel from one of your books to another. Having multiple books increases your visibility for all of them. If You’re Writing a Series We mentioned earlier that it’s never too late to write your second book; however, if you’re writing a series, timing becomes infinitely more important. You don’t want the first book in a series to go cold when there are important sequels to come. If sequels are not released within a couple of years from the first installment, people can lose interest in your series and may not come back for a second. Imagine that by the time people read your book, you’re already posting information about its sequel. You may see an increase in followers who want to stay up-to-date, and you’ll likely see an increase in preorders for that second book as well. Final Words Like we said above: We want authors with more than one book in them. Since we’ve worked with you before, you don’t have to submit your work through our website submission system again. Instead, if you have a follow-up manuscript you’re ready to share, send it directly to Robert Pruett or your former project manager, and we’ll give it special attention.
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Categories: Advice

Midwest Book Review: B for Baxter

22 Apr
373 Post by
"Baxter the dog is full of surprises -- you never know what fun gadget he's going to pull out next! When his bird buddies, Marcus and Fiona, begin their annual journey to their Family Tree, Baxter must find a way to fly with his feathery friends! In "B for Baxter" by author and illustrator Ted Simonin, children ages 5-9 will follow Baxter, Marcus, and Fiona across the United States as they find new twists on old traditions and learn what it really means to be a family. While very highly recommended for family, elementary school, and community library picture book collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "B for Baxter" is also available in a paperback edition." http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/apr_19.htm#Picturebook
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Categories: Reviews

“Should I Do This?”

25 Mar
643 Post by
Brandylane Publicity has heard the same question from authors a hundred times over: “Should I pursue this marketing opportunity?” Whether it’s a paid review site, social media opportunity, festival, or something else, the answer is usually the same—We don’t know if this one path is right for you. We never want to recommend you spend time and resources trying to garner publicity from entities we’re not sure about. Odds are, we haven’t heard of them before, as there are a million and one ways to market your book, and Brandylane can only approach a select list of contacts that pack a punch. But lack of experience with a company, blog, or advertiser doesn’t mean we can’t make an educated decision about it. Below, we’re going to teach you how to analyze new marketing opportunities yourself to make informed decisions. We use Publisher’s Weekly (PW) as our example throughout, but you probably already know that PW is a very popular resource for publishers and authors to seek reviews, both free and paid. We submit all of our new releases to PW. What’s the best that could happen? What’s the worst? When considering a new publicity avenue, start by comparing the potential outcomes with the risks. Sending a digital copy of your book to an Instagram reviewer who may not review it is low risk. You’re sending free files digitally, and the worst-case scenario is they might ignore you. Submitting a book to PW takes about ten minutes and costs nothing, so that’s low-risk with the potential for high reward, since PW is well circulated. On the other hand, sending large amounts of money to an unknown third-party publicist is high risk. They could take your money and disappear. Money isn’t the only thing you could risk. You may be risking time, your privacy, or even your reputation if this publication misrepresents you in some way. However, these things cost money much of the time, and if someone is scamming you, odds are they’re in it for the money. Even if someone is not intentionally scamming you, the opportunity they're offering may not be the best use of your time and resources. Read on to learn how to evaluate marketing opportunities as they come to you. Approach technology critically In school, you learned to read critically. It’s important that you approach digital technology with the same critical eye. If you are considering sending your book to a blog or paying an online company to run ads for you, take a close look at them. What does their website look like? Is professionally designed and well organized? Are there grammatical or formatting errors? Is it hard to find concrete information, like what services in particular will be provided, or where they are located? Is it aesthetically pleasing? While busy, the Publisher’s Weekly website is organized, grammatical, and easy to navigate. It’s obvious right away that they do a lot of business with a lot of affiliates, which indicates that authors trust them. Search further. Most bloggers and companies have social media accounts. Inspect these closely. If a company promises to promote your book on their social media accounts, they should have a considerable following to make it worth your time and money. Don’t send your review copy to a Bookstagrammer with only 75 followers. There are Bookstagrammers out there who have 75k followers and will happily review your book. PW has 165,000 followers on Facebook and 778,000 on Twitter, but only about 1,000 followers on Instagram. Clearly, this business focuses on Facebook and Twitter, which is common for larger companies, especially because PW only accepts digital copies, which do not photograph well for Instagram. Based on social media following alone, PW is a good company. Ask questions If you are unsure about pursuing a promotional avenue, contact them and ask questions. Anyone can Google Brandylane’s phone number, call our office, and ask questions about the submission process, book production, printing, publicity, and more. While not everyone is available by phone these days, you should be able to fill out a contact form or track down an email on a company’s website to ask your questions. Be specific. “Will you get my book featured on blogs?” is not the same question as “How many blogs can you guarantee will feature my book? What kinds of followings will they have?” If you like, you can even ask for references. If they can’t provide any, perhaps you can find your own. Read on . . . Ask around For starters, Googling “[company name] scam” can often yield helpful results. Pro tip: You can use this method for anything in your life you suspect may not be completely safe. If a website or company is a scam, odds are, you’re not the first person to encounter them, and other people will have shared their experiences online. In the same vein, if you Google a company and little to no information populates, that lack of online presence should be a signal to you to steer clear. Just because something is not a scam doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good route, though. Rather than asking if a certain opportunity is a scam, ask other people if they’ve had experience with the company or person in question. This can be as easy as a Google search or asking a friend. Word your searches carefully: “Publisher’s Weekly reviews” will yield review articles from PW itself. However, “Using Publisher’s Weekly as an author” may give you better access to other authors’ experiences. If Google isn’t your style or isn’t giving you helpful results, ask fellow authors or people who may have had experience in this field. Ask questions in online author groups like those on Facebook. (If you haven’t joined the Brandylane Publishers and Belle Isle Books Authors FB group yet, you should!), Alternately, ask the internet at large by posting your question on Twitter or Reddit. “Has anyone tried submitting to #PublishersWeekly? Thoughts?” If someone who has had a bad experience reads your message, they’ll probably want to let you know. Final Words We are still more than happy to help you figure out if an opportunity is right for you. At Brandylane, we pride ourselves on offering unparalleled personal attention to our authors. However, we want to give our authors the tools they need to publicize their own books, when possible. If you take the steps outlined above and you’re still not sure what path to take, then of course—reach out and ask.
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Categories: Marketing, Reviews

Alternative Social Media Sites

02 Jan
725 Post by
Social media is a big part of contemporary marketing. Many of you already have a strong presence on one or more of the “big three” platforms—Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—but, for this month’s marketing tips, we’d like to encourage you to branch out and diversify your presence on the internet. Below you’ll find a run-down of some alternative social media sites. Have fun exploring! YouTube You’ve probably seen a number of YouTube videos, but you may not be familiar with the work that goes on behind them. It takes a lot of time and commitment to “go viral” like some of the videos you may have seen; however, maintaining a fruitful channel may be easier than you think. YouTube provides a great opportunity for everyday people to experiment with broadcast media. As an author, you will already have some experience necessary for creating a polished, engaging channel. Your background in writing will give you a leg-up when planning videos, and your talents in storytelling will enrich more spontaneous videos like vlogs and Q&As. Famous YA author John Green doesn’t exclusively make videos about books; he has several videos in which he further explains themes or passages from his books, announces and promotes his books, and recommends other books. All of this generates excitement around his books and allows him to connect with his audience.   Here are some general tips for getting started on YouTube: You don’t need fancy equipment to film and edit a video. Most smartphones have high-quality cameras and come with free editing programs. If you are filming outdoors or recording a live event, be sure to check the sound quality of your recording device (the microphone built into your smartphone) in this environment before you begin. People aren’t going to stick around to finish your videos if they can’t understand what’s being said. Editing can really help to develop raw footage into a crisp, clean video! Play around with different angles, sound clips, and transitions. There are many good editing programs out there for your phone and computer. Finding the right one and figuring out how to use it will take a bit of research, but the effort you put in will definitely be worth it. In the meantime, check out this video to learn some general editing tips. If you plan on being in front of the camera, expect to initially be a little camera-shy. It takes time to get comfortable with recording yourself on video. Any nervousness you experience is normal and should not deter you from pursuing video work.  Here are different types of videos that are popular on “BookTube,” but feel free to be creative and make something new! Book Review  Book “Haul” Book “Tag”: themed questions about books you like or don’t like; there’s a tag for just about anything! (ex: fall book tag, Disney book tag, Halloween book tag, etc.)  Writing Vlogs Learn more about YouTube Tumblr Tumblr is a great way to connect with other writers, artists, and fans through shared interests. However, the site can be a little daunting to newcomers. Although this platform is technically a blogging site, you won’t find many Tumblr accounts dedicated to the sort of “day in the life” posts typical of traditional blogs. Tumblr is a digital scrapbook and vision board where you can share pictures, quotes, videos, art, and anything else that reflects your interests. On Tumblr, you follow other users who post things that are relevant to your interests or your book, and you can repost your favorites onto your own Tumblr account. In turn, your followers will be able to repost these from you. For example, if you have written a fantasy novel, you may want to follow others who frequently post about world-building ideas, obscure myths, popular fantasy lore, cool paintings of dragons, and other applicable content. There are also several Tumblr blogs just dedicated to writing that include writing techniques, advice for other authors, writing prompts, and other things that might pique your interest as an author. You can also create content yourself. Before you go crazy with this, though, you may want to spend a bit of time on the site to see what sorts of posts are interesting to your potential readership. Then you can post sketches of your characters, excerpts from your upcoming novel, updates about a project you're working on, or whatever else you think your audience might enjoy! Be sure to tag your original posts with relevant keywords so new followers can find you easily. You can also field questions from followers by turning the question asking feature on and off as you please. Overall, your Tumblr should be a mix of original and reposted content that keeps your followers engaged and eager to check out your upcoming title. Still confused? Watch a tutorial of how to use this platform in this video. Learn more about Tumblr LinkedIn Like Facebook, LinkedIn endeavors to build your online social network. Instead of connecting you with friends and family, though, LinkedIn allows you to find work associates and make connections within your professional sphere. Having a LinkedIn typically lends a professional air to your social media presence. It is also a great way to stay in touch with people you meet in a professional capacity. Have you done a signing at a local bookstore? Connect with the owner on LinkedIn. Know a venue that’s always happy to host read-alouds and Q&As? See if they have an account on this site.   LinkedIn has a built-in tutorial that will guide you through the process of setting up your account.  Learn more about LinkedIn Pinterest You’ve probably seen Pinterest used for craft ideas and baking recipes, but did you know that it can be a handy tool for authors, too? Pinterest can help you promote and refine your writing. Like Tumblr, this platform allows you to browse other people's posts through tags. You can, for example, search “fantasy creatures,” “sci-fi fashion,” “victorian slang,” or whatever else might inspire your next writing piece.  Once you have found a post you like, you can “pin” it, or save it, to one of your digital “boards.” You can have multiple boards organized by theme. For instance, you may have one board dedicated to writing tips, another committed to marketing advice, and one that helps you curate the aesthetic of your novel. Users who like your boards will follow you to see what you’ll pin next. You can also follow other users who save pins and create boards that you like. When you are ready, you may want to start posting content of your own. Post writing tips using examples from your book, post about the publishing process, or even post some illustrations from your story. Be sure your original content includes eye-catching graphics and links to your book!  For more information on how to get started on Pinterest, check out this article. Learn more about Pinterest We hope you found our introductions to these social media sites helpful. If you do decide to build your presence on these platforms, please let us know! We will be happy to promote your content and help you along the way. And, of course, we are always here to answer questions the best we can.
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Categories: Marketing, Social Media

Amateur Professional Photography

04 Nov
581 Post by
As a writer, you’re going to need pictures. Professional author photos appear on the back of your book, in event documentation, rock your social media pages, and more—there are a ton of ways you can use photography in your favor. With technology improving more rapidly than ever, the general public is getting better and better at spotting amateurish photography. The good news is that professional-looking photography is no longer only for professional photographers. Basic Tips There are a few basic tips to keep in mind whenever you are taking any kind of photos: If you have access to one, use a real camera. If you don't, try an iPhone, as they have excellent cameras. Make sure your light source is in front of the subject, meaning the light source is often behind the photographer, not behind the subject. Capturing the sun or another bright light in the background can overwhelm the shot. Taking photos through shadows of tree branches will cut up your shot visually.  Take photos head-on when possible. This is more important when photographing books than people, as the linear outline of a book reveals an off-kilter shot more obviously than the roundness of someone’s head. If the shot is going to be crooked or off-center, make sure it’s deliberately so. Take many pictures, then scroll through to find the ones that are most attractive, level, and in-focus.   Taking Excellent Author Photos Your author photo is the only image most of your readers will see of you. If you can’t have professional headshots taken, here are some tips for getting that perfect shot: Have someone else take the photo. It's clear when your author photo is a selfie, which is a more casual kind of photography. Wear something with no logos or distracting images and in a color that makes your features pop! Have your photographer stand back far enough that they can capture more than just a close-up of your face. We should be able to see your whole head and an inch or so above it, plus at least your shoulders. Check out the staff page of our website to get a better idea of what an excellent headshot looks like. Photographing Events Enlisting a friend or family member or hire a professional to photograph your event will help you a lot. If that’s not possible, or if you need to offer guidance to your designated photographer, consider the following: Take dynamic photos from a variety of different angles. Snap shots of different things: the speaker or presenter, the venue, any table or display, activities, and more. Avoid taking photos of children’s faces without their parents’ permission. Filters Most photo editing programs come equipped with “filters”. As on a traditional camera, a filter is used to modify the entire image by changing elements like the color, light, contrast, or focus. A digital filter can be found in the photo editor that comes preloaded on your phone, on Instagram, or in some other photo editor. A filter can enhance a photo to make its colors more vivid or crisp, but it can also easily overpower your image. Scroll through all your filter options to choose the best one. Often, you can click a filter twice or perform another shortcut to find a gradient. Using this, you can apply the effect of your filter only slightly or as high as it goes. When it comes to filters, a little goes a long way! Choose something subtle that enhances certain features of the photo. Cropping We’ve all seen a photo where the subject in the foreground looks great, but then you notice someone picking their nose in the background! Whether it’s a silly stranger, an ugly setting, or just too much empty space, cropping your photo can help bring attention where you want it and omit distractors. The “crop” icon always resembles this symbol: When cropping a photo, the finished product should feature the subject of the photograph in the middle of the picture or artfully balanced in some way. Crop a photo when there is something in the background that distracts from the main subject. Other tools   One of the best ways to get the hang of taking excellent photos on your own is to simply mess around with the tools you have. Below is an example of the different ways you can adjust the look of a photo using iPhoto for iPhone. They all do slightly different things, and it’s better to try them out than to explain them all here. Here are some of the more notable ones:   Brightness can add light to a dim image (though beware of overdoing it, as seen in the image below, which is clearly too bright. Contrast can add more brights and darks to a bland or dull image. Color can be helpful if your image has an unpleasant hue. For example, if your image is a little green due to light being filtered through water, you can add a light red layer over this, balancing out the green. When you know what you’re doing, photography can be a ton of fun! It can also strengthen your online presence and add a new skill set to you CV. So go on—it’ll be fall soon, and the perfect time of year to get outside and practice snapping shots!
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Categories: Marketing
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