Tag Archives: kidlit

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 6: Bio, Bio Everywhere

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

[Before we start, have you followed 10 new people yet?]

It’s all about YOU!

Yesterday was a big-picture assessment of your homepage. Day 6 hones in on your Bio, which you need for your website as well as every social media platform you’ve got. Let’s make sure you are presenting the best possible version of yourself (that’s still truthful of course).

I sorta cheated on this task, since my home page right now is my bio page, and I worked on that yesterday. But I do need to revisit the bios I have on Twitter (oh, wow, noticed outdated info right away!) and Insta (how long has that link been broken?! Oh and did you know they now let you add FIVE links on your Insta profile?!). I bet you forgot about those platforms and were only thinking about your website! But they are ALL our brand, and they all have bios–even if just five words. I’ve culled bio tips other professionals (I searched the web so you don’t have to) and blended them with my own advice. For example, Leaders Press lists reasons WHY the bio is so important and offers some tips of their own. You need to have one! So today we create (or enhance) it.

First off, think about your audience. Who is reading this bio? Is it parents, past and potential buyers of your books? Specialists from schools and libraries considering whether to book you for an author signing? Kid fans that read your books? Literally picture them in your mind as you write your bio. As we’ve talked about, different platforms will have slightly different audiences. It’s OK to vary them.

Secondly, write it well! Be engaging! If you can’t write a good bio about yourself, can readers trust you can write a good book? Remember that you are your own brand. Your bio needs to reflect who you are, so that when someone reads it, they “get” you. Some great examples of writing in your own voice are here offered by Rocket Expansion. Granted, those are mainly jacket flap bios, but you get the idea. This bio isn’t for jacket flap, which has an even more centralized audience—potential and current reader/buyer. First work on your webpage since it’ll be the longest. Adapt accordingly for Insta, Twitter, etc.

Third, don’t sweat wordcount. It can be as simple as a paragraph. Don’t bore anyone by cramming in too much information no one needs. (You’ll have stricter parameters on most of the other platforms.)

Lastly, don’t forget a CALL TO ACTION! More on that below.

On websites, I’ve always appreciated the almost-all-encompassing two or three sentence bio, followed by a few paragraphs of more-detail-that-isn’t-crucial-but-is-nice-to-have. That way, if your reader only has a few seconds, they can get enough from those first few sentences. It’s something they can cut and paste if they need to introduce you. To nail down the super short “elevator pitch” of your bio, check out Scribe Media (scroll about halfway down to Template heading). 

OK, let’s get down to it. What should you include on your bio page?

YOUR HISTORY

  • Where you’re from, and where you live now. I like to keep this generic, as in “from NY, now live in CA” as I honestly don’t think it’s anyone’s business what town or exact city I live in. Plus, with cybersecurity issues, you don’t want to give out too much info on yourself. But if you have an unusual city name, like Boring, OR – please keep it! Have some fun with it.
  • Personal info but IMHO only AS IT PERTAINS TO YOUR WRITING such as if you write about the environment and you have a biology degree. Or, say, if you mainly write male characters b/c you are a mom of four boys, talk about how they influence story ideas or creative work hours.
  • Toss in some “PERSONAL TAGS” like something you’d call out on a main character to show their personality or make them memorable. Do you love Orange Crush? Root only for the Mets? Enjoy fly fishing? Hate the Oxford comma? Show readers what makes you uniquely you. Be relatable!
  • Recognition or awards you’ve received. Go ahead and toot your own horn! But no need to be a jerk about it. “I was excited to win the MOMMA 2022 Book of the Year” is different than “I beat out 200 other mostly-lame entries to capture the coveted award that most other authors only dream about” which makes you sound like a poo-poo-head. Be specific, spell out all acronyms, and give dates/years (unless it’s over 8ish years ago as then it’s old news so don’t give the year). Bonus points if you can toss in a few kid-friendly things like “baton champ of 5th grade” or “voted worst penmanship in 12th grade.” Remember that note about being relatable?

YOUR NOW

  • Books published. If none, don’t say you’re unpublished. Consider saying something descriptive like you have “a middle-grade novel for shy girls in the works.” Find tips for unpublished writers from Gatekeeper Press here.
  • Your main age level and genre. For example, although I have CB and MG manuscripts that I’m working on, I am mainly a PB fiction writer, so that’s what I talk about. If I get published in the other age ranges, I’ll talk more about them. If you say you “write for all ages” then it looks like you’re unfocused. It’s more impressive to be specialized.
  • ALL your current social media handles WITH LINKS. (If you haven’t updated Pinterest since 2006, say, don’t include it.)

YOUR PHOTO(S)

  • Headshot that’s within the last 5 years please! NOTE: HEADSHOTS ARE TOMORROWS TOPIC so no excuses for an outdate selfie.
  • People love pets so feel free to also add a few of those.
  • Book covers! Add all of ‘em.  Feel free to have the pic linked to an indy book store where the book can be purchased—but do NOT say anything about buying the books. Simply have the linked book cover images.

YOUR CALL TO ACTION

  • Don’t miss the opportunity to ask people to leave a comment, sign up for your mailing list, click on a link to your blog or recent recorded interview, follow you on social media (with links), etc. Do NOT have the call to action be a sales pitch. No one likes that. It ruins the great impression you’ve just created.

Did we miss anything? Let me know if you have crucial info you think has to be included.

Once you hone your revised bio, make sure you update your bio’s main points on all your social media accounts. They don’t have to be exact; as mentioned, most people have slightly different personalities on each platform. But make sure they sync up and make sure they are all current.

Recap: Update and rework your bio(s!) as needed. Make sure each social media service you use has a bio that fits the audience (adapt your new one accordingly).

Happy multi bio-ing!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 7: Headshots

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

[Before we start, have you followed 10 new people yet?]

Smile for your close up!

Broadway-like lights surrounding mirror of a makeup table

Day Seven of the 31 Day Author Platform Challenge is upon us. We’ve looked at our home page and bio. Now it’s time for…Headshots! (I bet most of you are clenching. Relax. You look better than you think you do. And today’s filters will ensure it!)

My first question to you how recent is the headshot you have on your website and/or the ones you use for social media platforms?

If it’s more than 10 years old, no matter how good it is, it’s time for a change. You can keep and still post that pic, but today is the day you’re going to add a new one that will be your MAIN headshot.

Since I’m not a photographer, I feel it’s best to let some experts give you advice. Some links are below. Common advice across the board is:

  • Be yourself! Let your “youness” shine through. Readers want to know YOU, not a fake version—and they can tell! Your audience needs to know they can trust you.
  • Don’t wear any busy patterns, or excess make-up or jewelry, as they detract from your sweet face, which is what people want to see.
  • Lighting is more important than you think! (It’s really the shadows that can be unflattering).
  • I have a personal aversion to the stoic arm-crossed and other-hand-on-the-face pose. It’s unnatural. No one walks around like that. I beg you to keep your hands at your side, or be holding a book, pen, etc. Unless it’s candid or silly, please don’t be touching your face.
  • Hairstyles change so fast that a hip cut today can quickly date your pic even before your book comes out. Try to avoid anything overly trendy.
  • Odds are you don’t need to hire a pro; cell phones today do an amazing job and even have good editing tools and filters. But a pro will make you look AMAZING and could be worth every penny. Make sure you get a reliable referral, you get a certain number of chances to get a pose you like, that you own the rights, and do the courtesy of crediting them whenever the photo is used. I once had a photographer who came recommended and showed up with backgrounds and cool equipment. She said the top images would come edited, but at the end of the shoot all she gave me was a file with all the raw shots; none of them were edited, and they were all crap. I didn’t know until I got home and opened the file; no calls were returned from then on. So…make sure there is a clause for what happens when you’re unhappy with the final image(s).

Here are some links to more expert tips:

  • Penguin Random House has suggestions to research what other authors in your genre have done.
  • Scribe Media offers examples of good and bad headshots.
  • Site Arcade has even more examples as well as a discussion on backgrounds.
  • Pinterest shows an array of kidlit author examples.
  • Splento.com discusses different kinds of shots used for different purposes.
  • City Headshots specifically talks to actors but does a great job explaining bad headshots and how to do better.

I suggest you spend part of today trying it out on your own. Modern cell phones take amazing photos. Have a kid, neighbor, or friend help. Consider asking for their help on editing as others will see things you don’t.

If you still aren’t thrilled with the results, try again with different outfit, location, lighting, props, etc.

If after a third time it’s still not working, book an appointment with a professional. I bet your local SCBWI chapter will have some contacts or suggestions for you.

IF YOU HONESTLY DON’T NEED A NEW HEADSHOT then your task today is to clean up another website page, the way we cleaned up your home page on Day 5 (go back and look if you need a refresher).

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A WEBSITE AND YOUR HEADSHOT DOESN’T NEED RETAKING, create a cross-platform post that includes your headshot, describing the time you had it made. What was going thru your mind, who was there, what you’d change, etc. Ask other people to share their experiences. Use this as an opp to open up and engage!

Recap: If your headshot is older than 5 years, or if it looks dated or unprofessional, redo it. Today. If you don’t need a headshot, use yours as a conversation starter.

Smile for the camera, now!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 8: #WritersLift Shout-outs

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

<NUDGE NUDGE Have you followed 10 new people yet?>

**Don’t make a jpg like this! Use real, clickable #s**

How about a break from all that work we’ve been doing? Oh, we still have a task at hand, but it’s not at the level of the others. And it’s still imperative you complete it! This task is about uplifting others. It will feel so good!

If you haven’t been a part of the #writerslift movement on Twitter, now is your time to join the party.

Think about critique partners, for example. Find the right ones and they are worth their weight in gold, amiright? These gems of fellow writers, who you trust to read your work-in-progress, provide constructive feedback and help you improve your craft. They can act as a sounding board for ideas, catch typos and plot holes, and offer fresh perspectives on your writing. They are not only helpful, but supportive and committed. Aren’t they worthy of celebrating?

If you don’t have CPs at the moment, think about people who have helped you in any way this week or month. There are plenty of people that are helpful! Maybe their mentor texts or inspiring feeds. I mean, there are fellow authors you’ve never met that you can appreciate and connect with, by tagging them with a flattering shout-out, #writerslift post.

Today, Day 8, we are showing fellow authors some (virtual) love.

We’ll do that by giving them a shout-out across all your social media outlets using the hashtag #writerslift. This task is another example of how an automation tool is handy. You only have to post once if you use a scheduler, and it’ll go out to all your outlets at once. (Unless you did like I did and somehow managed to have three different posts go out at the same time, in the middle of the night, even though I was SURE I set them to go out over the course of 10 days. I refuse to believe user error, but I digress.)

Publicly acknowledging people not only shows gratitude, but boosts their profiles and helps to establish them as respected members of the writing community. You know they’d do it for you! In fact, they probably already have.

Make it pretty with a Canva-type app, or make it a simple text post. Your call. While of course it’s honestly the thought that counts, this is one time I suggest a regular post vs creating a graphic. Why? As you can see in the .png I created above, there is no way to tag my CPs in the image, so I have to tag them each all over again in the post–and I have to add the #writerslift tag to the post anyway. WHY DO I MAKE THINGS SO HARD FOR MYSELF lol. Just make a simple post for this.

BTW it’s here that I figured out you can post directly to social media from Canva! Sheesh, all this time on Buffer… But I’m keeping Buffer since it lets me schedule in the future, and Canva makes me upgrade in order to do that, and pay $$ monthly or annually. Even though I can stay at that one site and it makes it super easy, I’m too cheap to do it. I’ll go one at a time on this one.

Some tips for creating feel-good #writerslift shout-outs:

  1. Be specific: Details, baby! Mention your critique partners or friends by their full name and highlight what they’ve done to help you. Did they catch a major plot hole? Publish a PB that inspires you to be a better writer? Support you when no one else thought you could do it? Make sure to give credit where credit is due.
  2. Be generous: Don’t be shy. Offering praise to someone who has helped you means A LOT to them, esp if you’re not the touchy-feely type. It can help build the group’s morale and strengthen the CP relationship. Knowing it had an impact on you can help encourage them to be helpful to others again in the future. And it will warm your own heart at the same time!
  3. Be authentic: Don’t write a generic post just for the sake of giving a shout-out. A list of names is great, but it’s virtual lip service. Write with sincerity and share genuine appreciation. If you can’t be specific to any one piece of feedback for whatever reason, it’s okay to list each person’s handle in one post and thank them for their support over the years or months. The important thing is you are, well, lifting them up in the #writerslift.

You DON’T have to go big or go home

The kidlit industry is FULL of kind-hearted, helpful people like you. Shout-outs like this keeps that supportive feeling alive. Simply saying thanks to one person can make you both feel good!

One great example of an AMAZING week-long show of author love in May, created and run by fellow PB author @SylviaiChen. It’s a (free) weeklong co-celebratory event with prizes that is everything our Day 8 is about: uplifting and recognizing our fellow writers and illustrators! She created her own hashtags and amazingly fun Canva graphics that she posts on Twitter and Insta, and has creatively come up with Like and RT incentives. What an effective and thoughtful way to give mass shout-outs! This goes above and beyond any shout-out Tweet I would have thought up.

Don’t worry, I don’t expect level that from you! She probably worked on that for months. You can take 11 mins 🙂

Recap: Send (several) posts thanking your crit partners and anyone who has helped make you a better writer, and use the #writerslift hashtag. Be specific with the appreciation if you can, and don’t tag too many people in one post.

Share the love!

PS I am thankful for you, cheering me on and helping keep me accountable this month!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 10: Pop-up & Capture

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

[Before we start, have you followed 10 new people yet?]

How to add a pop-up to capture email addys for your newsletter

Now that we’ve (almost?) figured out what our next several newsletters are going to be, we need to find a way to build our email list. Creating the actual sign-up form isn’t a piece of cake, if we’re being honest. Not impossible, but it’s potentially tedious. Today we cover some tips on creating a form on your website that will automatically capture emails for you:

Creating a signup form on your website

You need to choose a service that will create a pop-up form for you to add to your website (I’m assuming you won’t create the code yourself). Check with your website host to see if they have one already built in; what a godsend if so! Otherwise check out the many available (always try free first!) services like Mailchimp, HubSpot, ConvertKit, AWeber, GetResponse, ConstantContact. They’ll have pop-up templates you can customize to match your brand.

Anyone who signs up via the pop-up will be set aside and placed in an email list for you. Many services also offer newsletter templates you can create and send directly from their site, without having to download and transfer the list, so look for that. I’m all about as few steps as possible. But I’m also about as cheap as possible, if I’m being honest. So do your homework. Right now I’m using a relatively seamless plugin, but TBH it took two days of research to figure out, and another to implement. I first went with Mailchimp but then added MailPoet plugin meaning ultimately upgrading ONCE AGAIN to do it all from WordPress. I guess simpler does have a cost that is worth it.

  1. Find out things like where do the emails go, if you are notified when people sign up, how many free addresses allowed, etc. (With free the MailPoet I now use I get the first 1,000 addys for free—but as mentioned I had to upgrade a few levels of WordPress to be able to add the free plug in…is anything worth it ever easy?)
  2. Pick and personalize the look of the pop-up form from a template they provide. Adjust colors and fonts to match your brand.
  3. Determine when and where your pop-up form will show up. You should be able to decide if it appears on every page of your site, if it fades in or sparkles, how long it stays up, does it appear when people arrive at your site or when they leave, etc.
  4. Use a strong or fun call to action. Tell people WHY they should sign up for your newsletter, what to expect, and what they’ll get in return. “Sign up for my monthly newsletter chock full of industry insights and news, and get a free xxx. Offer ends Aug 31st so sign up soon!”
  5. Add it your website asap. No excuses for waiting. If it’s not perfect, fix it later. JUST GET IT UP! Done is better than perfect! Most form builders will provide the code needed to add to your website so you just copy and paste. Some offer simpler drag-and-drop option. (My upgraded plug was a download so I didn’t have to open a new account.)
  6. Now go to the program where you created the form, and figure out a sequence of events that happens once people sign up. Do you want a confirmation or Thank You email to be automatically sent once they hit ENTER? Create it now. They’ll walk you through it.

Does this make sense? Take your time.

Do your best to make it happen today. Create the form. See it through, even if it’s a PITA (pain in the ***). You don’t have to go live today, just have ALL the groundwork done today.

Recap: create a pop-up sign-up form for your soon-to-be launched newsletter.

Tomorrow we start working on your “lead magnet” — the incentive to get people to use that sign up form.

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 13: Little Known Facts

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform by

Since the last few author platform pumping days have been rough ones (Day 10 was toughest so far you’ve said), Day 13 of the 31 Day Author Platform Challenge is gonna be super easy.

Today you’re going to find a little-known fact that supports your brand or your book(s). Then you’re gonna create and publish a pretty little post about it.

If your main character is a whale, post surprising whale facts. Is the MC shy? Post “The wrong way to help a child overcome shyness.” You see what I’m getting at, right? Make sure you verify it’s FACTUAL (check more than one resource), and reference the source in the post, so people know it’s true. Don’t forget to add your website or social media handle.

Here’s an example of fun facts that “just happen” to not only support an author but have thumbnails of two of her books. It has her @handle, the source of data, and kindly references the illustrator’s name. (Yes it could be a little cleaner but still. Well done!)

Little Known Facts the support a picture book author

Once you create yours, as you can guess, you’ll plaster that sweet nugget across all your social media outlets.

Don’t have a book to promote? It can be something like a fun fact about the writing industry or a statistic on books sold each/last year. Keep it in line with your personality as a writer. If you write charming board books, for example, don’t quote stats on horror novels.

Here’s the catch (there’s always a catch. You know me!)

>>You’re going to add animation AND sound in addition to images on this “Little Known Fact” meme. <<

If you’ve never done it before, I trust you can figure out how to do it simply by poking around. Literally look for “add animation” button. Google how-to if not; it’s not that hard, I promise.

With the interesting new info you share, you’ll look like a genius.

Or at a minimum, a source of reliable information.

The sound and animation will make the post stand out even more.

Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Feel free to share a link, below. We’ll RT it!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 16: Did You See That?

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform by

[Hang on–have you followed 10 new people yet?]

Making moves, and movies

young woman in trendy outfit with notepad recording vlog
Photo by Anete Lusina
on Pexels.com

We’ve posted a bunch of things so far, from the comfort of our rooms or office (and probably PJs). Time to up the ante. Studies show videos get far more views and engagement than simple photo posts on social media. According to Forbes in late 2022, social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined. And get this: viewers retain 95% of a watched video message compared to 10% of a text.

“Why the hay haven’t you been encouraging video all along?” you may ask, in a rather aggressive (and unappreciated, quite frankly) tone. Well, I’ll tell ya. We are authors. And almost by definition that means most of us are introverts. Or maybe extroverted introverts. Who else volunteers to lock themselves up in a proverbial cave most of the day to crank out words on a page that will be edited and rewritten 10,000 times? (That’d be us.) I get you. I get us. The very thought of me asking you to create a video may fill you with dread.

But hear me out.

The video doesn’t have to be of you! You don’t have to appear on camera! (some ideas below) You don’t even need sound! You DO need text, though. Studies show 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound–but 80% of videos WITH sound and/or text get much higher results. People need to know what they are watching, and why. (They also tend to watch in places they aren’t supposed to have their phones, so the volume is off. Captions are very helpful.) Tweets with video are said to get 10x the engagement than a static post!

It’s time to shine, cupcake

As you can see, to maximize the eyeballs on our content, to drive a higher number of RTs, to encourage engagement, to increase our author platform…we need to graduate to video. I have been an actress since the third grade (not to brag but yeah that was me playing the lead bunny in the school play). I am a ham, I seek out the camera in every instance — and yet, I am still dragging my feet on video when it comes to promoting my own work. It feels so personal, right?! I know I just have to rip off the bandaid and get creating. Or recording, as the case may be.

I know once we get started, it will be easier and easier. We just have to make and post that first one. Or that first five.

Instagram makes it super easy to make videos with text and “stickers.” Canva allows taking a template and adding animation which is ALMOST a video, but that won’t count for today. Find yourself an app or service you feel comfortable working with, like Vimeo, YouTube, Visme, ClipChamp, etc. (Please tell me which [free!] ones you like best! I like trying new stuff.)

I mean, don’t we want a 1200% increase in shares? Of course. If we are in control of that, why wouldn’t we go for it? Today we are.

The video can be 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds. Animoto reports Instagram videos that are around 26 seconds long receive the most comments. Don’t be thinking your vid has to be two minutes! (Who has time for that, really.)

Worried about how you’ll look on camera? I have a ton of getting-camera-ready tips on this post: https://bitsykemper.com/zoom/.

Some great tips on creating effective content (do you want to explain a new fact? do a tutorial?) is here from later.com, here from eclincher, and there’s a list of ideas from sproutsocial here.

Camera shy?

Let’s say you loathe the idea of being on camera. You can still use video to up your author platform. Here are some ideas of videos (with sound and text!) that will build your brand that DON’T need to have your smiling face.

  • Book Quotes: Use text overlays to display your own, your favorite, or popular book quotes. Zoom in and out while reading the quote. [Or be holding the book as you read, be standing in front of the printed quote that’s on a wall, etc.]
  • Show Your Bookshelves: Give an inside look at your bookshelves while explaining how they made you a better writer (or reader). Ask viewers to share their experiences. [Or be there Vanna-White-ing it.]
  • Create a Book Trailer: iMovie and other apps make this easier than ever. If you have picture books, talk to your illustrators first–they might have ideas and/or equipment.
  • Start a Live ‘Ask Me Anything’ Session: No need to have yourself on camera, just zoom in a whiteboard with those words as you talk over a short script “Time to ask me anything! Write a question in the comments…” [Or of course, you can have cam focused on your pretty face.]
  • Answer Those Anythings: Record yourself answering those Qs while writing on a whiteboard, flipping through pages, waking through the woods, whatever.
  • Recommend Books: Share fun book recommendations, including your own book(s).
My personal brainstorming space

Those are just a few ideas. I can’t wait to hear what you end up doing! Tell me all about it.