Publishing a Book is Much More Than Having a Story Idea: Author Interview With Terri Sabol

What made you decide to start writing picture books?
I’ve always loved reading books. When I was an early childhood teacher, reading books to my students was always a highlight of my day.

How long did it take for you to complete your first book?
I adopted my two cats, Oscar and Emmy, in December 2015, and I took about 2000 pictures and videos in the first month! I thought my cats would be perfect candidates to help spread the word about rescue and adoption via picture books. I interviewed the shelter’s manager in January of 2016 to get the scoop on what happens behind the scenes of an animal shelter to get the animals ready for adoption. The book, Oscar and Emmy Get Rescued, was published that December.

Are you active in any writing critique groups?
When I am actively writing a manuscript per month, I’m usually part of two different critique groups (one online and one in person). When my schedule only allows for writing less often, then I rely on a critique partner and an editor.

How did you go about finding an illustrator?
My 10th book is being illustrated right now and I’ve had four illustrators total. The first one was a referral from a friend. The other three were found online by searching either for certain hashtags or in various illustration groups. Three of the illustrators have done multiple books for me. Kneading a Winning Idea and Green With Envy are both standalone books that are outside the Oscar and Emmy Series. They are both illustrated by the same talented artist, Pei Jen, because I enjoyed working with her so much.

What was the hardest part of putting together your books?
Creating and putting together the books is the fun part. I love the process. Marketing them and finding your audience is the hardest part.

Did you personally design the full book, or did you have assistance with formatting or cover design, etc.? 
I learn from each book what I like, as well as reading and researching other published books for what works. Some illustrators, I’ve worked more closely with on the cover design. Others, have more free reign because I trust that their vision aligns with mine. I also like illustrators who have design and formatting experience so they illustrate each page with the complete book in mind to begin with.

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had from readers?
For Kneading a Winning Idea, I love hearing when a family is inspired to make the recipe included in the back of the book. I also love seeing when my books are front and center on bookshelves in classrooms and bedrooms.

Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produced more sales rather than just clicks?
Recently, I joined other authors of Spanish books to help promote each other. I included the bilingual version of my first book, Oscar y Emmy son rescatados, in the eBook promo. Soon after, I had a single order for 15 physical copies of my book, my largest order for that book.

What do you know now about publishing you wished you had known sooner?
I wish I had known how important marketing is and about building your subscriber list from the beginning. Especially if you have niche books and a smaller audience. It's good to build that relationship with them early since they will be your biggest cheerleaders. Also, social media is always changing, so it's nice to have your list that will stay with you regardless of the current trendy platform.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
Children's books authors are so supportive of each other. It's great when you find a small group of authors and form a critique group to help be beta readers and sounding boards for each other. Also, when you start publishing, they are very helpful to have on your book launch team. It’s nice to be part of a supportive community.

Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
Most people don’t realize that publishing a book is so much more than having an idea and writing the book. There are so many layers of revision and editing (including by peers and paid editors), researching and hiring an illustrator, graphic design, formatting, book sizes, knowing printing options, website design and upkeep, social media content and engagement, newsletters, blogs, author visits to schools, in-person events, digital author visits, keeping up with inventory, tracking royalties, ads, sales taxes, IRS taxes, etc. 

For some, writing a book may just be a passion project. For others, they want a career of being an author and must learn the business side of it. In the beginning, it might be a lot of trial and error. If this is what you really want, do the research, surround yourself with a great team, and don’t give up.

Tell me more about your Oscar and Emmy Book Series. 

The series is inspired by my real-life cats, Oscar and Emmy. The books are ideal for cat families and animal activists who are looking for an engaging way to guide their kids in taking an active role in pet care. The book topics include rescue and adoption, spay and neuter, microchipping, pet disaster kits, preventative health care vet visits, trap-neuter-return, and euthanasia.

I also have two books outside the series. They both focus on perseverance and being the best version of yourself. Green With Envy tackles the familiar feeling of jealousy and learning to appreciate what you have. In Kneading a Winning Idea, Ben is inspired by his cat to improve his buttermilk biscuit recipe—and hopefully win the baking contest.

My amazing illustrator, Roksana Barwinska, has been busy working on my next book, Oscar and Emmy Foster a Kitten, to be released later this year.

That's all for today's interview. If you'd like to learn more about Terri's books, here are the links to get you started. 
Website: https://www.terrisabol.com/
Blog: https://www.terrisabol.com/blog/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Terri-Sabol/author/B01MSWRB9M
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrisabol/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OscarAndEmmyBooks/

And here's a bonus for my readers, leave a comment on this post and we'll pick one reader who'll receive a copy of one of  Terri's eBooks. So do that now. It can be as simple as I want to be in the giveaway. We'll chose a winner next Tuesday!

The Artwork of Stories: An Interview with Traci Van Wagoner

How did you get involved with doing the illustrations for this book?

I worked with Pelican Publishing on a book before this, The Mermaid’s Gift written by Claudia Cangilla McAdam, and when I finished that book and sent in the final art, the Art Director liked my art so much he immediately offered me another project. He sent the manuscript for Cody and Grandpa’s Christmas Tradition written by Gary Metivier, and I was hooked. Grandpa reminded me of my Dad, and I love Christmas and traditions of the season, so this was a very appealing story for me to illustrate.

How much input does the author have in suggesting ideas for illustrations?

The author had very little input into the illustrations. Gary Metivier’s only suggestion was to have the middle part, which is a flashback, somehow differentiated from the rest of the story. I did this with an overall army green monochromatic coloring for these spreads with text bars on the side instead of having the text incorporated into the illustrations.

How often do you rework the illustrations for the author or publisher?

I’ve not had a lot of back and forth on illustrations with my books. With this one, I had more revisions in the beginning while establishing the characters to make sure everyone was happy with Grandpa and Cody. There were minor revisions to the sketches, and a few revisions to the finals, mostly making sure I had enough room for type and lightening some areas to make sure the text stood out.

Do you have a favorite book that you've illustrated?

That’s a tough question. Not really. Each book is my favorite as I’m illustrating it. And almost every book is not good enough by the time I done with it. I always feel like I could do better by the end of every project. That’s part of learning and growing and developing. If I didn’t feel that way, then I’d probably be stagnant. Daddy Did I Ever Say, I Love You Love You Every Day written by Daryl Cobb holds a special place in my heart since it was the first book I illustrated for publication.

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

I have enjoyed a few special traditions throughout my lifetime. My all-time favorite, a staple of my childhood, is the crepe paper ball. I came from a big family (eight kids) and on Christmas Eve, we would leave the house so Dad could do his thing. He would hide one gift for each of us around the house; write up silly rhymes with clues on where to find them. He had notes calling on each of us to perform — sing, recite a poem, tell a Christmas story, read the Christmas story from the Bible, etc. Then he would wrap a paper-mâché  ball with crepe paper, tucking in all the notes as he rolled it up.

That night we would sit in a big circle in front of the Christmas tree and unroll the ball between us. If a note landed in front of you, you got to read it and someone either performed or got to search for and open a present, which was usually pajamas. When we got to the end, we found the paper-mâché ball was filled candy, tiny gifts, and toys. Then we would all drink eggnog mixed with 7-up in our own Santa mugs with our names on them.

Now with my husband, our tradition is to wrap all our gifts in brown paper, and I decorate them with color pencils with a Christmasy theme for the year. It started out as simple brown paper packages tied up with string and evolved into creating art on each package.

What’s next?

I’m currently illustrating another book for Pelican Publishing, Ruth Asawa: A Sculpting Life written by Joan Schoettler. I’m working on setting up a book launch for that at David Zwirner gallery in NY who are the executors of her estate.

I will be working on another graphic novel for The Nelson Beats the Odds Series with Ronnie Sidney II by the end of the year. I have a picture book I wrote and will illustrate in serious consideration with Pelican. I have two other picture book projects in final dummy book stage and a middle-grade fantasy novel out on submission with agents. There are a bunch more projects in the works including new games with my design company, Imagine That! Design, but I’ll leave it at that.

Any special awards or achievements you’d like to mention?

The biggest achievement I can think of is having been able to be my own boss for over 20 years now, illustrating, writing and designing books and games for kids that hopefully bring smiles, enlighten, embolden, and encourage them to use their imaginations and have fun.

What’s the best tip you’ve learned about illustrating that you’d like to share?

Give yourself permission to draw pure crap at first. Not all of my sketches are pretty to look at, in fact most of them are not. At the beginning of every project, I have to doodle for several pages before I find my drawing hand again.  Going hand in hand with that is to stop worrying that it won’t be perfect or that you don’t know what you’re doing and just get it done, and you do that by drawing every day, good or bad.

This Chuck Jones quote says it perfectly: “Every artist has thousands of bad drawings in them and the only way to get rid of them is to draw them out.” 

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?

I wished I’d realized much sooner in life that I could be an illustrator and a writer. Books seemed to be this magical thing written by anyone but a normal everyday person like me who was no one special, just me. While considering what to be when I grew up, it didn’t cross my mind that I could write a picture book or a novel, and that I could illustrate these wonderful picture books that are so much fun for kids, like my childhood favorite The House on 88th Street by Bernard Waber. I mean how magical and cool is it that a crocodile could live in a fancy brownstone in NY?

Any last words or tips?

If your passion is illustrating children’s books, dive in and don’t give up, but know that it is a hard road with a lot of rejection along the way. So go easy on yourself and always try to have fun. If you’re not having fun, then what’s the point of doing it? Live. Laugh. Learn.

That’s all for today’s interview. Thank you Traci, for sharing your story on the illustrating side of the book. If you’d like to learn more about Traci’s illustrating or maybe hire her for your next book, here are some links to get in touch.

Website: www.tracivanwagoner.com

Celebrate the Little Things blog: https://tracivanwagoner.blogspot.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TraciVanWagonerIllustrator/

Get art prints and cards in my online stores:

Zazzle: https://www.zazzle.com/tvwcreations?rf=238593024759418960

RedBubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/TraciVanWagoner?asc=u

Tips for Generating Book Sales : Author Interview with Seth Kaufman

Your bio states you’ve been a reporter and an editorial director for different online services. How did you get involved in this type of online writing?

I was in the right place at the right time: New York, 1994 - - the web was just starting to explode.  I had been a news and gossip reporter for the New York Post, I was (relatively) young, and “new media” was still really new. I got in and gradually morphed into the eCommerce side of things.  But I still love my morning newspapers.  And I think they will be around for a while longer.

News writing is so much different than writing a novel. What made you decide to take a walk on the novel side? 

I think a large percentage of journalists are wannabe “novelists” who have bills to pay.  I always wanted to be a fiction writer, as opposed to a journalist. I actually published fiction in a national magazine (Sassy) before becoming a full-time reporter, but somehow that didn’t lead to untold riches.

You’ve written a novel, called The King of Pain and say it is a novel of with stories. How did you come up with that concept?

This is book about a successful TV producer waking up trapped in his own house under his home entertainment system, with 48 hours until his maid is due back at work.  There’s one book within reach – A History of Prisons, which was given to him by an old crush --so he reads it to pass the time. I thought it would be fun to have a book-within-a-book. And it fun to read a book about a guy reading a book: he’s doing the same thing you are: wondering about the author, thinking critically, wondering where the ideas for the stories came from. So that was part of the idea.

The other part was that my grandfather was a political prisoner in Poland between the world wars. He spent 8 years in jail, and he told me a number of very moving stories, two of which made it into this book. And so the idea of an imprisoned man reading about other prisoners also seems interesting. And a launching point for some dark comedy.

How long did it take you to write the book? How many rewrites did you do on it? I had the initial idea, or image for the book, years ago: A man trapped under his enormous home entertainment system reading a book called A History of Prisons. But I wasn’t sure who he was or how he got there.  When it all came together in my head, it took about year to write the first draft. I did about 2 more drafts after that.

Since you’ve been an editor, how hard was it to self-edit? 

I’m the worst copy editor. So I paid a professional copy editor to go over it. (And typos still got in.)

Have other books been started and stopped along the way? 

I wrote a novel when I as 27 but never really did anything with it. I also have two screenplays waiting to be transformed into novels.

Your second book, If You Give an Architect a Contract, is a picture book. How did this book come about?

I live in Brooklyn, N.Y. which is something of a boom town. People are always moving into houses and renovating. And they are always trading horror stories. Yours truly, included. So one day, when our renovation was over and I continued to hear more and more stories, I thought it would be funny to write a book about the process of buying a house, and then losing control over the process.

How did you find an illustrator?

I found the illustrator, Laura Lee Pedersen in a great neighborhood bar call the Way Station, which has live music and a Dr. Who "Tardis" for a bathroom. Laura Lee had just quit her job and told me she wanted to be a cartoonist. I pitched her the book, and she said yes. She did a great job. The pictures are funnier than the words in many cases.

Did you try the normal route and try to find a traditional publisher to handle your book? When did you decide to self-publish? 

I did for both of them. I have an agent. We got tons of “love this book,” can’t get it through. Then after one editor confessed that he submitted the book and had it been rejected by the sales team, we decided to self publish.

How do you write -- outline first or individual character development before doing the full plot?

I write in a notebook on the subway going to and from work. That gives me about an hour of straight writing  Then I type it up as soon as I can, which is sort of like a re-write. I plan nothing beyond the broad strokes and then I try to work in a straight line, but if I hit a wall, I just move on.

What type of publicity has worked best for you in generating sales?
I spent money on web display ads. They did nothing.

The things that worked were: getting some positive write-ups in the media. This helps make your book appear “legitimate” (which it is!).  We sent the book to any or all little blogs we could that reviewed self-published fiction. We even sent the book to the S&M review because the book is about torture. They loved it! So find the right niches for your books.

Getting the book in Barnes and Noble Nook First program, which they do for novels they like. They promoted it for a month and that was great.

Writing pitches to journalists. I had been reading the NY Times TV critic and thought he might like my book. So I emailed him and, lo and behold, he did like my book and he wrote a great article about it. And I sold a bunch of copies.

I did the same thing with my Architect book: pitched the editor of the NY Times Home section. She also wrote a nice little piece.

Send emails to everyone you’ve ever met.

What do you wish you had known sooner about writing/publishing?

For visual books, don’t spend much time or money on eBooks. The market isn’t there yet.  For novels, be more selective about sending out physical copies. Self-published books do not get very much respect or ink even if you publish physical copies.

What is the best advice you’ve been given about writing or that you’ve learned that you would like to pass along?

My dad, who was a long-time journalist, told me to write it like you talk it. That has been helpful. The other advice I have is just do it. And then do it again. And, then, finally, always say thank you to those who support you.

Thank you very much, Chris. You have a very interesting and noble blog.  I appreciate it very much.

Thanks, Seth for your insight! If you would like to know more about his novel,The King of Pain click here 

Or if the book,  If Your Give an Architect a Contract, is more to your liking, here's the link