Marketing - "How to Become a Children's Writer"

I've started a little marketing drive for "How to Become a Children's Writer". My publishers don't seem to be getting it to where new children's writers congregate, so I had some postcards printed up, showing the cover and the link to the online bookshop with a small waffle about what a great beginning point this book is for anyone starting out in children's writing in Australia.

This week I started mailing out the postcards, and there I hit my first obstacle and the same obstacle as my publishers: Where do new writers congregate? They don't really, do they? Many meet at courses at TAFE or neighbourhood houses, some city dwellers might wander along to their local Writers' Centre to see if there's any info there, but most just decide that it would be great to be a children's writer and have a go or browse the net.

Not long after they finish their first children's story, they have a need for my How To guide. They look at their story proudly and realise they need to know what's next and wonder:

"Do I need to find an illustrator?"

"Do I need to find an agent?"

"How do I find out if this is any good?"

"What publishers will publish this?"

"How do I submit it to them?"

"How long will they take to reply?"

"What about copyright?"

"What do I do if I get a contract?"

"What the hell is a royalty, a flat fee, an advance?"

"What royalties are standard?"

"Who do I go to for help with a contract?"

"How do I register for public lending rights?"

"How do I find out what publishers want to publish?"

"How do I improve my skills?"

"How do I find out about what's happening in the industry?"

"What organisations can help me?"

"Can I make a living at this?"

I could go on all day about all the nitty gritty questions that new writers face (the answers to which are all contained in "How to Become a Children's Writer") but I think you get the idea.

So... how do I get to them then, at that exact moment of the first complete children's story?

Be top of Gooogle?

Anyway, back to stage one of this marketing drive, I've donated books (out of my own pocket) to NSW and VIC Writers' Centres' libraries, NSWWriters may put an article about it in their members' mag and VICWriters usually write up the latest donated books in their mags. To all the other Writers' Centres I've sent postcards only as they don't seem to have borrowing libraries for their members.

My next move is to send postcards to the tutors of children's writers at TAFEs. The problem there is that the company who designed and commissioned this book are also in the adult education business - competitors. BUT, a friend who completed a Professional Writing and Editing course at TAFE and turned out a great children's book during the course, complained to me that there was a "cone of silence" about what to do with it next. That was hilarious to me, a) because you can't stop children's writers from sharing info about their business, they're the most sharing writers around, b) because an expensive TAFE course hadn't filled him in on all the practical details (and TAFE is meant to be all about practicals), and c) because I love Maxwell Smart. So obviously TAFE students have all the same questions as every other new writer and I'm sure the tutors want to see their students do well. That's why I'm sending them postcards when I know my publisher wouldn't. So tutors, if you get a wad of postcards that you don't want or know what to do with, I apologise.

I really should take out paid ads in magazines and increase the web presence. In fact, web presence may be the one thing that reaches most new Australian children's writers.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hotel MacDibble Inmates: 4
Projects of the Week: Surviving School Hols while working full time.
Critiqued this week: 0, but 3 last week
Reading this week: Dark Space by Marrianne De Pierres
Writing this week: A Long Way from Home (YA space opera)

The Blog of Moogill | My Webpage | Mentor of Moogill