Imagination Soup shares curated book reviews, book lists, and learning resources for parents, teachers, and librarians. As a former teacher, former literacy trainer, and a mother of two, you can trust my expertise in children's books, reading levels, developmental appropriateness, and education. Join my community of 35,000 subscribers by signing up for my weekly newsletter!
Wintering, Marketing, & School Visit Hook
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Hello, creative friends! Author / Illustrator LifeAre you in a season of wintering? I (Melissa) had coffee with a group of SCBWI writers and illustrators last week, and they talked about how it’s hard to be creative during heavy times. It’s true. We have to have grace with ourselves in these seasons. In the book Wintering by Katherine May, she writes, “We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.” We hope this quote encourages you to be wherever you are, wintering or in a creative flow. Like life, creativity can ebb and flow in a seasonal way. And that’s okay. Marketing & PRWe’ve seen that one of the best ways to market yourself and your books is by doing school visits. In fact, you can get important preorders around your launch time that can highly impact your book sales…and your next advance. So, instead of asking all your friends to buy your book, consider booking 20 school visits that require 20-25 book purchases per visit. That’s 400+ books! This affects 1) your sales and 2) your next advance. Plus, school visits change students' lives! How can we help? We help our coaching clients make school visits more interactive and dynamic. And we help facilitate those important book orders. We connect clients with a trustworthy independent bookstore that will drop ship the books to the schools. Want to know more about becoming a client? Hit reply and let us know. School Visit TipGood presenters hook students right away. But how? Ask a question to engage students' attention and build immediate rapport. Rapport means they’re starting to like you because they know something about you. You might ask the students: “Who else LOVES… Marvel, ugly dogs, Weird Al, cats, the not color black, monsters, __ {insert whatever is true and also kid friendly}?” Kids raise their hands. Then say, “Wow, we already have so much in common!” You are getting to know them. They are getting to know you. That’s the idea! Do you already have a good hook that grabs attention and builds rapport? Hit reply and let us know! This is just one of hundreds of ideas we have to help you improve your school visits. Warm wishes, Melissa & Ellen P.S. Do you know someone who would like this newsletter? We’d be grateful if you’d share with a friend. Subscribe here. |
Hi! I'm a Melissa Taylor of Imagination Soup.
Imagination Soup shares curated book reviews, book lists, and learning resources for parents, teachers, and librarians. As a former teacher, former literacy trainer, and a mother of two, you can trust my expertise in children's books, reading levels, developmental appropriateness, and education. Join my community of 35,000 subscribers by signing up for my weekly newsletter!
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Big news in the children's publishing industry. This morning, the Newbery and Caldecott medal and honor books were awarded by the American Library Association Youth Media. (Along with more awards, too!) The below image gives you a hint. Check out the winners! What do you think? Who did they miss? If you want to refresh your memory of what won in the past, here are the last two years winners: 2024 Newbery & Caldecott Awards 2023 Newbery & Caldecott Awards Have a great week, and happy reading!...
Are your readers making reading goals and reflecting on who they are as readers? It's empowering to set goals, take steps to achieve those goals, and reflect on your progress. (I think reflection is one of the most powerful tools we can teach children, don't you?) It may be helpful to discuss the Rights of the Readers with your students and children and read about my process for goal setting with kids. New Picture Books (Ages 4 - 8) The new year in picture books features funny, sweet, and...