Organizer Tips for Author Visits

Organizers for events almost always ask me what my needs and wants are prior to arrival. I'm a very low-maintenance person, so it's pretty easy to answer. There are a few things that I've noticed over the years that are nearly universal across authors, so I've put together a few tips for event organizers on the most imperative things authors need the second we walk in the door.

Just remember this mythical animal - the BatCow.

Bathroom. Coffee. Water.

In most cases authors have just driven - or flown - in from places unknown in order to show for the event. It's pretty typical for a welcoming committee to spot us at the door, and immediately tell us how glad they are to see us, how much they loved our books, and if they can help carry anything.

All these things are really, really cool.

But usually the author really, really has to pee.

Point us to the bathroom before you tell us how much you love our books. Trust me, we all love compliments, but it's hard for us to respond to you with the appropriate amount of thankfulness when we're concentrating on not wetting down our legs.

The second thing I've noticed is that there is almost never enough coffee at events like festivals or gatherings with more than one author. Organizers seem to underestimate how much coffee authors are going to drink. The answer is a lot. We are going to drink a lot of coffee. Overload on the caff (not the de-caff) and I promise you there will be little to nothing left over.

Third - water. If we are on a panel, speaking to a group, or just hand-selling books from a table all day we are going to be talking - a lot. We need water. Bottled water with caps is best (take it from the girl who has spilled stuff all over her table - and books - more than once). If you're relying on jug dispensers and open containers there will be spills, and possibly, damaged books as a result.

These are the universal basics.

What else can you do? Plenty!

Parking can be a thing - especially if the author is appearing at a library and the spaces are taken by regular patrons as well as those attending the event. If authors bring their own books to events for sale, the nearer the entrance, the easier (and faster) setup will be. If you're able, assign a spot for the author near the entrance.

I've had schools use chalk to mark my spot, and libraries put a sign up to let patrons know not to park there. Either way is great (and I've never requested it, to be pleasantly surprised when it's provided). Definitely let the author know you've done this, though. We won't look for a special spot for us if we don't know it's there.

Tech is of the utmost importance. I've had a couple of visits where we were scrambling for tech to make things work before go-time. It's fine, things happen. But good communication before hand (and this applies to the author, too) can keep this from occurring. Ask your presenter if they need a projector, a screen, a mike, or if they have audio in their presentation. Also, be aware that a lot of authors are relying on flipping through slides with a remote during their presentation. Will the laptop be in the back, or the front of the room? Will the remote signal go that far? Stuff like that can be handled on the fly, but be aware of it beforehand so you can plan.

Book sales can help pad the author's takeaway from the visit, so always ask if they are willing to sign and sell. Some authors will request that you have a book seller available to handle sales, others have gone through the process of getting a vendor's license through their state so that they can handle sales themselves. 

Then - make sure it happens.

I've found Indie bookstores to be much more reliable when it comes to author visits, so ask a local bookseller if they'll do offsite sales before going to a big box store. If you do contact a bigger store, check, double-check, and check again to make sure they're going to be there. Once I had a bookseller no-show because there were too many people involved in the communication line, and things were dropped. Indies can be more dependable, but again - always double check that they are planning on being there a few days before the event.

If you are hosting a large festival or event, be absolutely sure that the bookstore has the books for every author who will be there. More than once I've been at events where an author has fallen through the cracks. Big festivals and fairs are a huge amount of work for the organizers, and things happen. 

But authors travel to most events on their own dime, and if they show up to discover that the bookseller has everyone's books but theirs... well, it's more or less a waste of their time - and money. Yes, we can still do a panel, answer questions, and pass out bookmarks. And chances are, most authors are going to do so with grace (there's not point upsetting librarians, organizers, and booksellers). But inside, trust me, they are not happy.

How to stop this from happening? Check. Re-check. Check again. Go down the list of books with the bookseller by author - and title - to ensure that books have been ordered for every author appearing.

Last thing when it comes to a bookseller providing the books - be sure if the author is promoting a series that you have ALL the available titles in that series. The author isn't going to have much luck hawking the third in a trilogy if s/he doesn't have the first and second ones on hand as well.

If the author is bringing books themselves have either people or a cart available to help move them inside the building - and don't freak out when you see how many boxes we have. Don't worry, we know we're not going to sell them all. I personally bring way more than I expect to sell. Better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them.

Lots of things to remember, I know. But there are just as many responsibilities on the authors as well - and I'll talk about those next week.

Why You Should Still Write When Everything Around You Is Going To Hell

Writing is not easy.

It's never been easy. I'm not the kind of writer who springs out of bed, eager to start the day's work. In fact I've only sprung from my bed once, and that was when I thought there was a burglar in my house and the only thing I had to defend myself with was a thirty pound bag of cat litter.

But that's another story.

There's a great hashtag on Twitter at the moment, #WriteYourResistance, and I encourage anyone who has characters who stand up when they're told to sit down or shout when they're told to shut up to check it out. And while those are easily recognizable acts of opposition, equally important are the characters who enact quieter forms - refusing to kick someone who is down, or even helping them up.

It's hard to tear yourself away from the news feed to work on a piece of fiction. Our fake worlds feel paper thin, motivations for people who don't exist hard to come by when a paradigm shift is happening in reality, and there are impactful actionable items on your to-do list that may shape tomorrow.

Those things are important. Go do them.

Then come back to your book.

What I'm working on right now is a humorous paranormal. Yes, you read that right. It's a weird, quirky little thing that no one is ever going to label as important. My characters aren't planting their flags or taking the moral high ground. They're running down spooky eBay listings and wondering if the little bit of plastic fork they accidentally bit off is digestible.

So how can I turn off the reality IV and put my time into something so trite?

Because I might be reading 1984 right now, but last night I watched Romancing the Stone.

For fifteen years I worked in a high school in one of the poorest counties in my state. Some of my students didn't have heat, clean clothes, or food in their stomachs. Those kids weren't reading heavy, message-laden books. Not because they were incapable, but because they know enough about reality.

What they were looking for was escape.

And they found it in books.

So write your book, even now. Write to communicate your message of strength and love. Write for that reader in the future that needs to get away for an hour or two.

Just write.

Inspiration On The Long Road To Publication With Lorie Langdon

We're starting off 2017 with a guest post from my friend, fellow YA author and Ohioan, Lorie Langdon. Lorie Langdon is one half of the author team that writes the best-selling DOON series, a young adult reimagining of the musical Brigadoon. A few years ago, she left her corporate career to satisfy the voices in her head. Now she spends her days tucked into her office, Havanese puppy by her side, working to translate her effusive imagination into the written word.

Lorie has been interviewed on Entertainment Weekly.com and several NPR radio programs, including Lisa Loeb’s national Kid Lit show. The DOON series has been featured on such high profile sites as USAToday.com, Hypable.com, and BroadwayWorld.com. Lorie’s solo debut, GILT HOLLOW, a YA romantic thriller, released September 27th 2016. GILT HOLLOW was recently named by Redbook Magazine as one of the "Books By Women You Must Read This Fall."

Lorie's publishing journey isn't the standard tale, and it's a good way to follow up yesterday's post about 10 New Year's Writers Resolutions.

The Uncommon Route

I’m not sure if there’s a “typical” way to find a literary agent and get a publishing deal. It seems every story is different. But my route was more convoluted than most. The first book I pitched and queried to agents was an adult Time Travel set during the maritime Revolutionary War with an inspirational element. Sounds great, right?

I received rejection after rejection and was told that time travel and God do not mix. Theologically, I disagree. But that’s a different post.

Around this same time my critique partner, Carey Corp, insisted that I read TWILIGHT. I’m not a vampire fan, so it took some convincing. But it hooked me from the first page. Not because it was beautifully written literature, but because I could see myself as a teen in the character of Bella. Because every girl who feels average longs for the extraordinary. That’s when I knew I wanted to write young adult literature.

And I had the perfect story idea.

When I was sixteen I saw the musical Brigadoon and fell in love with the romantic tale of the village that only appears to the modern world once every one hundred years. But one thing always bothered me about the original – during the hundred years that the portal to Brigadoon is closed, the people sleep. Really? They sleep! I couldn’t stop thinking about what I could do with that hundred years.
Coincidentally, Carey had just completed her second young adult novel, so I was picking her brain on voice and technique when somewhere along the way our conversation took a detour. Our ideas for the mythical kingdom of Doon sparked an explosion of evil witches, magic spells, daring adventures, two unique best friends, and heroic princes in kilts … soon it became clear that this story was bigger than the both of us, but that together we could make it amazing.

As soon as we finished the book, we began to research agents and send email queries. Almost immediately, we received requests from agents to read the full manuscript. We were flying high.

A Test of Faith

It's hard to see, but this picture
 shows me with the skywriting
 in the background.

Months passed with no offers. Our dream agent, Alexandra Machinist, requested to read the full. More time passed. But Carey and I knew Alexandra was meant to be our agent. During that time, I took a trip to Disney World with my family. The trip was a dream come true, but my attention was divided as I constantly checked my phone for responses from agents.

Toward the end of our trip, we were eating in the German Village at Epcot Center and I got the email. Alexandra Machinist rejected. Not wanting to upset my family with my tears, I ran outside and this is what I saw in the sky: TRUST GOD

And so, I did. Little did I know, I’d need to keep that message in my heart through more trials. Less than a month later, we had an offer from an agent with a big firm in NY. She had revision suggestions for the manuscript, but Carey and I were more than willing to make the changes she requested. We rewrote and cut chunks of the book, but the agent wasn’t satisfied. She decided we should make our main characters frenemies.

As a writer, there are times when your vision for your project will conflict with other’s opinions. You must decide where your line is, that place that you won’t cross even to accomplish your goal. For Carey and I, making our characters Veronica and Mackenna frenemies was a deal breaker. We strongly believed illustrating a healthy female friendship was one of the greatest strengths of our story. So, we parted ways with our agent.

The Second Round

After a few weeks of mourning, we began to send out queries again. Almost immediately we received a full request from a new agent, Nicole Resciniti of the Seymour Agency. She stayed up all night reading the manuscript and offered us representation the following day. We set up a call. She adored the book, but she wanted us to make major revisions.

After rewriting our hearts out for our previous agent, to no avail, we weren’t ready to do it again. Our trust had been broken. So we turned down Nicole’s offer.

Fast forward nine months and approximately seventy-five queries later. (I have the spreadsheet list to prove it.) We still didn’t have any offers. Carey was ready to self-publish DOON. She’d previously self-published a solo YA novel with good success. But my lifelong dream had been to see my books on bookstore shelves. I believed that DOON would be that book. We just had to trust.

During those long months of queries, a friend had signed with Nicole Resciniti and received a YA deal with Disney Hyperion. And I began to question whether turning down her offer had been the right decision.

Finally, we received an offer from a literary agent. We spoke to this woman for hours on the phone. She believed in Doon, loved the story and the writing, but she’d never sold a young adult book. Her connections were all with editors of adult fiction.

As Carey and I were considering her offer, we found out that Nicole had asked our mutual friend if we’d found an agent yet. Thankfully, Nicole gave us another chance and read DOON again. We set up a call. She still loved the book and she still wanted big revisions, but Carey and I were ready. We signed with Nicole, worked our butts off for months shaping up the manuscript, and wrote blurbs for three more books so she could pitch it as a series.

When Nicole took DOON out on submission to publishers it felt like a miracle. Like I could breathe again. But as with everything in publishing, it took time. After four long months, Nicole got us both on the phone. We had an offer! Zondervan/HarperCollins, one of the biggest Christian publishers in the world, had started a brand new imprint called Blink YA Books. Their mission was to publish mainstream books with a positive message and they were offering us a four-book deal as one of their lead titles!

We accepted the offer. The first DOON book was released in 2013 and the last one, FOREVER DOON, released this past summer.

As an agent, Nicole has been a God-send. Her believe in my work has never wavered. Last year, Blink published my first solo novel, a YA romantic mystery called GILT HOLLOW. And I have just accepted a deal for a YA historical retelling that will release in 2017.

Sometimes you just need to wait and trust.