I’m not sure what surprises me the most - that I find the Greek mythology aspect of the story interesting - I always considered mythology - B - O - R - I - N - G. Or that I haven’t heard people talking about the stories more (There are already five books and counting and Percy Jackson and the Olympians boxed sets are available. The Lightning Thief is about to be released as a movie, so perhaps more people will become aware of these great books.

To Rick Riordan (the author), my hats off. Riordan said he hopes adults enjoy the Percy Jackson series, as much as kids do. I know I am. The professional book reviewers reported the book is for grades 5 - 9, but a much wider range than that will gobble up this book and beg for more. The Lightning Thief is a great read, highly creative. I just have one complaint, but it’s a big one!!

This book is NOT good for reading at bedtime. It does NOT slow down and you will NOT find your eyelids growing heavy. Instead you will stay up much later than is good for you, reading several chapters when you had planned to only read one. The next morning will find you cranky and feeling like you are a child of Ares. Which is funny because you never knew or cared who Ares was until now.

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Me: Do you have a particular technique in terms of marketing and promotion that has worked really well for you?

Gary: Wow. So much could be said on the subject of marketing and promotion. It should be understood by every self publisher that actually getting your book into print is easy compared to getting it before your potential readers. You are competing with hundreds of new releases in your genre each year, along with thousands of titles already on the shelves. Authors must be willing to pound the pavement. Use of the internet (i.e. a website, Facebook, twitter) and fashioning an inexpensive press kit are places to begin.

Regarding the press – DON’T just think book reviews. The results for us over the years have been feature stories in print and on television. One news story was syndicated and we heard from people out-of-state. Shows with segments about us have been rerun. I also host a segment on a regional television show and once a year see below:

To celebrate our 10th anniversary this year, there is planned an Adirondack Kids day for fans with a lake cruise on the Fulton Chain of Lakes where most of our stories are set. Our illustrators and book designers will be on board as well. There will also be a 10-year art retrospective at the region’s at Center featuring all of the original cover art and many of the interior illustrations. And the local theater will run an Adirondack Kids Happy 10th Anniversary slide before each film. Be creative with your marketing! Get out and embrace your readers while cultivating new ones. No one is going to be a better sales person for your books than you.

Me: I’m assuming you are able to turn a profit with Adirondack Kids, or you wouldn’t have been going for 10 years. Would you describe your profits as ‘barely breaking even’ or ‘part-time pay for a full-time worth of effort’ or are you earning substantial money?

Gary:When we began our self-publishing venture we were pretty much working in a vacuum.

We are glad we took the path we did, establishing Adirondack Kids Press to launch our own series and it has now grown into a small company. Our worst-case scenario on a book sale is more than $4.00 per copy sold, and we are selling on average more than 10,000 copies in the series every year. With speaking engagements, we could make a full-time living at it now, but I am a pastor and still feel that is my primary calling. On my “days off”, Carol has me speaking in schools and at conferences across the state of New York, and each summer we do an Adirondack Kids Book Tour. And we are still only writing one book per year. So for us, it has been wonderful pay for part-time work. Revenue is helping Justin with college expenses, allowing us to expand the company and we are able to do things as a family we would never have been able to do otherwise, such as support three children in Zambia through World Hope International. In fact, this spring when we travel to Africa, we are hoping to meet them!

Me: Well you make a good point that even very successful authors still end up spending quite a bit of time selling their books. They aren’t just holed up writing them. One of my favorites, Laurie Halse Anderson, described her normal work day as having a time period that she dedicates to just writing and creating and another portion of her day is spent on the business and marketing side of being an author. So I believe it’s safe to say, that both self-published and traditionally published authors should plan on spending time both writing books and selling books.

Finally Gary, I want to say thanks for taking the time to share all this with the readers. I’m sure you have sparked many ideas for children’s writers, self-publishers and other readers with what you’ve shared here.

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Me: Your arrangement of having a publisher as your distributor is interesting. It sounds as though it was someone who worked at the publishing firm who suggested that? or did you approach them? I’m just wondering if this is something other self-publishers could try to copy. So what I’m asking is both, the specifics of how this got set-up for Adirondack Kids and if you have advice for other self-publishers if they wanted to try such an arrangement.



Gary: North Country Books based in Utica, New York is both a regional publisher and distributor. They publish and distribute their own titles, as well as distributing select regional titles from other publishers. The Adirondack Kids® fit their criteria perfectly and so we were added to their catalogue, book shows and personal sales calls. While North Country is our main distributor, we reserved the right in our contract with them, of course, to distribute our books ourselves as well. We sell direct to schools and via the internet and have some stores we deal with personally on a regular basis. Those who self-publish must give deep consideration to how they are going to market and distribute their books.

Me: I noticed your website didn’t list speaking appearances in 2010 yet. Is this just a website update that needs to be made or do you take a few months off from speaking each year?


Gary: We normally update our website twice a year, with main changes in the spring upon a title’s new release. We would like to do it more often, but we are not that website savvy and it is cumbersome and expensive to make a lot of changes throughout the year. We do sell books from the site, but its main value has been for connecting with teachers and librarians for speaking engagements and for reporters who are looking for information. We do have Facebook and twitter accounts, but we do not link to these or anything else from our website, because there are legal considerations with sites for children. So, we keep information contained, simple and clean.

Me: I was impressed by your comment about you visiting the places your stories take place, even taking photos to help the illustrators recreate it accurately. I’m sure that helps give some readers that feeling of “Oh, I’ve been there.” I’m guessing this has made it easier for you to promote regionally. Is that true?



Gary: Absolutely. Places can change, but there is a certain timelessness to the region where our books are set – the 6 million-acre Adirondack Park. I would love to be able to say how clever we are, but much that has happened with our books did not occur by our original design. We did decide to revolve each story around a well known person, place or event, but had no idea families and schools would fashion vacations and field trips based on our stories. We never imagined children would build Pioneer Villages of their own, or play Adirondack Kids among friends. When we first started the series, we certainly had no idea it would fill a niche for New York state’s elementary schools. And we just spoke yesterday to an independent book store owner who began an Adirondack Kids book club several years ago with her group of young readers also traveling to locations mentioned in the stories.

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Question: Did you try to have the first Adirondack Kids book published by a traditional publisher?

Gary’s reply: We did approach a regional publisher who expressed interest in our story, but who explained the company was already some two years out on other contracts and so would not even be in a position to consider our manuscript for several years. I must say, the publisher was incredibly helpful to us as we pursued publishing our book ourselves and did become our main distributor. Our nine titles are among the some 300 in their catalogue, and have been consistently among their top ten best sellers. (See Publishers Weekly February 2, 2004, page 25)

Question: What was your writing background prior to Adirondack Kids? Had you done much writing either for kids or adults? published or unpublished?

Gary’s reply: I have been writing The Adirondack Kids® series with my son, Justin, since he was in the third grade. We have released one book a year for nine years. He is a sophomore in college now. For most of my adult life, I had been writing and taking photographs – but always for the non-fiction market. I also co-owned a community newspaper for seven years and wrote feature stories, a weekly editorial and a column on birds – even winning Press Club awards. But until I began working with Justin, I did not know if I could write fiction. What I discovered was that the years devoted to non-fiction, and particularly journalism, helped keep the stories moving forward and with authenticity and with a bare minimum of excess baggage. It wasn’t until after this happy discovery that I came across a quote from my all-time favorite writer, Annie Dillard, who years earlier had emphasized, in the words of her interviewer, “the necessity of journalism skills for creative writing majors.” “Journalism teaches you to think of the reader,” Dillard said. “The trouble with people who major in creative writing is they often think the point of writing is to impress people, instead of to appeal to people. For (creative writing majors) the ideal courses to take are journalism and literature.” (from Lunch with Annie Dillard, By Malcolm Lawrence, April 30, 1982) I read this, and cheered.

Question: Were you a member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators)?

Gary’s reply: No. I did not join the SCBWI until very recently, mainly because of the way I perceived those who self-publish tended to be classified. Even now, with more than 100,000 books in print and having spoken at conferences and libraries and at countless public and private schools, we do not yet qualify for the level of membership at the national level which allows us to sell our books at SCBWI events or to be listed in their speaker’s bureau. Why I am glad we finally joined is because of the connection and interaction we have enjoyed with SCBWI members at a local chapter level and with members on-line. And we have less of an inferiority complex now, having been validated by multiple thousands of those people who matter to writers the most – a large and ever growing number of loyal and enthusiastic readers!

My response to Gary: You are quite right about SCBWI. I still remember sitting in a small group of local writers as we discussed ideas for a regional SCBWI conference. I suggested that people would be interested in hearing about self-publishing (this was before I was one of THEM). The one writer said, “Isn’t that a little like pretending to give people financial advice and then telling them to play the lotto, because after all, some people hit it big!” That was pretty much a conversation stopper. ha ha…. It’s funny to me now or it would be funny except that SCBWI seems to be even more against self-publishing at a time when I’ve heard editors (even at SCBWI conferences) say that self-publishing is worth considering.

But you are right that SCBWI has many excellent writers/speakers who provide inspiration and guidance. I had the pleasure of hearing Paula Danziger speaking at the first SCBWI event I attended… no wonder I got hooked. In recent times, my favorite speaker is Laurie Halse Anderson, followed very closely by Linda Sue Park.

Question: Has the ratio of who did most of the writing changed from your early books when Justin was fairly young till now?

Gary’s reply: Our system has remained essentially unchanged throughout the decade. One book a year. During the summer through early fall we talk about potential subject matter and do any necessary ‘live’ research. This includes visiting a locale and taking lots of photographs (some to be used as references for our illustrators), conducting interviews and taking notes. All along the way we are brainstorming an outline. Specific action and potential dialogue between characters begins to emerge all of which is used during the winter months to actually write the book. The outlines are usually detailed and strong. I hammer out the draft while Justin hammers on me. The book is published in late winter and released sometime in the spring. And then the process starts all over again.

During the early years we could often sit down side by side and always proof read the day’s work during our daily reading time. He is in college now, and so interaction is much more limited, especially during the winter – although the Mac computer’s built in webcam and iChat features have been helpful. Because sales were brisk, there was pressure early on from some retailers to produce more material more quickly – but my desire was to spend time with Justin and keep it fun while together we learned how to write fiction. In fact, we entitled one of our talks as, The Three R’s – Reading, (w)Riting and Relationships.

Here’s a photo of the father/son Adirondack Kids Authors, Gary and Justin VanRiper with wife/mom Carol VanRiper who juggles interior illustration (since book 4), speaking engagement coordination, internet sales, and more.

Gary also commented on my blog observation that Adirondack Kids Press appeared to not participate in the Amazon Advantage program, saying:

We did try Amazon Advantage when we first began publishing and soon discovered for us it was just that - an advantage to amazon. We did sell some books on the site - but amazon would request copies from us piecemeal - pretty much only as they received a request. So - we stocked the books and then paid premium postage to get them out to amazon quickly in onesies and twosies and threesies. There was absolutely no advantage for us to continue with amazon - it was much too cumbersome and expensive. So we stopped.

But there has since come a new problem, and we are only now beginning to explore what option(s) we may have to deal with it. Some unscrupulous book dealers have in the past listed our books for sale through amazon for over one hundred dollars per copy. (I think the most expensive one listed right now is around 80 dollars). And in the past we have seen notes claiming our books were rare and out of print. A parent from out-of-state called just this past week after being on amazon and was wondering if a particular title was still in print and if “yes”, was it available at a reasonable price! We have no idea being listed on amazon this way how many people have been discouraged and been led to a dead end regarding our work.
So - for the record – ALL of our 9 titles are in print - (and have been without any interruption) – and ALL are available at the regular cover price. ALL we can say about amazon advantage for now is - buyer beware.

Note to readers, anyone interested in purchasing or receiving information about speaking engagements, the website is: http://www.adirondackkids.com.

Okay…. for those of you interested in learning more, check back in another few days.

Anne

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Their non-participation in Amazon Advantage certainly hasn’t kept Adirondack Kids from being successful. The first Adirondack Kids book was printed in February of 2001. Gary commented, “we had 2,000 copies made because we weren’t sure if anyone other than our family would want one.” But all 2000 copies sold by June and they hurriedly ordered a second printing before tourist season. This past summer Adirondack Kids surpassed 100,000 copies in print. So stay tuned for the details of their success and feel free to post a question to this blog.

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1. Control over the book’s promotion and availability:  If book sales are slow initially, you can continue to market and promote the book, whereas a traditional publisher will usually remainder the book AND may now deem you as an author with a poor sales record.
2. Greater potential profit: While an author with a traditional publisher is likely to earn approximately 5-10% of each retail sale, the self-published author could be earning 50% or more of each retail sale (depending on book pricing). Which leads me to the next advantage…
3. Total control: Since the publisher makes decisions such as choosing cover design, print run and pricing, many the traditionally-published author feels that their book could have succeeded if only… If only it was marketed directly to a certain kind of store. If only they hadn’t used that ugly cover design. If only it was priced higher or lower. The self-published author has control over those decisions.

BUT… here is what I have found to be the REAL advantage of self-publishing:

For me the REAL advantage of self-publishing was suddenly becoming part of a community, even if loosely bound that include the most outside-the-box and no-obstacle-is-insurmountable thinkers I have ever met. It has totally changed my thinking of what is possible.

In reading self-publishing news, I learned that Rich Dad, Poor Dad was originally self-published. When I heard Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert T. Kiyosaki speaking about his books, I instantly felt I must read one (really listen to, because I use audiobooks). It instantly made sense to me that Kiyosaki published outside the mainstream publishing world, because his financial advice is also outside the mainstream advice of how to get a good job with nice benefits.

And that is my point. Many (not all) self-published works end up self-published because their authors are marching to a different drummer than most people. Self-publishing associations, such as the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) or SPAN (Small Publishers of North America) are filled with creative people with very original approaches to meeting life’s challenges.

For me reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad led directly or indirectly (one author recommends another) to listening to:

• books by Zig Ziglar
• Think and Grow Rich
• The Psychology Of Achievement

and many other books that gave me new inspirations and a different outlook on my life.

Entering the world of self-publishing also meant reading the newsletters and news of people who were taking unique approaches to their business. In some cases, breaking all the rules had really worked for these folks. Maybe the world isn’t flat.

My next publishing project is a result of me doing more, “I wonder if…” and “Why don’t we…” thinking. It will be self-published because I hope it will be my most lucrative creative venture and I want a big piece of the pie. But it will also be a direct result of my entering the world of self-published authors and taking that fork in the road that is less-traveled.

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Neither John nor I was ready to retire from parenting, not even semi-retire. But the tough thing about the job of parenting is it comes in kind of enormous commitments. You can’t decide to continue on for just another year or two. Even the Army tour of dury (some MIGHT argue that was a harder job) only lasts 2 or 3 years, right? But parenting comes for 18+ years.

Sure, you can overlap the years you raise your children. Most folks do. But that’s not the same as simply extending the time you spend parenting your existing kids.

I’m sure someone who has a 30-something year old child still living at home with them will write me and volunteer to pack him or her off to my house. I guess I wasn’t thinking about parenting overgrown children, that give people the urge to push them out of the nest. I was thinking more of the parenting you do as your children grow up. Here’s just a couple of items that I’m missing

– cooking dinner no longer feels like an altruistic activity
– the funny perspective a child often has when they encounter something which you’ve even stopped noticing
– watching the rapid development — the kid who can’t throw the ball from first base to second, who throws down the runner after making a catch which no one expected

“I love you Mom” I miss hearing it actually spoken. Since most of Dan’s calls home are made amongst his peers, I often have to take the fact that he is calling as a message and statement in itself.

And of course, any parent and children’s writer will relate… I miss having another reason to hang out and read the books in the kids section of the bookstore!

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Around the time Dan left for school, I had a book recommended to me - Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

It sounded like exactly what I wanted, to get things done, stress-free! Woopee (does anyone still say woopee?) And I got a lot of good ideas from Getting Things Done There have been many times in the past where my lack of organization has cost me. I’ve lost time looking for something or even lost money (oops, darn, now there’s a late payment). With no kids at home, it was time to get organized and then get creating. Part of the idea behind Getting Things Done is that when you have all those to-do’s out of your mind and tucked away, it frees you to be much more creative. 

Still… getting ready to get things done has stretched on for weeks, until I began to wonder whether I was getting organized or simply procrastinating.  I did want to write and do creative things, didn’t I?  Well I’m about to find out because I threw out, filed away, gave away, and finished with the last random paper, within these four walls of my “home office”.  I managed to neatly get the books and audobooks back onto shelves, pens and pencils into their holder, etc.  Now if I could just get our cat to stop hogging the chair she insists on sharing with me. 

I am done.  I just finished vacuuming the carpet (that did get rid of the cat but only temporarily) and I even took the coat of dust and grime off the printer.  It’s story time.

Anne

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Return to the Hundred Acre Wood: In Which Winnie-the-Pooh Enjoys Further Adventures with Christopher Robin and His Friends

Winnie the Pooh sequel is available NOW - audiobook read by Jim Dale

Well I was feeling a bit ashamed of how little I had been blogging and many of my other slow-moving writing and publishing projects, until….

I opened up the internet and discovered that the Winnie the Pooh sequel has been released 80 years after the last Winnie the Pooh book (Holy-Writer’s-Block!). Geez… suddenly my publishing Poster Girl in 2007 and STILL not getting the next book out the door doesn’t seem so shabby.

The publishers of Winnie the Pooh had their own list of excuses/reasons, just as I have mine. Something about the author having died and trying to find a suitable replacement. I understand great writing can’t be rushed, but to think that my 80+-year-old mom was in diapers back when there was last a new Winnie the Pooh, is mind-boggling. Despite the delay (or maybe because of it), new adventures for Winnie the Pooh and the Hundred Acre Woods are big news in the world of children’s books and among Pooh’s many fans. So here are all the cool ways you can get this book.

You can order the version published by a U.S.-based publisher . which ships in 24 hours and is eligible for Amazon Prime’s free shipping.

Or if you prefer the British cover design, you can also order that through Amazon’s associated merchants, but it may take just a tad longer. Here’s a look at that option:

Now, if you’re an audiobook fan (I am), you are in for a real treat, because you can get Return to the Hundred Acre Wood audiobook read by Jim Dale. If you want to get a sneak preview of the reading (I did), click on that link and there is a video of Jim Dale reading. It will make you want to curl up for the full bedtime story.

Finally, they even made the Kindle version of New Pooh Book available today, ready for immediate download.

So grab your favorite stuffed animal and tell them the big news. Bedtime just got a whole bunch of new adventures.

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While I’d heard the poem before, somehow the images chosen really drive the poem’s message home for me. Even the music seems the perfect fit for those moments when I’m pausing… when I’m feeling as though my publishing goals are still so far off… well as the poem says, “when things go wrong as they sometimes will..”

I watched it now as I unwrapped a box that I hadn’t been able to bring myself to open earlier… books being returned from Baker & Taylor. It felt so heavy that I actually expected the box to contain a note saying they weren’t carrying my title any longer. But, it didn’t. I don’t know what I expected, them to send me all their copies and say “Give it up, will ya?”

And I looked in their online catalog and there it is, Poster Girl… still available. In fact they’ve order 3 more copies for their one warehouse (while returning 19 from a different warehouse). But a librarian who wants to order my book through Baker and Taylor can, so my line is still in the water where it can catch fish.

and I won’t quit

and I hope blog readers won’t either.

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