In Memory: Betty X Davis

By Lindsey Lane

On January 5, 2022, Betty X Davis vacated her seat at the front row of our BookPeople launches. At one hundred and six years old, still quoting Shakespeare at length and spouting snippets of French, it seemed like she might live forever. But alas, she slipped away, quietly, as one does when they’ve been to an excellent party,

Continue Reading In Memory: Betty X Davis »

New Voices: Meredith Davis & Nicole Valentine On Being An Author

By Gayleen Rabakukk

I’m thrilled to introduce two debut authors to the Cynsations audience today. I met both at Vermont College of Fine Arts several years ago while we were all working on MFAs in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Both write middle grade, but their books are very different, illustrating the depth and diversity that exists in children’s literature.

Continue Reading New Voices: Meredith Davis & Nicole Valentine On Being An Author »

Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Reframing the Reality of Books Going Out of Print, Part 4: The Editor’s Perspective

By Lindsey Lane

When an author or an illustrator gets the news that their book is going out of print (OP) or out of stock (OS), it is a blow. A tragedy. It feels like a death in the family. After all, a book is a creation, something that sprang from our imaginations,

Continue Reading Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Reframing the Reality of Books Going Out of Print, Part 4: The Editor’s Perspective »

Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Reframing the Reality of Books Going Out of Print, Part 3: The Agent Perspective

By Lindsey Lane

When an author or an illustrator gets the news that their book is going out of print (OP) or out of stock (OS), it is a blow. A tragedy. It feels like a death in the family. After all, a book is a creation, something that sprang from our imaginations,

Continue Reading Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Reframing the Reality of Books Going Out of Print, Part 3: The Agent Perspective »

Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Reframing the Reality of Books Going Out of Print, Part 2: Author/Illustrator Perspective

By Lindsey Lane

When an author or an illustrator gets the news that their book is going out of print (OP) or out of stock (OS), it is a blow. A tragedy. It feels like a death in the family.

After all, a book is a creation, something that sprang from our imaginations,

Continue Reading Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Reframing the Reality of Books Going Out of Print, Part 2: Author/Illustrator Perspective »

Guest Post: Don Tate on Proactive Promotion & Strong As Sandow

Guest Post: Don Tate on Proactive Promotion & Strong As Sandow

By Don Tate

My newest book babe, Strong As Sandow: How Eugen Sandow Became the Strongest Man on Earth (Charlesbridge, 2017), published earlier this fall.

To welcome “Sandow” into the world and to provide my new book babe with tools needed to flourish, I planned a full marketing blitz.

Marketing a new book is a shared effort between a book’s creators and its publisher.

Continue Reading Guest Post: Don Tate on Proactive Promotion & Strong As Sandow »

Event Report & Videos: Don Tate Launches Strong as Sandow: How Eugene Sandow Became The Strongest Man on Earth

Event Report & Videos: Don Tate Launches Strong as Sandow: How Eugene Sandow Became The Strongest Man on Earth

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

Author-illustrator Don Tate hosted a tremendous, successful book launch for Strong as Sandow: How Eugene Sandow Became The Strongest Man on Earth (Charlesbridge, 2017) Sept. 9 at BookPeople in Austin. From the promotional copy:

Friedrich Müller was born sickly and weak, yet he longed to be athletic and strong,

Continue Reading Event Report & Videos: Don Tate Launches Strong as Sandow: How Eugene Sandow Became The Strongest Man on Earth »

Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Marketing & Paperback Release of Evidence of Things Not Seen

Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Marketing & Paperback Release of Evidence of Things Not Seen

By Lindsey Lane

What are you supposed to do when your debut novel releases in paperback?

a) Nothing

b) Heave a sigh of relief

c) Let everyone know

d) All of the above

Ahhh, the conundrums of marketing.

Guess what? There is no prescribed method for marketing our books.

Continue Reading Guest Post: Lindsey Lane on Marketing & Paperback Release of Evidence of Things Not Seen »