FLIP THE BIRD was acquired!!

Wahoo!! After many years of revision and letting FLIP THE BIRD sit patiently on my computer, it's finally going to be published. I can't even explain you how excited and blown away I am by this news. Anyone who knows me (friends, family, fellow writers) can attest to how I thirsted for this particular book to be published. Yes, I want all of my books to eventually be acquired by a big NY publisher of course, but this book took A TON of research and made me fall in love with the sport of falconry, so it sort of wound its way around my heart.

Here's the blurb from Publishers' Weekly:

I am so thankful to SOAR, Illinois for providing me a place to take falconry apprentice lessons, and to the many falconers (especially D. Troy Moritz) who answered my questions and let me tag along  during some of their hunts to fully appreciate the beauty of this sport. Hopefully one day you'll be able to experience this sport firsthand, but if not, I'm excited for you to read about it via my young adult novel. Thanks so much to my agent, Eric Myers, and to Julie Tibbott at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to share this book with the world.

I know my main character, Mercer, and his Red-tailed Hawk, Flip, would be super proud too.

'Til next time,

KYM

PS: Here's a video of a falconer working with a beautiful juvenile Red-tail if you're curious. :)

CREATE A PLAN TO BUILD A PUBLISHING CAREER - Taking Agent Laura Rennert's Advice

At the SCBWI-LA conference earlier this month, executive agent Laura Rennert from Andrea Brown Literary Agency wowed us with her knowledge about how authors should build successful careers.

She suggested that we view ourselves as being the CEO of our own company, which would make your agent your COO. After reviewing who her authors are, she develops very systematic plans for each of her clients and says we should do the same for ourselves.

Basically, you need to think about who you are as a person, who your readers are, and what your books are about, then build your brand and marketing efforts upon those ideas. So here are my thoughts on each of those topics:

Who am I as a person?

• teacher/ author
• outgoing
• always striving to be humorous
• am intrigued by things unique and unusual 
• laid back and easygoing

Who are my readers?

• teens
• smart adults who dig YA
• librarians? reviewers? teachers?

What are my books about?

• everyday teens on the brink of something new
• often suspense & plot driven
• falling in love
• humor + heart
• something unusual or quirky such as:
• Bonnie & Clyde, Polish superstitions, falconry, space camp.

So based on those bullet points...what's my plan?
I'm going to try and formulate one now:

I'll focus on writing blog posts, running contests, and appearing at events hoping to showcase my sense of humor, my knowledge of suspenseful writing, and showing my love for things that are quirky.


Hmm....I think I like it. At least for now.

Laura Rennert did mention restructuring now and then as you go along. Figure out what's working and continue doing those things, while at the same time, weed out the strategies that weren't so successful. What works for one author might not work for another, so don't lose hope. It may take years to develop, but keep working and hopefully you'll see sales rise and offers increase. (*see me grinning with sparks of hope in my eyes)


Now it's your turn to be the CEO of your book company. Write down the three categories listed in bold above, along with your bulleted lists that represent you, and then come up with a one-line plan. I'd love to hear what it is, so please share in the comments....

Source

Reeling in a Literary Agent

Want to find out how I "landed" my agent, Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency? 

(Actually, I've had three agents, but hopefully, the third one's a KEEPER!)

 

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/big-fish-eat-little-fish-photo-p246686

Find out all about it HERE: 

 http://darklydeliciousya.blogspot.com/2014/04/behind-scenes-working-with-agents.html

Literary Agent Eric Myers Q & A

Want to know what an agent looks for in a query and what makes him keep turning pages? 

Then check out this interview of my fabulous agent, Eric Myers HERE.