It's been raining the past couple of days in Phoenix; what we call winter. It's still 63 degrees out, but the overcast skies and pattering of rain definitely give the winter vibe. It also makes things gloomy (said captain obvious), and this sense of gloom, it's hard for me to shake right now.
There's been medical issues ailing my mother, which I think in the end will be okay. It's just a lot of unknowns for her right now. Jack had a cold that induced asthma, and the poor guy had an inhaler for the past five days. He's doing a lot better now, and the cold seems to be almost gone. The rain always causes swelling and inflammation for my joints and sinuses, so yet another reminder that my body isn't in tip top shape.
All these things accumulate as a reminder that I'm doing a job that is just a job; my job brings no satisfaction or career path. If I only have a finite number of days left on this realm, then I want my work to be somewhat enjoyable to me. I know it's such a US privileged way of looking at work, that we should be doing something we like, but I am too sad about my job to think of it in any other way. I'm ready to move on from the work job blues, and have my winter blues be only about the weather.
If you didn't know, I one thing I really enjoy is writing, so much so, that last year I published my first children's book, Annie Aardvark, Mathematician. The book publishing date was January 19, 2017, and to celebrate the book's "birthday," I've set up a giveaway on Amazon! Just following the link below for a chance to win 1 of 2 books that I'm giving away. A celebration among the dreary winter is a good pick me up.
I do hope to follow up Annie with a sequel later this year (probably much later this year), and that next book will temporarily stop the unhappiness I feel about my job. I am much fulfilled outside of my day job with Jack and Bobby, friends and family, and my writing. These blues are temporary, much like most things in winter (snow storms, dead trees, gray skies, etc). Until the second book is out, I do wish you all a good winter, and that the spring breezes sweep away the blues, but really the grays, of winter.
Now for the celebration--
BOOK GIVEAWAY LINK: https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/dcabeb461efc536d
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Friday, February 16, 2018
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
8/22/17- Reading List 4: Picture Books about Love
As I watched the eclipse yesterday, I couldn't help but think of all the people watching the same eclipse (yes, yes, there are some differences with weather and location, but it's the same event). I thought about how we all have the same sun. The same moon. The same stars. The same Earth. And maybe I'm just riding high on the good feelings from a weekend full of love, but the solar eclipse filled me with love. I think we could all use a little bit of love right now, so I'm going to put some out there via this post. Without further ado, here are some (but certainly not all) picture books about LOVE. "There's a lot of love out there, man." 💓
1) My Love for You is the Sun by Julie Hedlund (obviously, I had to start with one that incorporated both the sun and love in some way!)
2) One Love adapted by Cedella Marley
3) Someday by Alison McGhee
4) Love Is by Diane Adams
5) All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
6) Wherever You Are by Nancy Tillman
7) Because of You by B.G Hennessy (out print but you may be able to find it at a library or used bookstore)
8) Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
9) The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin
10) Always and Together (two books) both by Emma Dodd
11) I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
12) I Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
What's your favorite picture book about love? Or have a recommendation? Leave a comment here or on social media and spread the love, man!
1) My Love for You is the Sun by Julie Hedlund (obviously, I had to start with one that incorporated both the sun and love in some way!)
2) One Love adapted by Cedella Marley
3) Someday by Alison McGhee
4) Love Is by Diane Adams
5) All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
6) Wherever You Are by Nancy Tillman
7) Because of You by B.G Hennessy (out print but you may be able to find it at a library or used bookstore)
8) Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
9) The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin
10) Always and Together (two books) both by Emma Dodd
11) I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
12) I Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
What's your favorite picture book about love? Or have a recommendation? Leave a comment here or on social media and spread the love, man!
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
8/1/17- The Book Festival
About a week ago I attended the Payson Book Festival. This public and free event is a way for adults and kids to meet and greet dozen's of book creators from all over Arizona (and a few other states). Like other book festivals, authors sit at tables and spend the day chatting with readers and signing books. The Payson Book Festival was my first book festival as an author, and I want to share some of the things I learned as an author attending a book festival.
First, if you are indie/self-published, then you will have to register yourself for the festival you want to attend. The registration process for the Payson Book Festival was relatively simple: I filled out their form, emailed it to the organizer, and then paid the fee through PayPal (most festivals have a registration fee for authors to have booths at their festival). If you are a traditionally published author, your publisher may be setting everything up, including registering and paying fees. However, if you're a traditionally published author attending a festival outside of what your publisher has scheduled for you (aka, you're going on your own), then you're going to have to register yourself and pay any fees yourself.
Second, you'll want to find out all the details about the event. Like, are you getting a full booth, partial booth (sharing with an other author), do you get the whole day or just a time slot (2 hours, 3 hours, etc), is table and chairs provided or do you bring your own equipment, are you responsible for sales or will there be a bookstore or other 3rd party that will sell books for you, do you need to have a state and city vendor's license (in most cases, yes), are you responsible for tax remittance, is any food or beverages provided, how many people attended the event in the past and so on.
If your publisher is setting everything up, that's great. If not, then it's really important to know how you'll be selling your books and what the set up is like and what you'll need to bring. Tables and chairs were provided for the authors, and there was an independent bookstore that was willing to sell authors' books at the Payson Book Festival, so technically all I had to bring was copies of my book, many Sharpies (so important to have multiple writing tools), and myself (and Bobby; it is always nice to have a person helping you who is familiar with the book).
Third, sales expectations. This information is probably some of the hardest information to find on the Internet (Bobby and I spent a couple of hours looking for what should I expect in sales). My guess as to why this information is hard to find is because sales are not high at book festivals. Most people (readers) are there because it's a free event, and they have specific authors or books they're looking for, or they already have the book and are going to the event just to get the book signed.
From what I've read from other authors who have willingly shared this information (and from my own experience) is that you're doing really well if you are selling 1 (that's ONE) book per hour. I sold 10 books over the 6 hours of the Payson Book Festival and that was considered really good (the Payson Book Festival has a couple hundred attendees). I read another blog post from an author who attended the Brooklyn Book Festival, which has 10,000 people attend, and he sold only 4 novels. Managing your own expectations regarding book sales is key to determining if the event was successful by your own measures.
And that sentence brings me to my final thought/lesson learned. To me, the point of the book festival is to get your name out there and to connect with your readers. People may not buy your book, but if you have a card or sticker with your name and book on it, when they go to the library or bookstore next, then they may want to ask the librarian or bookstore owner for your book. Or they may want to look you up and find out that you do classroom visits/other speaker engagement events and ask you to come speak to their class. That is why it is a good idea to have free swag.
The Payson Book Festival was my first time as an author at a festival, but it was not my first festival. I've been doing science festivals and other such events for an non-profit engineering professional organization since 2004. From those science festivals and outreach events, I've learned that people love free stuff. I personally have too much shwag from conferences that I've stopped collecting it from booths, but people want free pencils, stickers, bookmarks, chapstick, pens, etc. for whatever reason. I had some bookmarks (with my name and book on them) that I offered to people. I didn't try to sell people on my book; I just said, hi, please have a free bookmark. About 50% of the time, they'd ask me questions about the book and 5% of the time, they'd buy a book. Another author at the event was handing out bags of dried basil and bay leaves, as her book was about holistic health. She got a lot of traffic at her booth.
Offering something for free draws people to your booth (of course so does a good looking book cover, but you'll have to Google to find posts on how to design a good looking cover). Kids especially love picking up stickers and bookmarks each booth, so it was a success to me that I only had 25 out of 100 bookmarks left. Potentially 75 kids now know who Annie Aardvark is!
If you're an illustrator, you can also consider selling some of your art or giving out small postcards with your art. If you're the author, you can consider selling some other product that is associated with your book. For example, the author I shared a booth with, she sold stuff animals that related to the animal characters in her books. Just be aware that children (and their parents) might not understand the product or art is for sell, so it's a good idea to have a sign clearly stating a price. If you're an author/illustration, you can consider selling both art and products. Make sure to check with the festival about selling things other than books (and also if you'll need a vendor's license).
Another idea that may sell books, is to offer a special festival only price. Aka, a discount. I offered a 25% discount on my book just for the festival (it could only be done at the festival, not online; although an all day online discount that correlates to the festival could also be considered). I think the free stuff had a bigger impact on sales than the discount, but it's worth exploring if you're selling the book yourself (or can price it at a discount with the third party who's going to sell your book that day).
Finally, if you are handling sales at your booth/table, be prepared to accept as many forms of payment as possible. Square is one of many providers that makes it incredibly convenient to accept credit/debit cards. All you need is a smartphone and the app, but if you plan ahead, you can get swipe readers for free from Square or you can pay for readers that can even accept Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and other contactless forms (know your customer). But don't forget cash is still the preferred payment method for many customers as well.
In summary, I had a good time at the Payson Book Festival. I always enjoy interacting with children and their parents at events, and the Payson Book Festival was the same. It's important to remember that the goal of the festival is the interaction with readers. You are there to connect with your readers. It's also a good opportunity to network with other authors and illustrators. I now have another author friend that I can ask questions and seek guidance from. I highly recommend that any author (or illustrator), whether self-published or traditionally published, attend at least one book festival (or fair) in their writing career. The experiences and connections will at least make for some good writing fodder, but will also hopefully get your name out to the public. Plus, it's fun!
If you have any further questions for me about book festivals (like what is this vendor's license thing I keep mentioning), please leave me a comment or reach out to me on social media (Twitter or Facebook). Happy reading everyone!
First, if you are indie/self-published, then you will have to register yourself for the festival you want to attend. The registration process for the Payson Book Festival was relatively simple: I filled out their form, emailed it to the organizer, and then paid the fee through PayPal (most festivals have a registration fee for authors to have booths at their festival). If you are a traditionally published author, your publisher may be setting everything up, including registering and paying fees. However, if you're a traditionally published author attending a festival outside of what your publisher has scheduled for you (aka, you're going on your own), then you're going to have to register yourself and pay any fees yourself.
Second, you'll want to find out all the details about the event. Like, are you getting a full booth, partial booth (sharing with an other author), do you get the whole day or just a time slot (2 hours, 3 hours, etc), is table and chairs provided or do you bring your own equipment, are you responsible for sales or will there be a bookstore or other 3rd party that will sell books for you, do you need to have a state and city vendor's license (in most cases, yes), are you responsible for tax remittance, is any food or beverages provided, how many people attended the event in the past and so on.
If your publisher is setting everything up, that's great. If not, then it's really important to know how you'll be selling your books and what the set up is like and what you'll need to bring. Tables and chairs were provided for the authors, and there was an independent bookstore that was willing to sell authors' books at the Payson Book Festival, so technically all I had to bring was copies of my book, many Sharpies (so important to have multiple writing tools), and myself (and Bobby; it is always nice to have a person helping you who is familiar with the book).
Third, sales expectations. This information is probably some of the hardest information to find on the Internet (Bobby and I spent a couple of hours looking for what should I expect in sales). My guess as to why this information is hard to find is because sales are not high at book festivals. Most people (readers) are there because it's a free event, and they have specific authors or books they're looking for, or they already have the book and are going to the event just to get the book signed.
From what I've read from other authors who have willingly shared this information (and from my own experience) is that you're doing really well if you are selling 1 (that's ONE) book per hour. I sold 10 books over the 6 hours of the Payson Book Festival and that was considered really good (the Payson Book Festival has a couple hundred attendees). I read another blog post from an author who attended the Brooklyn Book Festival, which has 10,000 people attend, and he sold only 4 novels. Managing your own expectations regarding book sales is key to determining if the event was successful by your own measures.
And that sentence brings me to my final thought/lesson learned. To me, the point of the book festival is to get your name out there and to connect with your readers. People may not buy your book, but if you have a card or sticker with your name and book on it, when they go to the library or bookstore next, then they may want to ask the librarian or bookstore owner for your book. Or they may want to look you up and find out that you do classroom visits/other speaker engagement events and ask you to come speak to their class. That is why it is a good idea to have free swag.
The Payson Book Festival was my first time as an author at a festival, but it was not my first festival. I've been doing science festivals and other such events for an non-profit engineering professional organization since 2004. From those science festivals and outreach events, I've learned that people love free stuff. I personally have too much shwag from conferences that I've stopped collecting it from booths, but people want free pencils, stickers, bookmarks, chapstick, pens, etc. for whatever reason. I had some bookmarks (with my name and book on them) that I offered to people. I didn't try to sell people on my book; I just said, hi, please have a free bookmark. About 50% of the time, they'd ask me questions about the book and 5% of the time, they'd buy a book. Another author at the event was handing out bags of dried basil and bay leaves, as her book was about holistic health. She got a lot of traffic at her booth.
Offering something for free draws people to your booth (of course so does a good looking book cover, but you'll have to Google to find posts on how to design a good looking cover). Kids especially love picking up stickers and bookmarks each booth, so it was a success to me that I only had 25 out of 100 bookmarks left. Potentially 75 kids now know who Annie Aardvark is!
If you're an illustrator, you can also consider selling some of your art or giving out small postcards with your art. If you're the author, you can consider selling some other product that is associated with your book. For example, the author I shared a booth with, she sold stuff animals that related to the animal characters in her books. Just be aware that children (and their parents) might not understand the product or art is for sell, so it's a good idea to have a sign clearly stating a price. If you're an author/illustration, you can consider selling both art and products. Make sure to check with the festival about selling things other than books (and also if you'll need a vendor's license).
Another idea that may sell books, is to offer a special festival only price. Aka, a discount. I offered a 25% discount on my book just for the festival (it could only be done at the festival, not online; although an all day online discount that correlates to the festival could also be considered). I think the free stuff had a bigger impact on sales than the discount, but it's worth exploring if you're selling the book yourself (or can price it at a discount with the third party who's going to sell your book that day).
Finally, if you are handling sales at your booth/table, be prepared to accept as many forms of payment as possible. Square is one of many providers that makes it incredibly convenient to accept credit/debit cards. All you need is a smartphone and the app, but if you plan ahead, you can get swipe readers for free from Square or you can pay for readers that can even accept Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and other contactless forms (know your customer). But don't forget cash is still the preferred payment method for many customers as well.
In summary, I had a good time at the Payson Book Festival. I always enjoy interacting with children and their parents at events, and the Payson Book Festival was the same. It's important to remember that the goal of the festival is the interaction with readers. You are there to connect with your readers. It's also a good opportunity to network with other authors and illustrators. I now have another author friend that I can ask questions and seek guidance from. I highly recommend that any author (or illustrator), whether self-published or traditionally published, attend at least one book festival (or fair) in their writing career. The experiences and connections will at least make for some good writing fodder, but will also hopefully get your name out to the public. Plus, it's fun!
If you have any further questions for me about book festivals (like what is this vendor's license thing I keep mentioning), please leave me a comment or reach out to me on social media (Twitter or Facebook). Happy reading everyone!
Sunday, July 16, 2017
7/11/17- Reading List 3: Non-Fiction Books for Adults
As a child, I read a lot during summer break. A lot. I'd go to the public library and check out a stack of 12 books at a time, and a couple of weeks later, turn those 12 in for a new stack. Call me a nerd if you must, that word is a compliment to me (as an adult), but I wasn't a bored child during the summer. That's for sure.
So to me, summer time equals the perfect time for reading. Really, any time you can squeeze in a book as a busy adult is a good time, but summer for me means it's the perfect time to squeeze in lots of reading. And that's why this reading list is dedicated to us adults (past reading lists for preschoolers to 2nd graders and teens). Let's squeeze in sometime to read, follow adults!
1) "Why Not Me?" by Mindy Kaling
First, it's funny and pretty quick to read. I read it a few years ago, and then suggested it to a book club last summer-- I was re-reading it for the summer and started sharing excerpts with Bobby, and he thought those excerpts were so funny, that he asked if we could read Mindy's book together. Second, this book has some good career advice in it. Also, if you're in an industry where there's an over representation of a certain demographic, this book may provide comfort (it did for me).
2) "It's Not Rocket Science" by Mary Spio
Mary is a satellite engineer turned entrepreneur, so of course I wanted to read this book (a female engineer whose crushing it, shark yes!). This book is really about how to become entrepreneur, but Mary does share some of her own personal story. She was an immigrant from Ghana and she became on engineer with patents, which lead to her starting her own company. Hearing her story was the part I liked best and very inspiring. Her entrepreneurial and changing-the-game career advice is on the optimistic side, so I think this a good read to give yourself a boost if you're down in the dumps about your career. Sometimes we just need the positive message.
3) "Yes, Please" by Amy Poehler
This book made me laugh and cry so hard. Amy talks about everything from her childhood, to just starting out in the comedy business, to marriage, kids, and divorce, to working in a male dominated field, and to moon hunting (you'll have to read the book to find out what that is). And she wrote it all in a way that made me relate and empathize with everything, even though I've never done stand-up, worked for SNL, or been married to Will Arnett. I have enjoyed all the books on this list, but if you forced me to pick just one for you to read, "Yes, Please" is the one I'd recommend.
4) "Lean In" by Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg
There's a lot commentary on this book- a lot of its bad, but a lot of its good. While I didn't agree with everything the authors wrote in this book, it is still a good book for both men and women to read to start to understand the issues working women have.
5) "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
I've already written a review of Hidden Figures, which you can read here, but its a great book to read during the summer and to read in intervals. If you've seen the movie and found the movie inspiring, you will also find this book uplifting. I also enjoyed reading about the Civil Rights movement and wars that were happening in parallel to Katherine, Dorothy and Mary.
6) Bossypants by Tina Fey
Again, a really funny book. And again, Bobby and I read it together and laughed much at Tina's words. In Tina's book, the career advice isn't so straight forward as Mindy's or Amy's. If I remember correctly, Tina writes somewhere in the book that she doesn't want to give straight out career advice (because each of us have unique situations or something along those lines), so it's kind of more just work stories. Those work stories are very entertaining though, and you might even find yourself going, yep I've had one of those moments.
That's it for this list-- I'll have more adult, teen, and kid reading list soon enough. And since you're smart, you recognized the pattern here for this list: autobiography/biography or person sharing career journey/career advice and all written by women. If you have fiction book recommendations or other career and biography book recommendations (written by both women and men), then please share these recommendations in the comments! I'm always looking for a new book to read. Happy summer reading everyone!
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
3/8/17- Reading List 2: STEM Picture Books
Last week I suggested a science activity, Galaxy Slime, as a spring break activity, and this week I'm suggesting books for spring break. Almost a year ago (eek, that's too long!) I created a reading list, recommending books for girls (and boys), ages preteen to teen, to get them interested in STEM. That list is here: Reading List. It was based off of what I read at that age and how those books influenced in some way my career path to engineering. Today, there are many Middle Grade and Young Adult (preteen to teen) books that have STEM in them (for example "Hidden Figures For Young Readers") that were not included in my recommendations. Again, my recommendations were based off of my own experience.
I've created a second reading list, this time focusing on preschoolers to about 2nd graders. The books I remember loving at this age were Berenstain Bears series, Clifford the Big Red Dog series, Curious George series, Madeline series, Frances series (i.e. A Bargain for Frances), and Imogene's Antlers. With the exception of Curious George, I really liked books that had girls as main characters. Probably because I could myself reflected in those female characters. Some of those girls were spunky: Imogene, Madeline, Sister Bear (at least when she was fighting with Brother Bear) and Frances. And Curious George? While he encouraged curiosity in me (and spunk; that might have been a theme for me).
With that all said, the books I'm recommending for this second reading list (to encourage preschoolers to 2nd graders in STEM) are more current picture book. Of course, feel free to read the classics mentioned in the paragraph above, but these recent books are specifically focused on STEM. It's a short list-- I envision I'll have many more lists as my son grows and as other parents, teachers, grandparents and friends make recommendations to me.
Here we go:
1) "Rosie Revere, Engineer" by Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts
This book is my favorite STEM book for pre-K to 2nd! I dream of writing such book. The author (and illustrator) have 2 companion books, "Iggy Peck, Architect" and "Ada Twist, Scientist", but to me this is the best one of the series (probably because she's spunky and an engineer).
2) "What Do You Do with an Idea?" By Kobi Yamada and Illustrated by Mae Besom
Kobi also has another book "What Do You Do with a Problem?" but I prefer this book. One of my nephew's wants to be an inventor, and I just had to give him this book.
3) Usborne's "Look inside How Computers Work" Written by Alex Frith and Rosie Dickins and Illustrated by Colin King
Usborne has a lot of good science, technology, computer, engineering type books, but this book is the one we own. Jack loves lifting the flaps at age 2 (I think he'll appreciate the information soon enough).
4) "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashley Spires
Also great for budding inventors.
5) "Chicken in Space" by Adam Lehrhaupt
Found this book pretty funny, and (to me) shows where imagination meets science.
6) Sweet Dreams Sarah: From Slavery to Inventor by Vivian Kirkfield and Illustrated by Chris Ewald
The story of Sarah B. Goode, one of the first African-American women to get a US patent. It's on Jack's to read list!
7) "Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering" by Ruth Spiro and Illustrated by Irene Chan
Fun book to introduce planes and flight to preschoolers (and babies).
And finally, *shameless self-promotion alert* I recommend "Annie Aardvark, Mathematician." What recommendations would you make? Leave a comment here or on social media. I'd love to discover more STEM books for children. Happy spring break! Happy reading!
(I'll have to work on a list for 3rd-6th graders next. There's some overlap from the preteen recommendations, but I'll get on it. In about year. ;-)).
I've created a second reading list, this time focusing on preschoolers to about 2nd graders. The books I remember loving at this age were Berenstain Bears series, Clifford the Big Red Dog series, Curious George series, Madeline series, Frances series (i.e. A Bargain for Frances), and Imogene's Antlers. With the exception of Curious George, I really liked books that had girls as main characters. Probably because I could myself reflected in those female characters. Some of those girls were spunky: Imogene, Madeline, Sister Bear (at least when she was fighting with Brother Bear) and Frances. And Curious George? While he encouraged curiosity in me (and spunk; that might have been a theme for me).
With that all said, the books I'm recommending for this second reading list (to encourage preschoolers to 2nd graders in STEM) are more current picture book. Of course, feel free to read the classics mentioned in the paragraph above, but these recent books are specifically focused on STEM. It's a short list-- I envision I'll have many more lists as my son grows and as other parents, teachers, grandparents and friends make recommendations to me.
Here we go:
1) "Rosie Revere, Engineer" by Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts
This book is my favorite STEM book for pre-K to 2nd! I dream of writing such book. The author (and illustrator) have 2 companion books, "Iggy Peck, Architect" and "Ada Twist, Scientist", but to me this is the best one of the series (probably because she's spunky and an engineer).
2) "What Do You Do with an Idea?" By Kobi Yamada and Illustrated by Mae Besom
Kobi also has another book "What Do You Do with a Problem?" but I prefer this book. One of my nephew's wants to be an inventor, and I just had to give him this book.
3) Usborne's "Look inside How Computers Work" Written by Alex Frith and Rosie Dickins and Illustrated by Colin King
Usborne has a lot of good science, technology, computer, engineering type books, but this book is the one we own. Jack loves lifting the flaps at age 2 (I think he'll appreciate the information soon enough).
4) "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashley Spires
Also great for budding inventors.
5) "Chicken in Space" by Adam Lehrhaupt
Found this book pretty funny, and (to me) shows where imagination meets science.
6) Sweet Dreams Sarah: From Slavery to Inventor by Vivian Kirkfield and Illustrated by Chris Ewald
The story of Sarah B. Goode, one of the first African-American women to get a US patent. It's on Jack's to read list!
7) "Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering" by Ruth Spiro and Illustrated by Irene Chan
Fun book to introduce planes and flight to preschoolers (and babies).
And finally, *shameless self-promotion alert* I recommend "Annie Aardvark, Mathematician." What recommendations would you make? Leave a comment here or on social media. I'd love to discover more STEM books for children. Happy spring break! Happy reading!
(I'll have to work on a list for 3rd-6th graders next. There's some overlap from the preteen recommendations, but I'll get on it. In about year. ;-)).
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