WANTED: Middle Grade Online Communities

Happy Monday, everyone! Here's a little trivia for you: I'm one of those people you hate who love Mondays and wake up happy (way too happy, according my family). I spent this past weekend in Houston at the Houston Book Rave. I had a fabulous time, as always. Meeting readers and seeing my writing friends is priceless!

On to what I’m blogging about today… MGM received a great question from a follower:

“Why are there so few middle grade online writer communities (and so much less information in general)?”

That’s the middle-grade million-dollar-question! I have one legit answer and lots of hunches, so here we go.

The Legit Answer…

Several months prior to the release of my first middle-grade novel, I asked my agent (the effervescent Holly Root) about marketing for the first book in a series with Aladdin M!X (blog tours, book signings, release day events, etc.).  What she said makes sense, even if you don't like it. And, yes, I'm totally paraphrasing. Whatever she said was much more sparkly.

We (authors) try to market our books to our target audience (middle graders), but that's where we go wrong with middle grade fiction. It's unlikely that our target audience is trolling blogs, tweeting about their new favorite book, or checking Goodreads to see the next great book. And even if they are, they aren't holding the purse strings to buy books without a parent's involvement. 

Middle-grade readers get information about books from four different places: friends, parents, teachers, and librarians.  

That's who you have to reach online.

Makes perfect sense, right? But I've yet to find Middle Grade Marketing for Dummies, so I'm winging it. For me, the process is evolving, and I never quite feel like I'm where I need to be. You know what they call that? Frustrating!

I do believe, however, that Holly's answer explains why there's such little middle-grade online presence. 

My Hunches…

• THE PAY OFF: Middle grade publishers don’t invest as much money as we'd like into marketing middle-grade fiction because it doesn't pay off. The general belief is that the best marketing comes from having the book on a Barnes & Noble (or other such brick & mortar booksellers) shelf. 
• IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY: When's the last time you saw a middle-grade novel hit BIG? As in, Diary of a Wimpy Kid big. It's been a while. Too long, if you ask me. Publishers invest marketing dollars on books they think will give them the biggest return on their money. That book is rarely in the middle-grade section of the store. The bottom line: It's a business. And a cutthroat one at that. 
• BLOGGERS: Some bloggers only review young adult novels. Some bloggers only review middle grade novels. And some bloggers offer both young adult and middle grade fiction reviews. There are more middle-grade bloggers out there than you think. The key is finding the bloggers who take their blog seriously and post regularly. The ones who do offer reviews on middle-grade novels are precious to authors. They're the link that often connects authors and their books to readers.
• FOR WRITERS: There is virtually no online presence for writers of middle-grade fiction. And that's a tragedy because authors need each other. We learn from one another and sometimes need to connect with someone that just "gets it." It would be fabulous if someone would create the middle-grade version of Women's Fiction Writers' Association. Yes, I know all about SCBWI, but I'm thinking of something even more narrow than that... namely, middle-grade fiction. Maybe something like Middle-Grade Writers' Association. MGWA. Looks okay to me!

So... now that the million-dollar middle-grade question has (kind of) been answered, let's move on to the new one.

Who's going to start MGWA? 

Oh SCBWI Midsouth Fall Conference, how do I love thee?

I've already tried to count the ways.

And there are WAY too many.

You see, I'm a total noob. I'm that guy who's been writing since forever but never took the time and never saved the money to actually go to a writing conference. But then one showed up in (almost) my back yard. And when a conference shows up in (almost) your back yard and asks if you wanna go...

You say YES!

So I went. And I'm telling you now, folks. If you've ever wondered if going to a conference is worth the money, the travel time, the packing--the answer's still yes. Here's a breakdown of my first ever writing conference experience:

Friday

When I got there, there were books. Sweet Lord in Heaven there were books. And a lot of the authors were there with them, ready to sign, ready to chat, ready to smile, and pen a semi-personal note on the title page of your brand new hardcover.

The most surprising thing was how genuinely approachable the authors were. I stood in line to snag a copy of Kristin Tubb's The 13th Sign and happened to find myself behind someone who obviously knew her. Either that of the lady just really had a knack for guessing household pets' names. Several minutes later, it was my turn to step up, smile, and not do this:

And, no, that didn't happen. For one, I was alone, and for two, Kristin is much prettier than that librarian.

For an hour, I made my way around the tables, talking to authors, getting things signed, and wondering what it would feel like to be on the other side of that table. I know, I know... all in good time, Brooks...

The day ended with a networking/schmooze session which was where I got to meet fellow MG writer and Twitter friend, Gail Nall!

If you're thinking that picture's breaking the Ghostbusters theme, look closer at my shirt. I had this thing planned from the very beginning. Maybe.

Saturday

The morning opened with a keynote speech by the incredible Jay Asher and the day didn't let up through the hours of sessions to choose from. These included first page critiques, breaking into publishing, working with illustrators, finding the right agent, revising your work... you name it, they had it. The only problem was not having a clone or a time-turner to go to all of them.

The sessions I picked were fantastic and I left every single one with more than a full page of notes, complete with doodles, some AHA! ideas, and a buttload of inspiration. To be honest, it was almost overwhelming. But totally in the good way. Although, I'm sure I walked around the conference looking less inspired and more like--

That's okay, though. I saw a lot of other people making that same face. In fact, we'd greet each other with a smileless nod and a grunt, then walk on to our next session, wide-eyed and looking like we were about to step out into oncoming traffic.

That evening, several of the conference attendees signed up for a writers' dinner at a really cool place that had a miniature bust of a pope on a round table (no joking here). We were told we had to be out by 9:00. 

That didn't happen. 

You shove six writers in a single booth, put some amazing Italian food in front of them, all after a day full of writing conference, and we'll stay until a manager calls security. Or until they run out of noodles.

Sunday

When the last day rolled around, it was time for the final bit of announcements and our remaining pair of sessions. For my first, I chose a synopsis critique session by the amazing super-agent Josh Adams. I was lucky enough to get mine drawn, read, and commented on. His eyes sparkled when he read the title and he even said he'd want to read more! 

I decided to end my conference with Jordan Brown's session, Finding Your Voice. If you ever get a chance to hear this guy speak, do it. Even if you have to drive cross-country, donate blood for gas money, and hitchhike part of the way there, do it. He's that good. A warning, though. Limber up your fingers if you plan to take notes. Because the guy speaks at twice the normal human speed. Seriously. He's like the modern day Micro Machines commercial dude. With a beard.

Finally, we gathered back into the big room for awards, honorable mentions, and goodbyes. I'm glad to say I'm the proud owner of three new books, compliments of SCBWI's door prize committee. But I left with much more than just some amazing literature, bookmarks, business cards, and a journal full of agent and editor brain-pickings.

I left with a new-found love for SCBWI and the Midsouth group that worked so hard to bring so many awesome people together under one roof. 

So will I be going back?

I'm not even gonna answer that because this last image says it all.

But if you're still wondering, the answer's yes.