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? 

Operation Tree Roper: An Eye Above by Robert Polk... BOOK TRAILER REVEAL!

Anaiah Press is revealing the trailer for OPERATION TREE ROPER: AN EYE ABOVE by Robert Polk today and we have it here on the blog!

Blurb:

Twelve-year-old Declan Parker was born with only one eye, but all he seems to have trouble seeing in proper perspective is himself.  All he wants is for kids to see him as normal before he starts a new school in the fall. To that end, he sets out to make money helping with his dad’s tree care business.

Unfortunately, when his dad lands in the hospital after a climbing accident, Declan’s surgery hopes are wrecked. His only hope remains in a neighbor girl and her uncle, a wounded army veteran. Can they help him save his dad’s business, or will Declan’s once-courageous drive turn into total despair?

Operation Tree Roper: An Eye Above is a well-crafted story about a strong, dauntless young man who redefines the value of self-reflection. Declan is a character you won’t be able to forget.

Welcome to your new favorite book...

Release Date:

October 7, 2014

Book Links:

Goodreads

Anaiah Press

Author Bio:

Robert Polk lives in western Nebraska where he shares his love of books and the great outdoors with his wife and seven children. He is a former school counselor, business owner, and tree climbing arborist. Robert participates in his church and local community, currently serving on several non-profit boards.

Author Links:

Website: www.stmercy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/RobertPolk2
Goodreads: https:// www.goodreads.com/author/show/8286827.Robert_Polk

From PB Twitter Pitch to MG Book Deal

When an editor shows interest in your work, what do you do?

If you’re like me, you send what they ask for.

I’d been writing, and making mistakes, and querying and making mistakes (but learning from them) for about two years. Then, in January 2014, I twitter pitched a PB manuscript and received some interest. Although it was not the first bit of interest I’d had from a contest, (I’d entered many and learned from each one) it was the first interest directly from a publisher.

Jessica Schmeidler, an editor at Anaiah Press, asked for a picture book manuscript I’d written about a rude and stubborn cow. I gladly sent it with a query that very day. A few days after that, I received an email from Ms. Schmeidler saying my picture book manuscript wasn’t quite right for them. But, she had seen my twitter bio and visited my website and saw that I also write middle grade. (How cool is that?) So when she asked what I had in MG, I sent her a synopsis of my current work in progress, TREE ROPER, about a one-eyed boy and his summer goal of cosmetic surgery, which I was revising and preparing to resubmit to agents.

She liked the synopsis and asked if she could see the manuscript. I was thrilled, and sent the manuscript. When she got back to me (while I was still in revisions) she gave me an R&R. She liked the premise and much of the story but thought some things should change to reach the audience she had in mind.

Since most of her suggestions for revision were already recommended by one or more of my trustworthy beta readers or CPs, (You absolutely need honest beta readers and blunt CPs if you want to improve) I rolled most of her recommendations into the current revisions I was making and planned to resubmit to her with my next batch of agents I queried. I finished revisions in late April and sent out my agent query letters and also sent the R&R to Ms. Schmeidler.

At this point, I wasn’t expecting much response from her since I didn’t’ think I’d changed the manuscript enough for her to embrace it. Also, she was an editor with a new small Christian publisher and in my mind, my book did not scream religion! Thus, I didn’t think I was a good fit for them.

But Ms. Schmeidler loved the new manuscript and on May 2, Anaiah Press offered me a contract!

 

What the…are you kidding me? Now again, I ask – What would you do?

I know there are scary stories out there about new publishers, and I really wanted an agent to market my book to all the big publishing players. But the reality was, here was a professional editor who loved my book (I could feel the passion in her emails) and who was prepared to champion it to publication. And I, on the other hand, was an overworked stay home dad trying to share a snippet of my family and story with the world. I still considered myself a newbie in the writing world although I’d been writing this particular story (inspired by my one-eyed daughter) off and on for over two years. But now I had a clear looking path to publication!

I asked for two weeks to consider the offer and sent out nudge letters to the nine agents who had my new query and/or revised manuscript.

That two week wait was perhaps the longest, most drawn out affair I’ve ever experienced. I waited, prayed, worried, scoured the contract, researched, and waited some more.

During that time, gracious agents congratulated me on my offer and bowed out for various reasons, and although I hadn’t heard back from all of them by the end of the two week stretch, I knew I’d be going with Anaiah Press and senior editor Jessica Schmeidler. I felt that they were the right publisher to help me get TREE ROPER out into the world.

Now, I just shake my head. It still doesn't seem real. Who knew when I set out to twitter pitch a picture book in January about a stubborn and rude cow, I’d make a connection which would ultimately land my debut middle grade novel deal? I didn’t, but I think that’s pretty cool. Thanks, Jessica Schmeidler and Anaiah Press!