Interview with author Neil Griffiths #ChaBooCha #ChaBooChaLite

Last March, I got in touch with Neil Griffiths, an author of multiple children's books who was doing school presentations in my area. He agreed to answer any questions members of ChaBooCha had for him, but we didn't complete the Q&A in time for the March challenge, so I decided, as the information was still useful, to post everything here during ChaBooCha Lite. 

*****

- How do you get into schools? What do you present, especially to different age groups & group sizes? 

I have spent the last 21 years working with schools, universities, colleges, libraries and family groups. At the very beginning I realised that to get well known you need to be prepared to travel and do long hours. So I covered all the UK to begin with and then began to travel worldwide.

I also made the decision in the early days to be me! By that I mean that I wanted to be as natural in my presentations as I could and base much of what I said on real experiences in my personal life and professional one too.

I also knew that I had to offer a unique experience during my sessions that no-one else offered.
So through long hours ( I am usually on the road by 4am!!) I gradually built up a reputation. I created a website but most of my bookings come from recommendations.

It has really helped that I was a headteacher (editor note: for those in the US, a headteacher is the equivalent of a school principal), giving me credibility with schools etc.

I have also been very flexible and versatile, being prepared to work with adults, children, teachers, parents, prisoners, in fact with any group who love children and want them to have a good start in life.

- Once you get your foot in the door, what do you send to the school in advance of the visit, so the children are prepared and excited about you coming?

Once I have been booked, I get a confirmation email and then send them one which outlines my visit and requirements. These are simple and easy to organise. I invoice after the visit.

- Freebies and activity sheets? How do you get students involved in the presentation? How do you keep students engaged? How is presenting a chapter book different from picture books? Do you read a chapter? And then do an activity? 

When in settings, I do interactive storytelling with ages 3 to 11 and offer training for parents on developing a love of reading and to professionals on how to support reading for life. The skill is to be able to quickly adapt a story for all ages and my techniques as a trained teacher of 40 years makes this much easier.

When working with children, I rarely read word for word from the book. I perform them and use puppets and props and get the children to play some of the characters for me. Then I have whole school activities as part of the role-play.

When presenting my chapter books I take part of the story and role-play that. The art of getting children interested is in the skill of the presenter. You must know how children tick, understand their humour and get down to their level. It is all about dramatic presentation that allows you to create wild moments and then quiet calm moments and that takes years to get right. I do not give out handouts or freebies.

- Tips on getting book sales? What are your best marketing strategies?

Marketing books is notoriously difficult. My advantage is that almost every day I am in a setting or at a conference so I have a captive audience.

I never pay for advertising as it is rarely effective and very expensive. I have a great website and really present my books well on the road  with an attractive stand that has front covers of all the books.

*****

Neil Griffiths was a Primary School headteacher for 13 years before taking on the role of director of a National Literacy Project for the Basic Skills Agency. This agency believed in Neil’s highly original Storysack idea and allowed him to promote it to schools and communities throughout the UK. After six years, Neil began to devote all of his energies to the project and set up what is now the worldwide, highly acclaimed, and award-winning Storysack® phenomenon.

Many publishers and institutions have asked Neil to contribute his wealth of experience to their projects over the years – his knowledge of learning, his gift of story, his passion for teaching, and his love of children – helping them to produce prized resources and to achieve success in the highly competitive educational market. He has created award-winning play resources, written a nursery curriculum, a best-selling resource book on creative play for Nelson Thornes Publishers, and imaginative material for the Early Learning Centre. He has developed a scheme for supporting English as an additional language for Harcourt Publishing and has consulted for a highly successful toy manufacturer.

Neil also finds time to write his own children’s picture books, published exclusively by Red Robin Books. They feature strong storylines, memorable characters, enchanting language, and arresting illustrations. They charm children and have sold in the thousands. Neil loves to tell a story and a story time with him is a rare and highly entertaining event as he magically draws his audience into his storyworlds.

Neil is also available for inspirational training worldwide. He is known internationally for his unique delivery, exceptional energy, and his rare storytelling gift.

***** 

Give-away

On September 30th, one person's name will be drawn to win this Novel Under Construction writing journal. All you need to do is comment on this blog post by September 29th. You have to be signed up for ChaBooCha Lite in order to be eligible for this prize.

  

Chapter Book Challenge 2013 - Sign Up!

 

We're getting the sign up form up early this year. I know there are still just under three months left until March 1st, but some of us need time to plan the stories we will be writing in advance, so I thought I'd help by getting the sign up form up early. If you want to join the Chapter Book Challenge this year, sign up using the form below. If you signed up for the Chapter Book Challenge last year, you do NOT need to sign up again (but a shout out in the comments to let me know you are doing it again this year would be great).

There will be more chapter book author guest posts and interviews as well as weekly prizes in March 2013 for anyone who comments on the weekly posts.

You can "like" the Chapter Book Challenge Facebook page whether you are joining the challenge or not. And if you are joining the challenge, then I highly recommend that you join the Chapter Book Challenge Facebook group, as everyone in that group is really helpful and worth getting to know, especially if you are writing a chapter book.

Interview with Jo Michaels, author of The Abigale Chronicles

Jo Michaels is a  friend of mine. We met during the Author Blog Challenge. I loved reading her blog during the challenge, and she is one of those naturally generous writers who commented on everyone else's blogs during the challenge and was willing to spend her time helping others. I asked her if she's be willing to do an interview for the Chapter Book Challenge and she graciously agreed.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I can’t remember the exact day/time that I decided I wanted to be a writer. It’s always been a part of me for as long as I can remember. I learned to read because I remember being little and staring at the words typed across the page and thinking: There is some great mystery in this because all the adults do it. What are they hiding from me? I have to learn! But writing just came naturally. If you’re asking when I decided to write full-time, that was last year. I decided to grab my proverbial bull by the horns and live the life I wanted, rather than the life I was told I should live.


What inspired you to write your chapter book series The Abigale Chronicles?
Simple answer: my daughter. Not so simple answer: I was making notes in my idea book while thinking of something my daughter might like to read and came up with the idea for a series about a little girl who loses herself in her stories – literally. I thought how great it would be if I threw in a twist about the girl not knowing if she was dreaming or really taking her little trips. There are clues in the books that will tell you the answer if you’re a good detective.


You have both a historical fiction book, Yassa, and a nonfiction book, The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book out.  How was writing your chapter books different from writing your historical fiction and your nonfiction books?
There are so many differences with all three. Yassa required a ton of research because it’s based on actual events, The Indie Author’s Guide to: Building a Great Book didn’t because the content stemmed from my own knowledge as a designer and indie publisher, and The Abigale Chronicles series allows me to use my imagination along with a little research. For book two, I used a lot of references I found around the web about cat breeds. You won’t find a ton of description about the cats in the book because I want kids to be inspired to look things up.


What made you decide to self-publish your chapter books?
Truth be told, I never even sought a publisher for that series. I’d like to keep as much of my profits as possible, and with my design knowledge I can put out quality material with little effort on the design end.


Would you recommend self-publishing to other chapter book authors?
Absolutely. But I will also issue a warning to anyone wishing to write and publish juvenile fiction: There are a ton of us out there and your competition is heady. Two of the most published types of books are juvenile fiction and how-to books. Know your market.


What would you do differently now if you could start over (if anything)?
I would have taken more risks in the publishing world sooner and done more research about what I was getting into before I dove in. There just wasn’t a book like The Indie Author’s Guide out there anywhere. It was disheartening and I flailed around trying. My personal experiences with distributors are outlined in the book, and I hope that tidbit of information helps others avoid the same mistakes I made.


Any tips for aspiring chapter book authors?Don’t stop writing if your first book doesn’t sell well. You have to have a lot of books out there before you can hope to be discovered easily. A good example is The Abigale Chronicles – Book One. When it went up for free, I only garnered about 25 downloads. My thought was: Gee, I can’t even give this book away. Why bother continuing? But then I got a couple of really great reviews and sales picked up! When book two launched, my first giveaway garnered over 50 downloads. My hopes are that people will become fans of the series by reading the first few and come back for more. I plan to write until Abigale is 18 years old (she’ll age by one year every three or four books) so there will be a lot of them before a definite end is reached. That’s another tip! Have the end in mind if you’re planning a series.

Do you have any books in the works?Yes. I have three. A series for Young Adults called Mystic (due out in October, 2012), a romance novel titled Player (December, 2012), and The Abigale Chronicles – Book Three (due out in September, 2012).

Abigale Book One Synopsis:
Abigale Fontenot is a 12 year old girl living in West Bluff, Louisiana, who believes she is perfectly ordinary. When she is threatened by a bully on her way to school one day, what happens causes Abigale to begin a new journey; she has to ask herself: "Is it real or is it all just a dream?"As Abigale learns in Book One, things are rarely exactly as they seem. Friendships are formed with unlikely people: a wizened old woman and Abigale's arch nemesis, Emmett, and with their help Abigale learns she is far from ordinary. Book One of The Abigale Chronicles will leave readers itching for more to find out for themselves just what in the World is happening to Abigale.

Abigale Book Two Synopsis:
Twelve-year-old Abigale Fontenot is struggling to figure out whether her adventures are real or imagined. After an adventure with Amazonian women in book one, Abigale and Emmett have formed a bond through mutual trust and secrets, but Kristy has turned against Abigale because of it. Now, Abigale again finds herself in a precarious situation with a city full of talking cats. Emmett is once more by her side as she faces down a vicious cat queen in an attempt to avoid certain death and restore the leadership of the city to its rightful owner. Will they succeed, or will they be roasted alive? What will happen when Kristy overhears the discussions about the adventures with Ada?

Abigale Book Three Synopsis:
Abigale Fontenot is turning thirteen. Just when she thinks her birthday couldn't possibly get any worse, a new adventure takes hold. Abigale and Emmett are whisked away to a world of fantasy where knights, dragons, and princesses are the order of the day. Abigale is kidnapped by an evil prince in a nearby kingdom, and it's up to Emmett to rescue her. But Abigale finds that escape is not the most important thing; restoring the evil prince's kindness that has been locked away in a magical book by a wicked sorceress must come first. While Emmett is trying to rescue Abigale, she is trying to free the prince from his curse. Will she succeed in her quest before the evil prince kills Emmett, or will she fail and lose her new best friend? Will death matter if the whole thing is a dream, or are the adventures real and truly dangerous?

You can find Jo on her blog or via Twitter. All books are linked on the top of the blog.

Bio:

Jo Michaels was born in 1977 in Tennessee. She moved to Louisiana when she was four, then to Georgia in 2010. Her first book, The Abigale Chronicles - Book One, has received many accolades for its original and inspiring protagonist, Abigale Fontenot. The children's chapter book was written for Jo's daughter and is about the power of imagination helping someone become extraordinary. Michaels holds a degree in Graphic Design and all artwork associated with her material is original and done by her.

Writing for Children in Today's Society & Keeping Them Hooked! - guest post by published chapter book author Martin King

There’s been a big hoo-hah in the press just recently over violent video games having a damaging effect on primary school children. It’s been claimed that many are staying up beyond midnight whilst playing games unsupervised by their parents.

Now while I’m not here to express my opinion on what is, or is not right for children of that age, one fact is clear, books are fast in danger of becoming a thing of the past. They simply cannot compete. Not only are games pushing the boundaries of adrenalin fuelled action, but everything else available to a child is raising the bar.

Mobile phones that have metamorphosis into smart phones (now known as mobile devices), use of internet, and handy tablets like iPad’s are just a few of those items. Then there’s 24 hour TV with 100’s of channels, catch up on demand and memory hard drives to store all your favourites on. Not to mention HDTV, 3D, Blu ray, bigger and more spectacular special effects in movies. Dare I go on...?

And what have publishers done with books in all of this time? Absolutely nothing!

But have no fear because schools are fighting back with reading schemes. Children are encouraged to take nominated books home, read them and write a review. But what happens if a child is given a book they don’t like? They still have to read it because it is part of their lesson. One forced book that a child does not want to read can destroy a life time of reading.

This post is not about the rights and wrongs of what should or should not be undertaken. It is merely pointing out the challenges facing young readers today. As an author, I felt it was my duty to do everything within my writing power to bring back the readability factor into a story, the fun into the novel, the excitement into the adventure.

So that is exactly what I set out to achieve. I asked myself as I put some of the finishing touches to the first Jack Hunter novel, if I was a child today, would I want to sacrifice many of the above time wasting activities for my book? As well as a child friendly story with villains and clues, twists and mystery, I wove a game into the pages. Not only that, but I made the book interactive with the internet. What I tried to do was give a young modern-day reader a fighting chance of living their adventure in the pages of a book just like I did when I was young.

Who should you write for?

When writing your book, try and look at life through the eyes when you were a child. Every word and sentence you craft should steal away a child’s imagination. When you walk along the pavement, you walk with a purpose, serious and determined – you have a deadline.

Now picture yourself walking that same journey as a child? You jump up and run along the wall, swing around the lamppost, skip up and down the kerb and weave in and out of passengers. You may even pluck leaves and flower heads off a shrub overhanging from a garden, or pick up a stick and rattle it along a fence. That is how you should write...

Why write?

Not to be rich...wrong answer, now go to the back of the class! For the audience, for the passion and for fun!

When to write?

Write every single day!

Martin King is a UK-based author of Jack Hunter - Secret of the King and has a website for children.

Martin King's website
Martin King's blog
Martin King on Twitter
Martin King on Facebook

Fourth & Final Week of the Chapter Book Challenge Starts Now!

Just days left to go until our chapter books are supposed to be finished. We should be almost ready to wrap up the writing on our first draft, so that we can turn to editing and cleaning our manuscripts up after this month ends.

How are you doing with the challenge? Have you, as I have, fallen behind? Are you planning to fit in a lot of writing time in this last week? Or are you almost finshed and planning to begin your editing in this last week? Wherever you are in the process, let us know in the comments.


There is now a selection of products with the challenges logo on them. I still need to go in and clean up some of the products by making sure that the logo fits correctly, and I will have it all looking good a few days from now, but the mugs and t-shirts should all be looking good already.


Melissa Gijsbers Khalinsky from the Chapter Book Challenge Facebook group mentioned her 10 year old son giggling as he read her manuscript, and it got me to thinking about my own manuscript. I don't know why I haven't had my 9 year old read it yet. I am working on three different stories and dividing my time between them because I can't decide which one I want to work on more. Melissa gave me the idea that I should have my daughter read them and tell me which one she enjoys the most of the three. Then I could focus on that one first.
The prize for this week is an official Chapter Book Challenge 2012 mug. All you need to do to be entered into the drawing to win this book is to be officially signed up to the Chapter Book Challenge and to comment on this post, letting me know how you are doing in the challenge so far. The winner will be chosen by a random drawing.



It's time to announce the winner of last week's prize, selected by random drawing. Last week's prize was the "The Everything Guide to Writing Children's Books: How to Write, Publish, and Promote Books for Children of All Ages!" by Peter Abrahams.




And the winner of last week's prize is: Rena J. Traxel! Rena e-mail me your mailing address so I can send this out to you.

Week Two of the Chapter Book Challenge Begins

Here we are, already in week two of the Chapter Book Challenge! How is everyone doing? I have written about 1,900 words which is nowhere near where I hoped to be with mine by now, but there is still hope, and there are three weeks left to catch up with my writing. I hope everyone else is fairing much better so far than I am.

I hope you all enjoyed the post from published chapter book author Karen Pokras Toz last Monday. If you missed her post, go have a look now and leave her a comment. Look out for another inspirational post by Australian chapter book author Adam Wallace this Monday.

And now, using a random number generator, I am announcing the winner of last week's prize.




The winner was chosen using the random number generator at random.org. The winner of "Writing for Children and Teens: A Crash Course (How to Write, Revise, and Publish a Kid's or Teen Book with Children's Book Publishers)" by Cynthea Liu is Cheryl Mansfield! I will be sending out an e-mail to Cheryl today.

There is a new prize up for grabs for the second week. This week's prize is a "Novel Under Construction" journal.




All you have to do to be entered to win this one is to be officially signed up to the challenge and comment on this post. The winner will be drawn by a random number generator and announced during next week's post on the 15th.

So let's hear it. How is your chapter book writing coming along? How much have you written? Or are you still in the planning stages? Are you struggling or is your story calling to you and are the ideas just flowing non-stop?

If you have any questions or need help with anything, join in with the conversations in our Chapter Book Challenge Facebook group where we are all helping each other with advice and ideas. You can also e-mail me with any questions.

Day One of the Chapter Book Challenge

 

Today is the first day of the Chapter Book Challenge! Have you already plotted and outlined your story or are you just beginning and writing as it comes to you? Either way will suffice. Everyone has their own way of writing and we all have to do what works for us.

We don't have a huge group following this challenge, but that just means that you each have a better chance of winning one of the weekly prizes. This week's prize is "Writing for Children and Teens: A Crash Course (How to Write, Revise, and Publish a Kid's or Teen Book with Children's Book Publishers)" by Cynthea Liu.

 

All you need to do is be signed up officially for the Chapter Book Challenge, and comment on this post, and at the end of the week, one of you will be chosen through the random number generator to win the book. Leave a way for me to contact you within your comment so I can let you know if you have won.

I am one of those people who tends to procrastinate, which is why challenges like this are good for me. These challenges force me to sit down and write. I have to admit that I have not sat down and outlined my story yet. I have a vague idea of what my story will be about and where I want to go with it, but I am going to take these first few days fo the challenge to actually create an outline with my plot structure and some of my character development.

At the end of this week, I will post again with a shout-out to see how everyone is doing and how far along we've all come. If anyone is struggling, feel free to contact me through e-mail.

Good luck everyone!