I registered with SCBWI, the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, but never really attended meetings because of work constraints. Through that resource, I was able to discover various events I could attend to bring my books to schools and children, such as the Texas Word Wranglers Festival for one. Another is an author luncheon hosted by a local 6th grade Gifted and Talented class. Yet one more is our local Comic Con--I have a few fantasy books for young adults. Each time I attend one of these events and pass out bookmarks/ business cards, or expose my books to the world, sales increase. People want to meet authors, speak to them, learn from them. The key to keeping your sales going is attending an event like this once a month, at least, and contact your local news stations to let them know you will be there.

That's great for children's books, you say? Well the same could be done for adult books.

• Find a convention that links to your novel in some way, sign up for a booth, and get out there, talk to people about your book.
• Guest speak at a college History, Creative Writing or Literature class. You would be surprised how many community college instructors would let you do so!
• Contact your local news, and be available to take the call. I've missed calls from leads I've sent and the news will not call back or leave a message if you don't answer.
• Keep bookmarks or business cards on your person, so when an opportunity arises to talk about your book, you can give that person a card. That very instance has happened to me numerous times!

One of the best author events I've attended is the Texas Word Wranglers' Festival. Authors from all over Texas attend and their only expense is the hotel room. The community provides breakfast, lunch and dinner; I get an opportunity to visit schools and speak to children about writing, and I sell books and pass out bookmarks to children all day. This event takes place at a beautiful public library, and the decor is Texas/ western. I've been invited three times to this event and this next September is the 10th anniversary. It is an incredible time for Texas authors as they are honored along with the hometown heroes of this fabulous small city near Austin, TX. I always "feel" like an author when I leave the event. And, I'm always somehow inspired by the event.

The past two years, I've been divising a picture book that would commemorate the event, and releasing it in conjunction with the TWWF 10th anniversary would be perfect because the TWWF committee and library staff have been so wonderful to authors, and their event could be hosted by other libraries for other authors in cities all over the world.

Due to the slim marketability of the picture book, though (Central Texas area children/ parents), a publisher won't take it on--even though I plan to write sequels around other book festivals in the country--so I find myself going the self publish route, again. The difference is, I really want this to be a beautiful hardcover picture book. I've commissioned an artist; I've spoken to a layout specialist who will lay it out and do marketing design; I've even designed the main character to create and visit school children. Now, I'm reaching out through Kickstarter (yes, that is a shameless plug) to obtain funding to pay for the professional services and publish the book--the correct way. Hardcover picture books are expensive to publish, and most all picture books should be hardcover because I've found that's what teachers and librarians want. In order to keep the cost of the book down, I'm using a different platform to publish it so it will be listed on Ingram to allow accessibility to libraries.

Do these visits and readings equate more sales for authors?

You bet. Probably not enough to get a book on the news, but definitely enough to cover expenses and then some.