New book, new book, please buy my new book!

So, it's here!

My message in a bottle book.
My help other people to help yourself forget about your own problems for a little while book.
My divorce sucks but friends really help book.
My I love Vincent van Gogh book.

So many pieces of myself are in SEE YOU ON A STARRY NIGHT. After my husband read it, he said, this is such a Lisa book.

And that it is.

It's not a big splashy title with publisher support, so the problem is not many people even know about it. The cover is kind of bland, sadly. So any help you can give it would be SO appreciated. If you don't have a child who might like to read it, you can buy it and donate it to a school library or a little library in your neighborhood or even a women and children's shelter. It would be a great book for that. Another easy thing you can do is put a request in at your local library and ask them to order it. Whatever you are able to do - THANK YOU!!

Here are links to make it easy to buy online if that's your jam.

Powell's
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

Here's our new kitten, Luna, checking it out!

One other thing exciting thing happened this week. A quote from I Heart You, You Haunt Me made the spine of "Real Simple" magazine.

Okay, that's all for me today. Hope you have a nice holiday next week spending time with family and friends!

KEYS TO THE CITY out today!

Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered or is planning to go this week to buy my latest middle grade novel, KEYS TO THE CITY! First week sales are important, and I appreciate everyone who makes an effort to get the book when it first comes out.

Kind of a funny story - yesterday I wanted to comment on an article that was going around about someone who insisted you have to write every day or other authors will surpass you or some crazy nonsense. I counted up my books in my head so I could show that I have a teensy bit of experience in knowing what I'm taking about when I said you don't HAVE to write every day. And when I counted, I came up with 16, so I tweeted that number out in my message. But then I realized I forgot to count the CHARMED LIFE series. So KEYS TO THE CITY is actually my 20th published book (2 picture books, 7 YA novels, and now 11 MG novels).

20!? I'm kind of in shock that I've hit that number. Wow! Truth is, I hope there are 20 more. But if I've learned anything, it's to take it one book at a time and to never take anything for granted.

And no, I don't write every day. When I'm drafting a new novel, I try to write at least a little bit every day only because reentry into the story is much easier when you haven't been away very long. But sometimes life happens and, oh well, you know? Every writer has to figure out what works best for him/her. There are no "rules" except to do what you find helpful to finish the book.

Anyway, my 20th book comes out today, and I should thank YOU for your support because authors can't keep writing unless readers keep buying and reading.

A couple of posts I've written in years past that I'm thinking about this morning.

Supporting authors when your heart is bigger than your wallet

and

Where's the best place to buy your book?

And another post to check out - one I wrote for the Nerdy Book Club today about how I came to write this trilogy about girls having fun adventures around big cities. I've had so much fun writing these books, and I hope people have had just as much fun reading them.

Inside the mind of an author 3 weeks before release day

How do authors often feel three weeks before a book is released?

Let me count the ways.

Terrified. Because what if people hate it?

Stressed out. Because what if no one buys it, and your publisher is disappointed?

Cranky. Because promoting a book is not all that fun.

Okay, so maybe I don't know for certain that's how other authors feel. I just know how I feel. 

J.K., you ever feel terrified, stressed out and cranky before a book's release?

Maybe she did. Who knows? Waiting to see how fans reacted to the last book in the series probably wasn't a ton of fun. Although, pretty sure she didn't have to worry too much about disappointing her publisher, right? :)

The Bridge from Me to You - Question 1: Why Football?

Over the next two weeks, before the official release date of July 29th, I'm going to answer some questions about my upcoming young adult novel, THE BRIDGE FROM ME TO YOU. Questions people might have as they consider whether they want to read the book, or maybe while they're reading it, or even when they're finished with it.

The answers to these questions will mostly be just little peeks inside of my brain that may or may not be interesting to you. If not, it's okay. My brain is a little odd sometimes, I get it.

Okay, so the first question is - why football?

Colby, one of the main characters of the book, plays on his high school team, so football plays a part in this book. I know not everyone loves football. I like football when I'm watching a team that I'm invested in, for whatever reason, and somehow have a personal connection to one or more of the players. It's the reason I like the Green Bay Packers, for example. Aaron Rodger's mother took care of my son when he was two years old in her home daycare. I can still remember watching Aaron and his two brothers throw the football around in front of their house in the street. If only I'd had fortune telling abilities, I could have gotten his autograph at the ripe age of 12 and been rich in fifteen years!!

It's also the reason I enjoyed watching football in high school. We had a good team, a great team actually, and I knew some of those boys on the field. Some of them I didn't know, but I saw them in school, obviously, and I might have crushed on one or two of them. Maybe. Okay, actually, I'm not telling.

Our team made it all the way to the state playoffs two years in a row. My sophomore year, a bunch of us caravanned around the state and watched every playoff game. We slept in cheap hotels and even a church one time when the game was on the other side of the state. The year I went to the championship game, it was a nail biter, but in the end, we lost. Still, so many wonderful memories from that season. This is me (the one with the blonde hair) cheering for our Warriors at the championship game. If you can't tell, we really wanted our team to win. More than we wanted our hair to look good, obviously.

So why football? This book is about small town life, and I think in a lot of small towns, like the one I come from, the high school games are something a lot of people look forward to on Friday nights. It's a social gathering for the entire community. The games bring people together and for a couple of hours, everyone can forget their problems and focus on the players on the field.

The TV show Friday Night Lights will always be one of my favorite shows, ever. I miss that show. I miss Eric and Tami Taylor, Julie and Matt, Landry, Riggins, Smash, Vince, Lyla and Tyra, and the rest of the gang. Even though football was a part of the show, again and again you'd hear from people who watched, "But it's not about football."

I think it's the same for my book. It's not about football, but football is a part of the story, the same way football was a part of my high school experience. The same way football is a part of many teens'  high school experiences. Can you read the book and enjoy it if you don't really care about football? Yes!!!

So there you go. Next time I'll answer the question - Why Small Town Life?

(in case you missed it - there's a pre-order contest going on over at the Novel Novice blog. Check it out HERE!)

TWO books are out today!

The first two books in the CHARMED LIFE series are officially out TODAY.

Though this past weekend, I found them available already at Barnes and Noble. See?

Caitlin's Lucky Charm is the title of book #1.
Mia's Golden Bird is the title of book #2.

Here's the description from the publisher for the first book:

Four best friends, one lucky bracelet, and an utterly charming new middle-grade series!

Caitlin would stay at summer camp forever if she could. Her new best friends in the world, Hannah, Mia, and Libby are there. And at home? Everything's different: Her dad is worried he might be losing his job; her mom is repainting the whole house and making the kids volunteer at a soup kitchen; and Caitlin is starting sixth grade at a new school, where none of the girls are as fun or friendly as her Cabin 7 BFFs. But Caitlin has a good-luck charm -- or a good-luck charm bracelet anyway. The Cabin 7 girls bought it together, and Caitlin is taking the first turn wearing it. She's sure it will help turn her luck around . . . but when?

In other news, three more weeks until summer vacation around here. Can't wait!!!

Just two more weeks!

It is almost mid-May. That is so crazy. But also good. May, June, July, August and September are my favorite months of the year. I wake up happy, because there is light and there will be light for many hours in the day. Light, you light up my life. Seriously.

And all the color too - color me happy!

So, I'm working on a final read-through of the fourth CHARMED LIFE book, Hannah's Bright Star, and I can't believe this series is almost over for me. I love the people in these books, especially the main characters: Caitlin, Mia, Libby and Hannah. Maybe it's strange to say I love the characters I created, but I do. What can I say, I am a little bit strange. So, whatever.

Now I just have to sit and wait and hope readers love them too.

One of the hard things about writing for kids is that kids grow up. The kids who read and loved It's Raining Cupcakes when it came out back in 2010 are now four years older - twelve, thirteen, or fourteen years old. They're checking out books on the teen shelves now, which is great! Yay, keep reading!! But I sit here now wondering, will these new books find a new audience of kids who like reading about families and friendship?

I hope so.

It's going to be especially hard to be done with the fourth book, because it's probably the most special one of all to me. Hannah lives on a farm in Tennessee, and in my mind, and the way I wrote it, it's the farm where my grandparents lived. It's the farm where I spent many happy times.

There's a scene where Hannah's grandpa comes outside, wearing his red- and-black plaid wool coat and a cowboy hat, and he tells her a story to kind of make a point with something she's struggling with. I started tearing up because my grandpa sometimes wore a red-and-black plaid wool coat and a cowboy hat. I could hear his voice as I read, as if he was telling that story, and you know, maybe he kind of was. He and my grandma are no longer with us, the farm is up for sale, but here, in Hannah's story, they kind of live on. I love that.

So yeah...two more weeks. Eep!

10 books - how did that happen?

Tomorrow my tenth book is officially released. Here they are, in order of publication.

BABY CAN'T SLEEP (Picture book, Sterling, 2005)
I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME (YA novel, Simon Pulse, 2008)
FAR FROM YOU (YA novel, Simon Pulse, 2009)
CHASING BROOKLYN (YA novel, Simon Pulse, 2010)
IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES (MG novel, Aladdin, 2010)
LITTLE CHIMP'S BIG DAY (Picture book, Sterling, 2010)
THE DAY BEFORE (YA novel, Simon Pulse, 2011)
SPRINKLES AND SECRETS (MG novel, Aladdin, 2011)
FALLING FOR YOU (YA novel, Simon Pulse, 2013)
FROSTING AND FRIENDSHIP (MG novel, Aladdin, 2013)

Ten! How did that happen? Although it would be fun to say little elves came to my desk every night and magically wrote stories for me, that did not happen.

No, it happened through hard work and perseverance, plain and simple. Oh, and lots of tea and cookies.

Today I thought it would be fun to take a look back and see how I got to this place where I am now a full-time author making a living doing that which I always dreamed of doing - writing books for kids and teens.

I started writing seriously way back in 2000 and 2001. Yes, I know, it was so long ago. And in case you're wondering, there were computers back then, thank goodness.

The first thing I ever wrote was a chapter book, because my oldest son was in second grade at the time and we had a hard time finding things he wanted to read. He loved the MAGIC TREE HOUSE books, but that was about all I could find that he enjoyed. I thought - we need more chapter books, especially for boys! So I wrote one, because, hey, how hard can it be? Ha - turns out, very hard. Turns out it's one of the hardest things to write. But I was stupid and I didn't know that, so I wrote a pretty bad, pretty weird chapter book. During the time that I was writing it, I was also finding out everything I could about the publishing industry. Back then, there was a message board at writeforkids.com where I gathered lots of information about the industry, and ordered books they had on the subject as well. A few years later, Verla Kay put a message board up on her site, and everyone kind of gravitated there. It's still in place today (www.verlakay.com/boards) although I think it's merging with the SCBWI message boards soon.

I found a critique group through the writeforkids site and that was really helpful in my early days of writing. I ended up being a member of some different groups through the years, and I learned so much from the various writers I met in those groups.

It's true what they say - you don't wake up and decide you want to be a brain surgeon and make it happen in a month or two, just like you don't wake up and decide you want to be an author and make it happen in a month or two. Writing a book that is good enough to be traditionally published takes *most* people years and years of practice. Of course there are exceptions to that rule (pretty sure those people have magical unicorns as pets or something), but I wasn't one of them.

After the lousy and weird chapter book, I focused more on picture book stories. Back in the early 2000's, many of the houses who publish books for children were still open to submissions from authors. In other words, I didn't need an agent to submit to editors, and so, submit I did. And I racked up a lot of rejection letters. I still have a file folder with many of them, as a matter of fact. Is this a little bit like a soldier showing you his battle scars? Yeah, kind of. I "battled" with the publishers, and here are the letters to prove it.

If you look closely, you can see the letterhead from houses like FS&G, Little Brown, Dial Books for Young Readers, etc. Yes, back then, submissions were done through the mail, and the author was required to include a SASE for a response back. I SWEAR WE HAD COMPUTERS, young people reading this and shaking your heads. Publishing is just slow to get with the times. Every day I'd go to the mailbox, wondering if there'd be an envelope there waiting for me. It was usually NOT a good thing to get a letter back, because everyone knew good news came via a phone call. But it was hard not to hope for a letter. If I was really lucky, I'd get a personalized response with encouraging words about the story. Every author hoped for something along the lines of, "I'd be happy to see manuscripts of yours in the future." I remember one rejection letter said, "Although this doesn't quite fit our list, I would encourage you to keep writing. You're very talented." I practically framed that rejection letter, let me tell you.

I was lucky in that I had words of encouragement from editors, both in person at conferences and in those letters, throughout those early years of rejection after rejection. I am so thankful to those people now who took the time to do that.

Here's a letter with the date, so you can see it really was over ten years ago that I began this strange yet wonderful journey. Please ignore the title of the book mentioned. It's gotta be a mistake. I mean, come on, WHO would write about teddy bears from another planet? Are you even kidding me?

I was working part-time at OHSU in their Human Resources department when I got the call from Sterling letting me know they wanted to publish my picture book story, BABY CAN'T SLEEP. It was a dream come true, getting that call. I still remember talking to the editor at my desk, pinching myself because it didn't seem real. Actually, that's not true. I was so glad the call came that day because I'd been up ALL night the night before with a vomiting child and before that call, I was literally falling asleep at my desk. How could I sleep after that call, right?

I started out writing picture books because I wasn't sure I knew how to write a novel. When I realized how hard it was to really make a career writing picture books unless you were Dr. Suess, I decided I wanted to try and see if I could write a novel. During those years of working part-time, I spent lots of time at home writing bad novels. I told myself they were good, but they were bad. I call those books the Twinkies of my career.

Eventually I took a full-time job at OHSU because we needed the money. I would get up early and write before going to work and write on the weekends when I could. Yes, people who want to write find a way, but it's not always easy. It was never easy. But I did it because I couldn't imagine not writing at that point. (Although I still went to bed every night hoping the magical elves would finally show up).

I look at the years 2004-2007 as my schooling, where I spent my time writing bad novels that would never be published. It's what I had to do to learn what not to do, I think. Things were changing, and it was becoming harder and harder to do anything in the kidlit world without an agent, so I queried agents on and off during those years with my wonderfully crappy novels (because I didn't really know they were crappy, dang it). Finally, in 2007, my wonderful agent, Sara Crowe, took me on and we sold I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME that same year. In 2010, things were getting crazy busy at the day job and with multiple books out and more coming out, I decided to quit my job. It was SO scary, giving up that guaranteed income. I was leaping, and could only hope the net would appear so we wouldn't have to sell the house and live on the street because of this crazy idea that I might be able to write stories about cupcakes and make a living at it.

Well, what do you know? Kids love reading about cupcakes (as is evidenced by the fact that since IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES came out, there are now approximately 4,237 books about cupcakes on the shelves for kids. Pretty sure mine was first. Just saying.)

This can be a hard, frustrating business at times. But it's also so fun, making up stories for a living. Hearing from readers, telling me my books have made a difference in their lives, is incredibly rewarding. Books and stories meant a lot to me growing up - it feels right that I wound up here.

I get asked often for advice on how to become an author. It really comes down to these five things (unless you can find those magical elves):

Read a lot.
Write a lot.
Find ways to learn about craft, through workshops, conferences, critique groups, etc.
Believe you can do it.
Don't give up.

Next year I have three middle grade novels coming out along with a YA novel. In 2015, two more books are scheduled. Will I make it to twenty published books someday?

You can bet your book-loving bippy I will!!

Sprinkles and Secrets release party! SO FUN!!!

I celebrated the release of Sprinkles and Secrets on Sunday at Powell's Bookstore in Beaverton. We had a nice turnout, and I'm really thankful to the people who came out to celebrate with me. Thank you!

Here are some pictures the amazing Sara of Novel Novice took.

I talked about how the book came to be, then read a couple of pages.

Sometimes when I'm writing I have to say, Stop! No more cupcakes!

Can you see the cookies? All the kids in attendance got one!

Lots of beautiful books! Thank you Powell's!

All of my little cupcakes, lining up to have their books signed.

Please take some bookmarks!

And pick which color pen you'd like

"May you always love cupcakes and reading!"

Look really adorable and make sure you show the book to everyone you know!

Thank you, Sara, for all of the great pictures and for being awesome!

Oh boy, I sure do love my young cupcakes, I mean, readers!!!

Timeline and Checklist for YA or MG Book Release

I wrote this checklist up about 6 months ago, as I pondered all the things I needed to do to prepare for the release of my third YA, CHASING BROOKLYN. I'd been through a book release before, but realized I could make it easier on myself if I put the things that needed to be done in some kind of organized manner.

I was looking it over recently, thinking about my next upcoming book, my first middle-grade novel, IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES, and I thought, I bet others would find it helpful - I should share it on my blog! So, I added some helpful information, and I'm sharing!

Please note: do not feel like you have to do EVERYTHING on this list. Pick what you WANT to do, and what you think will work best for your book and do those things. I promise, you are not a failure if you don't want to do all of the things listed. I've included everything I could think of because that way, we have many opportunities from which to choose from.

If I've missed anything, please do let me know, and I'll add it!

And yes, you may print for your own use - enjoy!

~*~

Checklist for months leading up to book release
by Lisa Schroeder

Six months prior

o Look into speaking opportunities at conferences that will fall in the months after your book is released. They often have opportunities to sell and sign books, so it’s a great way to get out there, meet people and sell books. Once you find these opportunities, you often have to submit a proposal, and there are deadlines, so it’s good to start looking pretty far in advance.

o Get bookmarks and/or postcards made (once cover is finalized) and start handing them out as you can to let people know about your book(s). This is ongoing up through release date and beyond.

o If you don’t have a web site, now is the time to put the wheels in motion! Don’t have the skills yourself? You’ll want to spend time researching other authors’ web sites, and when you find one you like, take a look at the designer’s site and start making a list of designers to contact. If you already have a web site, how long has it been since you’ve updated the information? Fresh content is important!

o Does your book have an angle that would be good for a web site of its own? If so, that should also be created now.

o Line up a videographer and send manuscript or questionnaire for the making of a book trailer, if this is something you want to do.

Three - Four months prior

o Touch base with the in-house publicist. Ask what he/she plans to do and how you might assist with the efforts.

o Work on blog tour and get hosts lined up. Figure out when you want questions sent, how you want to handle prizes, if there will be prizes, and all the other necessary details.

o Schedule your book release party at a book store, or a fun location where a book store might be willing to come and sell books.

o Schedule book signings in nearby towns, if possible during the first month. Your publicist may want to help with this.

o Think about teaming with other authors for book events and approach them about your idea to do group events.

o Look into other swag you may want to do for your book – buttons, t-shirts, lip gloss, etc.

o Forward any ARC requests to the publicist

o Begin gathering addresses of nearby school librarians, language arts teachers, etc. for mailings the month before your signing.

o If your book would work well in schools, work on making a teacher’s guide or seek someone out who helps authors make these for a fee. Post to your web site when done.

Two months prior

o Put a call out for a street team. Send postcards, bookmarks, other swag to a certain number of people who are willing to talk up the book to their friends, teachers, librarians, etc. Make them feel special, perhaps give a little gift for helping!

o If you are willing to do Skype visits, join the skype author network.

o Create an on-line press kit, and get this uploaded to your site.

o Start preparing press releases and figure out where to send them.

o Make sure your web site has a good, up-to-date bio.

One month prior

o Do some informational blog posts that will hopefully drive people to your blog, but which have nothing to do with your book. Some of the best promotion is simply getting your name out there by offering up helpful information to other people.

o If you want to have contests to bring attention to your book, start planning them here.

o Send out postcards or letters to school librarians and teachers in your area letting them know about your book, school visit availability, and your scheduled book signings.

o Make sure to tweet and blog about any good reviews your book gets, especially from well-known publications.

o Look for volunteers to hand out bookmarks and postcards. Drop some by your local school libraries.

o Ask people who read and review the book to post the reviews on Amazon and goodreads for further exposure.

o If your book signing will include a talk, start preparing that now, and decide where in the book you’ll read. 5-10 minutes of reading is PLENTY. Anything more than that, and you lose people.

The month of the release

o Have fun! Enjoy this time! Go to your book signings and other events knowing you did everything could in the months preceding the release to help give your book a fabulous start!