Today I welcome back Jo Linsdell to the blog. She is probably one of the most popular authors ever to visit here!! I can't wait to learn more about her new book, Fairy May.
Fairy May
Written and illustrated by Jo Linsdell
Fairy May dreams of one day becoming a tooth fairy but she struggles at school and always seems to get things wrong. With hard work and determination she prepares for her test. Will she realise her dream and become a tooth fairy?
Release Date: 1st February 2013
Product details:
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1481951424
ISBN-13: 978-1481951425
Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.1 inches
Purchasing links:
About the author:
Jo Linsdell is a best selling author and illustrator, award winning blogger and freelance writer. Originally from the UK, she now lives in Rome, Italy with her husband and their two young sons.
Author website: www.JoLinsdell.com
Contact details:
Email: webmaster@jolinsdell.com
Social Media Links:
1) Please tell us a bit about Fairy May.
Fairy May is a rhyming children's picture story book about a fairy called May that dreams of one day becoming a tooth fairy. She struggles at school and always seems to get things wrong but with hard work and determination she prepares for her tooth fairy exam.
2) What lessons does this book carry for the reader?
The story carries two main lessons for the reader;
A. To follow your dreams. Just because it isn't easy doesn't mean it can't be achieved.
" But Fairy May tried and tried for she had a special dream;
one day she'd be a tooth fairy, the best you've ever seen."
B. The importance of dental hygiene. The text subtly introduces the reader to how to take care of their teeth correctly.
"She learnt how to brush and keep teeth clean
and how to floss right in between."
3) What was your inspiration for this book?
This book is dedicated to my niece who, after seeing that my last book Out and About at the Zoo was dedicated to my two sons, asked if I'd write a book for her too.
It needed to have fairies in it and so I brainstormed on ideas and came up with Fairy May. I wanted her to be a little girl fairy and to show that it's OK to not be perfect. I wanted young children to be able to relate to her and to encourage them to go after their dreams.
The tooth fairy part came about because several of my 5 year old's friends have recently lost their first tooth and he has been full of questions on the subject. My 17 month old is also teething at the moment and so the topic of dental hygiene comes up a lot in our house at the moment.
4) What did you learn while writing Fairy May?
The importance of having the right direction for my story not just a good text. In the original version the text worked fine as a story and rhymed nicely but the overall message wasn't as strong. After rewriting the last part I was much happier with the focus of the story. Simple changes can make a big difference.
5) What projects are you working on now?
I'm busy with several projects at the moment. "The Bedtime Book" which is another rhyming children's picture book. "The Writers and Authors Guide to Social Media" and "Virtual Book Tours" which are two non-fiction books. 2013 is going to be a busy year for me as I have lots of other ideas too.
Jo, I can't wait to read this book!!!
I see you have something more you want to tell us about how to use video successfully to help market your book.
How authors can use video as part of their marketing strategy
By Jo Linsdell
Jo Linsdell is a best selling author and illustrator, award winning blogger and freelance writer. Originally from the UK, she now lives in Rome, Italy with her husband and their two young sons. Her latest release is Fairy May, a rhyming story about a young fairy called Fairy May who dreams of one day becoming a tooth fairy but she struggles at school and always seems to get things wrong. With hard work and determination she prepares for her test. Will she realise her dream and become a tooth fairy? You can find out more about Jo and her books on her website www.JoLinsdell.com
According to the experts, 2013 is going to be the year of video. It's easy to see why too. Youtube is in fact the second most popular search engine in the world (after Google). The popularity of social media and the increasing use of smartphone and tablets provided the perfect conditions for online video marketing too.
All the big players in social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest) have all increased their abilities to feature and share video content in the past year.
As an author you might be asking yourself how this effects you. How can authors use video as part of their marketing strategy? Here's a few ideas to get you started:
1) Video book trailers.
Just like movie trailers entice viewers into going to see the film, book trailers create interest for new releases. Although there are now many companies out there offering video book trailer services you can make a simple trailer yourself using a program like Windows Movie Maker right on your own PC. Here's one I made for my new children's picture story book Fairy May:
2) Interviews.
Video's are a great way to build stronger connections with your fans and potential readers. Being able to see and hear the person behind the book helps create the feeling of knowing the person more and thus builds a stronger relationship.
Interviews can be done either by having someone ask you questions like in this video interview I did:
Or you can answer a set of questions in a self interview like this one:
3) Presentations.
Video presentations are a fantastic way of building your online reputation and strengthening your author brand. Here's an example of a presentation I did about virtual books tours.
There are many other ways you can use video in your marketing efforts too. All it takes is a bit of creativity. I'd love to hear how you're using video as part of your marketing strategy too so please leave a comment below and maybe we can feed ideas off each other.
Thank you so much for this excellent presentation. Jo Linsdell and I will be participating in a wall chat on Facebook. I am announcing it here first and it will also be on my Author page. I hope to see many of you there on March 5 at 3:30PM EST. This will be fun to coordinate since Jo lives many time zones later than I in Italy.:)
Jo it has been so much fun to learn more about Fairy May and thank you for the excellent tips on how to use video. I am looking forward to people commenting to thank you themselves.:)
Until the next time, tomorrow, February 14th, Valentine's Day, I will be hosting Brandi Schmidt, who is asking for you to tell her your own sweet love story. She is giving away a box of chocolates!! We are also having a party to release her new book coming in March, The Kindling. Brandi will also be on my radio show on Blog Talk Radio, RRWL Tales from the Pages. I will post the link tomorrow.
Thanks for having me back and for helping spread the word about Fairy May. I'm looking forward to our Facebook wall chat on 5th March but in the meantime if anyone has any questions for me please drop me a comment here and I'll do my best to answer :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!! I'm looking forward to it as well. I hope my readers will take advantage of this great way to pick your brain.:)
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable character is Fairy May. Great premise for your book. I am in the process of making a book trailer for my new release, Coda to Murder, on Feb. 22. So this is a timely subject for me. I have never heard of a wall chat!! How involved is that? Sounds like so much fun. I'll have to watch on Mar 5 to see what it is all about. Thanks for sharing this info, Jo and Barbara!! Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by and good luck with your own book launch.
DeleteWall chats are great fun. Basically a banner gets pinned to the top of a Facebook page (in this case it will be Barbara's page) and then the interview takes place in the comments section on that pic. Not only can everyone post their own questions and comment during the chat but the whole thing can also be shared by anyone too just by sharing the pic.
I look forward to seeing you there on 5th March :)
Thank you for the informative post. I didn't think trailers could be that popular.
ReplyDeleteI'll be hopping on this bandwagon.
Thanks for stopping by Lorrie :)
DeleteThere are loads of playlists just for book trailers on YouTube alone not to mention all the other video sites out there. There are also many sites on the web now dedicated to just book trailers.