The Seasonal Tie-Ins and Promotional Pairings Part of the Writing Life

It's hard to believe, but today marks the one year anniversary, or "book birthday" for Lucy's Blooms. 

On this date last year I shared a blog post entitled, "The Book Launch Part of the Writing Life," where I talked about the activities leading up to a book launch. Today's post is about creating opportunities for extending the book buzz beyond the initial launch through seasonal tie-ins and promotional pairings. 

The marketing copy on my publisher's website describes Lucy's Blooms as "a multigenerational story about a young girl who learns from her grandmother about the enduring nature of love, the strength in rejecting labels, and the wisdom of standing with those who are different." In the story, "the town's annual flower contest is coming soon, and a young girl puts her heart into growing a lively bunch of flowers she finds in a meadow. As her grandmother guides her in nurturing a garden, the girl learns that winning ins't the true reward—it's the special love found in caring for something or someone." 

These are the words that help booksellers and librarians make book buying and collection development decisions—but these words don't necessarily help a book get hand-sold, placed face out on a retail display, or incorporated into a library storytime. This is where seasonal tie-ins and promotional pairings can come in. 

I maintain a running list of potential promotional connections for each of my books. Some seasonal tie-ins (such as the spring equinox in March and Earth Day in April are easy to come up with. I broaden the list by browsing web-based resources such as the "There is a Day for That" calendar, the "Today is" calendar  and this list of national days, along with taking note of observances recognized by literacy organizations such as Every Child a Reader. 

There are quite a few different connections that can be drawn for most of my books, and although it's not reasonable for me to set a goal to amplify each tie-in every year, the running list of seasonal tie-ins and promotional pairings does help me maximize my promotional opportunities. 

Here is an example of my current running list for Lucy's Blooms and some examples of the promotions I developed to go along with some of the observances:

The Great Kindness Challenge (January)

Random Acts of Kindness Day (February)

International SEL (Social Emotional Learning) Day (March)

Plant a Flower Day (March)

World Planting Day (March and October)

International Women's Day (March)

The Spring Equinox (March)

National Weed Appreciation Day (March)

Dandelion Day (April 5)

Good Deeds Day (April)

Earth Day (April)

May Day (May 1)

Mother's Day (May)

World Bee Day (May)

Grandparents Day (September)

International Day of the Girl (October)

World Kindness Day (November)

I also maintain a strong supply of book-related resources and enrichment materials here, including a robust collection of Pinterest boards with categories such as:

Grandparent’s Day

Earth Day and World Bee Day 

Kindness and Good Deeds

Fun Facts About Dandelions

Weeds: Metaphor for Resilience

Garden Tours, Virtual Visits, and Other Experiential Opportunities

Gardening with Kids

Gardening Tips and Info

Picture Book Pairings for Lucy’s Blooms

 

The past year has flown by faster than the seeds of a dandelion. Thank you to everyone who continues to read, share, and help Lucy's Blooms flourish and grow. 

The "Virtual Book Launch" Part of the Writing Life

Today marks the book birthday for my 20th picture book! 

I'm so grateful to everyone who has had a hand in the making of this book, from my family members who inspire, encourage and support my writing life, to my critique group and fellow SCBWI members who helped me shape and polish the manuscript, to the wonderful team at West Margin Press that acquired the manuscript, paired me with a fantastic illustrator, and provided TLC and immense talent throughout the editorial, art direction, and book design process. I'm also grateful to my friends and colleagues who have helped shine a light on this book, and now to the parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, and booksellers who will help get this book into the hands of young readers. Thank you all. 

Lucy's Blooms was written and revised over a period of several years. West Margin Press acquired the manuscript long before the pandemic hit, and the editorial process wrapped up pre-pandemic as well. Alice Brereton's beautiful illustrations were created and shared with me during (what I now realize were) the early months of the pandemic. Seeing the thumbnails, sketches, and final art emerge during months and months of quarantine (and amidst pandemic-related disappointments) helped me focus on the future and focus on the positive. 

During this time, another positive experience was working with the incredibly talented musician, Maiah Wynne, to create Lucy's Song. I wrote the lyrics in collaboration with Maiah, then she composed the music and performed and recorded the song. After the book illustrations and song were completed, I created the animated video for Lucy's Blooms:

Lucy's Blooms created happy places and spaces for me to retreat into, and these creative tasks kept me grounded and focused during an otherwise uncertain time. 

I've launched many books into the world, and I've long created and curated enrichment materials for young readers, teachers, and librarians who utilize my website as a resource, but this is my first virtual book launch experience. The situation we find ourselves in caused me to push myself outside of my comfort zone and learn and do new things, such as: 

Conducting a Goodreads giveaway (with 1810 entrants and 1651 readers adding Lucy's Blooms to their "Want to Read" shelf.) I've not done a giveaway on this platform before, so I don't know how it compares with others' experiences, but I feel pretty good about it!

Collaborating with author friends and colleagues to create enrichment materials for my books. For example, my friend and colleague, Lora Heller, and her team at Baby Fingers LLC created video clips of sign language interpretation of Lucy's Song. You can find those on the Lucy's Blooms playlist on my YouTube channel.  (Lora and her team offer a wide range of classes for Deaf and hearing students of all ages--and their classes are now available on virtual platforms from anywhere in the world. I encourage you to check them out!) Likewise, my friend and colleague, Kathy MacMillan recorded a wonderful flannelboard rhyme activity that teaches several ASL signs and is a great pairing for a story time featuring Lucy's Blooms. (Kathy has heaps of other story time resources on her StoriesByHand website!)

Writing press releases (that resulted in at least a couple of local newspaper articles.) 

Sending postcards to friends, family, and "book people" in my network.

Recording a virtual story time hosted by Green Bean Books--you can view it at 11 AM, Tuesday, April 20 (Pacific Time), or afterwards via Green Bean Books' YouTube channel.

Preparing Grab-n-Go activity bags for Portland-area readers who participate in the virtual book launch event at Green Bean Books.

Creating GIFs, videos, and images for social media posts, such as:

Much of what I learned in this process required patience, perserverence and love, similar to what Lucy and her Gram cultivated in Lucy's Blooms, and much of what I've learned will be incorporated into future book launches. Thank you for walking with me through this journey. May your seeds of love take root and grow, Lucy's Blooms! Happy Birthday to you!