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Everywhere I turn in the kid lit community, I hear about the same middle grade novel: A Crooked Kind of Perfect,
by Linda Urban. Many books are published every year, but only a select few create a buzz as big as this Cybil Award Winner.
"Set to a lively beat of whump whump cha-cha-cha! Linda Urban has created
that rare book that is both beautifully written and wonderfully appealing. I
felt myself slowing down as I read the final pages of A Crooked Kind of Perfect, not wanting this lovely book to
be over," says Cynthia Lord, author of Newbery Honor winning Rules.
Linda Urban is this month's Blogging Writer!
The Edge of the Forest: There is such a buzz surrounding your book, how do you think it came about?
Linda Urban: I got lucky. Sometimes all it takes is a handful of influential people talking with passion about
something they love to get buzz going. There were a couple of people at Harcourt who loved this manuscript and told all
their industry chums about it. They started the buzz long before there was even an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) out
there.
I also owe a lot to Cindy Lord, author of the Newbery Honor book Rules. Cindy has a loyal blog following and when
she posted that she not only loved the book, but wanted to send her copy of the book on tour to any online reviewers who
would read it, people took note. I'd love to claim that moment of marketing genius, but Cindy did it on her own and I
didn't know about it until later.
I did have a hand in creating bookseller buzz. I was marketing director at Vroman's Bookstore for more than a decade and
during that time I met many booksellers who are tastemakers in the industry. I wrote to them asking who at their stores
might be willing to read an ARC and then sent it out accordingly. I didn't ask for anything else. Didn't need to.
When a bookseller loves a book, she can't keep her opinion to herself. Thankfully, enough booksellers liked Crooked
to make it a Children's BookSense pick.
The other place we kidlit folks want buzz is in the library world. I'm only beginning to learn how library word spreads.
Crooked was selected as a Junior Library Guild pick and I know that has made a difference. Being reviewed by
Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 was huge, too.
I also did targeted press releases and, most importantly, I sent thank you notes. I have to hope that the second and
third generation of people who have heard the buzz will find it compelling enough that they want to read the book and tell
others.
I had a "Show Me Your Socks" contest on my blog asking people to help me celebrate publication by posting a picture of
their favorite socks on their blogs. Many folks run contests that require people to write something. I think this is a
mistake. You can't make people work that hard. Make your contest easy and make sure that participation results in getting
the word out about your book. I figure that most of the people who posted sock photos had at least five to ten people who
are not on my friends list, who now have at least heard of A Crooked Kind of Perfect. That is well worth the cost
of the contest prize.
The Edge of the Forest: I think you're being modest! Let's take a look at your little contest:
Contest announcement:
Contest entries poured in, including these:
Lisa Albert
Christy Lenzi
Kelly Fineman
Alison23
Debbi Michiko-F
Cindy Faughnan
Barbara O'Connor
Ravelda
Linbinwriter
Sruble
Anne Marie Pace
That's right! People dressed their dogs in socks and their babies in socks! They posed with Linda's book, and some people
got creative and made photos relevant to Linda's book:
Kate Messner
Jama Rattigan
People linked their own blogs to it:
Sarah Miller
Textile Fusion
Even her editors at Harcourt got in on the sock action!
Jeannette Larson
By the time she announced the winners:
Winners
Linda and her book were the talk of the blogosphere!
The Edge of the Forest: So, Linda, you've obviously used blogging to your advantage and to get the word out there
about Crooked, but you don't consider yourself an avid blogger.
Linda Urban: I started because I was tired of typing in my name after every anonymous post. It was my intention to
have a LiveJournal account but not to post.
The Edge of the Forest: LOL. Yeah, I think a lot of us get sucked in that way!
Linda Urban: When I got my website, the journal became a way to have a piece that changed regularly, without me
having to know how to do web design and updating. For me, it is a way to connect with other writers who are also engaged
in this solitary profession. I learn about other writers' challenges and inspirations. I read reviews of great books.
I get to cheer when folks do well and console when things go awry.
A blog is great if you're the blogging type. It does help you build a network of writer friends, which can be crucial, but
there are other ways to do this. If blogging gets in the way of writing the next book, stop blogging!
The Edge of the Forest: I'm just fascinated with your marketing strategies. You studied advertising and marketing
in college and served as marketing director for a bookstore for many years. How much of a difference do you think your
marketing background has been in promoting your own book?
Linda Urban: I really believe that marketing is about connecting with people. Why does Oprah have such influence?
Her viewers connect with her. You can't watch that show and not get a feel for who Oprah is and what she is about. You come
to know her and trust her and so when she says, "I love this perfume/novel/breakfast cereal," you listen just as you would
if a friend said the same.
I say this not because I think authors should try to get on Oprah (although if she calls, say YES), but because I think
that every marketing effort we make should be this personal.
When I was a bookseller, I got a TON of generic, boring press releases on my desk every day. Sometimes, they had gimmicky
stuff stuck in them. A toothbrush with the name of a romance novel printed on the handle, that sort of thing. That is not
personal. Personal is a letter that sounds like an individual wrote it, that tells me in a short and interesting way why
I should care about the book. There are a million ways to do this. An excerpt from the book. A line about how it takes
place in my area. A recommendation from a local author, and so on.
Once in a while the gimmicky thing was cool or funny enough to get my attention, but that was awfully rare. If you're
going to spend money on such a thing, make sure it is as well thought-out as your novel.
The Edge of the Forest: How important do you think it is for authors to have an official website? Who maintains
yours?
Linda Urban: A website is important. Teachers, librarians, media, etc—they all use a website as a way to see if
you're legit. It's also a way for people to reach you.
For my website, I use Lisa Firke of HitThoseKeys, and I love her. I wish I were tech-savvy enough to do a
professional-looking site myself, but I'm not. I'm just glad that Lisa is so responsive.
The Edge of the Forest: What has taken you by surprise throughout this journey from aspiring writer to published
author?
Linda Urban: How generous people are. It has been my experience that people want your book to be good and
want you to do well. I was prepared for something else. Maybe that is yet to come, but thus far I have been overwhelmed
by good wishes and kind intentions.
The Edge of the Forest: Thanks for talking with us, Linda! See you in the blogs!
Find out more about Linda Urban and her books at: www.lindaurbanbooks.com
and her blog Crooked Perfect.
A Crooked Kind of Perfect is in stores now.
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