Brain Burps About Books

Brain Burps About Books Podcast #221

An Interview with KeeKee’s Big Adventures Series Creator Shannon Jones

• Answer one questions and get my free marketing lessons! Ask them here and get my Book Promo Planner and Checklist PLUS 21 Ways to Promote Yourself on Amazon as a special bonus.
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• Julie Falatko reviews I Don’t Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty and Mike Boldt

This week’s guest is Shannon Jones. For Shannon, her love of travel began at a young age. It opened her eyes and ears to the world. As a grownup, living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with her husband Paul and kitty KeeKee, the idea for KeeKee’s Big Adventures was born. After twenty years in the marketing field, Shannon is launched on her new adventures, following her passion for writing and excited to be helping kids in their quest for learning and discovery.

Shannon's first book KeeKee's Big Adventures in Paris, France won the Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Awards Silver for Best First Children’s Book in April 2014 and Gold Mom’s Choice Award in Autumn 2013. KeeKee's Big Adventures in Rome, Italy received a Gold Mom's Choice Award in April 2013.

Her third book, KeeKee's Big Adventures in Athens, Greece, landed October 2014 and just received a Gold Mom's Choice Award.

• Why, even though Shannon got interest from traditional publishers, she decided to self-publish.
• The unusual process through which she found a great illustrator.
• Her editor is Lisa Pliscou.
• Her printer, Phoenix Color.
• The Bilingual pronunciation guide in her books.
• Getting geography lessons from a cat.
• The KeeKee Club.

Brain Burps About Books Podcast #243

• Enter the Institute for Writer's PreK Writing Contest! There will be $1300 in prizes awarded and you could win. For all the details visit www.instituteforwriters.com/prekcontest or text PREKCONTEST to 33444. Submit your manuscript before October 31st for a chance to win.
• Did you miss the amazing Picture Book Summit? Sign up to find out about our upcoming events at www.picturebooksummit.com.

• What should you do right after you get home?
• What do you do with all the "stuff" you've collected at the conference?
• Where should you keep with all those notes you've taken?
• How can social media help you after the event?
• What's the best way to keep in touch with your favorite speakers?
• To give feedback or not to give feedback? That is the question.
• How should you follow up with the contacts you made?
• What's nudgemail?
• How can you share what you've learned?

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Brain Burps About Books Podcast #219

An Interview with Pubslush Vice President Amanda Barbara

• Free book marketing lessons here: www.katiedavis.com/vip
• Just for listeners of the podcast! Get a $25 discount and a free success guide from Pubslush HERE: www.katiedavis.com/pubslush

• Julie Hedlund bring us a gratitude segment.

This week’s guest is Amanda Barbara. Pubslush was founded by mother and daughter entrepreneurs, Hellen and Amanda Barbara. Pubslush is a global pre-publication platform that offers crowdfunding and pre-order options for authors and publishers. Amanda and her mother were inspired to create a more democratic publishing process after learning about the struggles of authors like J.K. Rowling, whose bestselling series was rejected by the 12 publishers to which it was initially sent. So many great authors have been dismissed to the infamous "slush pile." The Pubslush name is derived from their mission to give authors the opportunity to get out of the slush pile, prove their talent and market viability, and successfully publish quality books.

• What can Pubslush do for writers?
• How Pubslush can be a launch pad for your writing career.
• What do if you're looking for a spot to gain fans.
• How your fans get an email when your book is ready.
• Why Pubslush is not just another crowd funding platform.
• How is it completely risk free for the authors?
• How they monetize! (Great for writers!)
• Finding your reader data.
• Do writers need a contract?

Brain Burps About Books Podcast #213

• Just a quick note to let you know that I’m starting a new podcast soon if I haven’t already started by the time you hear this. Want to know more? It’s going to be pretty awesome and very different from this show. Go to writeakidsbook.com/podcast to learn more.
• There's still time to join Crank It Up with Katie! It's a great opportunity to get coaching for your writer business in a small group format. Join HERE.
• I’m inviting you to a party! Join the KidLit.TV Pinterest Party on January 29th at 9pm EST. Be sure to follow for the latest resources on KidLit and a chance to WIN! Comment, Like, Repin... it's like a visual Twitter Chat on Pinterest! Have you ever been to a Pinterest party? One for writers? One that will grow your followers? RSVP HERE.
• Sign up for a FREE 15 minute Pinterest Session HERE!
• Plus, receive $20 Off a Pinterest Consulting Session by click HERE.

This Week's Guest is Kim Vij!

Kim Vij is a Pinterest Consultant, Educator, Blogger, Freelance Writer and Speaker. Using The Educators' Spin On It, she has created award winning boards on Pinterest with over 1.6 Million followers by focusing pins on Education and Parenting. She’s successfully partnered with leading children’s educational bloggers and brands to create powerful Pinterest boards for early childhood education. In the past three years she has discovered how to reach out to parents to encourage them to become their child’s first teacher by blogging and pinning resources and tips onto her Pinterest Boards. As a mom of 3, Kim enjoys sharing simple ways to make every day moments into learning opportunities.

• What to name your author board. (Hint: Use Pinterest Name-author) • How to pick a niche topic. • How create a character building board. • Naming your boards. • What to use for board descriptions and how tabs connect. • The educational aspects of Pinterest. • How often should you change your board covers? • Promoted pins – paying for pins to be promoted. • Picmonkey.com and Canva.com • What is the maximum size image you can use? • How to pin to secret boards and release later. • Should you use Tailwind or Viraltag or Ahalogy? • Can you change the name of your board? • How to embed your boards on your site. • The steps to a perfect pin. • What should be in your pin description? Answer: Title for the blog post, plus one more sentence, about 100 characters total. • What are the Pinterest don’ts?

When I was listening to Fresh Air on NPR I thought, "Hey! I could do that, but with children's publishing as my focus!" That's how Brain Burps About Books got started. Writing is so solitary. I thought it would be a great way to get to talk to my friends and make new ones, plus I could help others learn. Maybe I'd learn some stuff myself, too. I've had the privilege of talking to the first three National Ambassadors for Young People's Literature, to librarians and New York Time's bestselling authors. I've interviewed to booksellers and publishers, writers, illustrators, app creators, and app distributors, and more! There is always something new on the horizon to learn and to share. So many listeners have asked how to support the show, and actually, now you can. I've installed a donate button to help defray the costs of producing the show. What do you learn or get out of Brain Burps every week? If it's worth donating a dollar, two dollars, five, or whatever you think the show is worth to you, it would help enormously. The show costs $20 a month to keep on the server, and that's only if there are four shorter episodes in a month. That number doesn't include other costs like my time to research and record, post, edit the intros and outros, web hosting, and equipment and software to do all this. I ended up loving podcasting. I love my listeners. My "Burpers!" This is my gig, I know. and like I said, it's an incredible experience for me. But if you've you've been helped, or just love it too, and y...