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Today's Totally Important Post is about class member Daphne Grab. Teen reviewer Gela gushes about Daphne's book, Alive and Well in Prague, New York. Check it out.


Now, back to this week's topic: Group Marketing...

Debbie Reed Fischer is the other person who was part of the dynamic duo that took SCBWI Florida by storm in January. Let's find out what she has to say about doing a workshop with another author.

Debbie?

Chatting online every day for months creates a very unique bond with someone, and that is especially true in 2k8. Like the rest of the class, Jody and I had already spent hundreds of hours discussing book promotion, as well as sharing opinions, triumphs, disappointments and jokes. So when I arrived at the conference and we found each other, it wasn't the polite, tentative greeting that usually takes place when meeting someone for the first time. From the moment we hugged in the main conference room, I felt as though we'd been friends forever. When we did sit down to discuss our presentation, there was a comfort level of two people who had been working together for a long time. It made planning and executing our presentation as easy as two friends talking about a common interest. That was a direct result of being in the Class of 2k8.

The really great thing about 2k8 is that members have professional backgrounds in areas other than publishing. How is that a plus, you ask? Well, when Jody and I were speaking about book promotion, I was grateful she had worked in the related field of advertising for many years. It was reassuring to have her expertise handy.

One attendee told me, "You usually see workshops on the same thing at all these conferences. This was something truly different." That 'something different' is another thing 2k8 brings to the table, and Jody and I were eager to talk about it. We have mutual enthusiasm for the group and its purpose, which really showed in our presentation. Our Class of 2k8 brochures were received with interest and curiosity, and a lot of people wanted to know more. Another attendee complained that our workshop wasn't long enough, after we spoke for an hour and a half! Not to mention it was the very last workshop of a three-day conference!


M.P. Barker also knows how important group marketing is...

Being part of 2k8 has helped me because I'm a terrible procrastinator, very disorganized, and know absolutely nothing about marketing. I'm very bad at meeting personal deadlines if I'm not responsible to anyone but myself, but fear of shame and humiliation makes me very good at meeting deadlines when they're imposed by somebody else. Having a group to be answerable to forces me to get my act together and get things accomplished. It's also great to have a support group of people whom I can learn from and who are going through all the same things I am.


Liz Gallagher simply puts it this way:

It makes the fish a little bigger in that big pond.

So, if you're thinking of joining a group to help you get the word out about your books,

If you've just discovered our game, see Monday's blog for details. And remember, this is for fun. The only prize you get is the satisfaction that you're a darn good detective! And the opportunity to get a sneak peek at some gorgeous covers, of course!

Monday's answers are:

Debbie Reed Fischer, Author of Braless in Wonderland

Donna Freitas, Author of The Possibilities of Sainthood

Jennifer Bradbury, Author of Shift

a. I Heart You, You Haunt Me b. I So Don't Do Mysteries c. La Petite Four

a. A Horse of Her Own b. Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains c. Bewitching Season

Did you know that models practice smiling with their tongue behind their teeth to hide the dreaded black space? It’s something that Allee Rosen would never have thought of as she stuffed rolls of toilet paper into her backpack for her art project.

Allee’s headed to Yale to be an English Literature major. Yale! Or so she thought. She finds out her rocket scientist dad failed to save enough money for the prestigious school. So, for now, she’s finishing her senior year of high school, working at Wal-Mart, and trying to decide whether or not to give in to her dad and go the University of Florida to major in something sensible, like science or business. Yuck.

Her life changes the day she takes her sister, Sabrina, to the mall for a modeling agency’s talent search. Instead of signing Sabrina, aka “The Fluff”, they want Allee! The brainiac. The feminist. The total opposite of a girly-girl. Allee knows this is crazy. She doubts it’s even legit. But it’s an offer she can’t refuse. It could mean earning the extra money to get to Yale.

Following a dream-like trip to Miami to meet the owner of what turns out to be a highly respectable and sought-after agency, Allee moves into an apartment for the models. Allee finds herself struggling to believe that she’s actually pretty. Serious by nature, she fears she’ll never be able to let loose and have fun with the camera. Will she ever get a booking? How can she compete with the beautiful, intimidating, and fiercely competitive girls she’s rooming with? What the heck are chicken cutlets? And what if she makes it big? Will she choose to leave Wonderland behind and go to Yale in the fall?

BRALESS IN WONDERLAND thrusts the reader into the world of modeling. Debbie Reed Fischer zooms in to focus on the often cut throat competition between models, the necessary obsession with weight and the risks some models will take to lose just a few more pounds, the glamour, the parties, and the clothes. Oh, the clothes! If you are even the tiniest bit interested in a modeling career, I’d suggest you pick up a copy of this book. And for those of you who think you’d never consider being a model? Just remember, neither did Allee.

This review will be posted at Teens Read Too closer to the April release date.