I'm delighted to host Jo Linsdell as she tours the atmosphere promoting her latest book, Fairy May. I always find it interesting where fellow writer's find their inspiration. I invite you to sit back and enjoy getting to know Jo through her guest post.
We invite you to share with us where you find your inspiration too! We look forward to hearing from you.
A Constant Font of Inspiration
By Jo Linsdell
When writing for young children a writer needs to go back mentally to their childhood to remember what it was like at that age but they also need to get in touch with today's generation of young children.
Times have changed and kids today see the world differently to the way we used to. Even the youngest of kids would look at you strange if you told them that mobile phones didn't exist when you were their age. How about explaining about computers like the Commodore 64 that would take hours to load so you could play "high tech" games like Tetris... in black and white no less, were considered advanced technology? Most kids would just laugh at you in disbelief.
You need to think about these kinds of things when writing for children. You need to get inside their heads and see the world the way they do. As a mum of two young children (one is 5 years old, the other 17 months) I'm lucky to have a constant font of inspiration for my children's books. My 5 year old is also particularly good at sharing his opinion about things and is about as honest as they come and doesn't hold back on criticism.
Ways I find inspiration for my books include;
Playing together. Spending time with my kids and getting involved in games with them is great for seeing how they react to different ideas. If I suggest something that isn't "right" in their book you can be sure I'll get a "silly mummy" and a shake of the head in reply.
Watching them play. Observing how they play, the language they use and the games they create is very inspiring. Seeing how they interact with each
other and others of different ages is also useful.
Watching cartoons with them. Kids love cartoons but not all cartoons. My 5 year old is quite the channel hopper already. Just watching TV with him gives a huge amount of insight into what kind of cartoons catch his interest and what doesn't.
Reading together. I should probably have put this at the top of this list. I read a lot with my kids in both print and ebook format. I try to make sure they get to experience a wide variety of books. Whenever a book lights a spark with them I mentally note what they liked about it.
Listening to music. I usually have some music on in the background and I sometimes find that a phrase from a song with spark my imagination.
Art.A visit to a gallery can really kick my creativeness into top gear. I love art and the right picture can take me mentally into a whole different world.
Inspiration is all around us. It's just a case of being aware of it. Where do you get your inspiration from?
About the author: Jo Linsdell is an award winning blogger and freelance writer living in Rome , Italy . She is also the author of several books including the popular Italian for Tourists, A Guide to Weddings in Italy and the best selling children's picture book Out and About at the Zoo. Her latest book Fairy May was released on 1st February 2013. You can find out more about her at www.JoLinsdell.com
Jo, thank you for joining me today, it's always a pleasure to have you visit. Wishing you all the very best as you travel through cyberspace and beyond!
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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDineAward-winning Children's Author
Connect with
Donna McDine on Google+The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
Why Choose Self-Publishing – Jo Linsdell’s experience as a new children’s picture book author
“Why did you choose to self publish?”
I wanted full control over every aspect of the book. I wrote the story for my son and designed it to suit his tastes. the fact that he played such an active role in it’s creation makes it all the more special to me. By self publishing I got to call all the shots and make it exactly as I wanted it.
“Why did you choose to do the whole book yourself, instead of collaborating with a writer or an illustrator? Are there drawbacks to going it alone”
I studied art and design at college and love it. I figured I might as well put both my writing skills and my illustrating skills to practice. Why hire someone else when i can do it myself? There is a down side to going it alone though. For example, I had no problems in sketches the illustrations for the book, but making them digital and print quality was a whole different story. I’d never used a graphic program before and so it was a huge learning curve for me. Luckily for me, one of my tech savvy friends was on hand to give me advice and assistance. he saved the day more than once
“How has the experience been for you so far? “
Great. This book has been so much fun to do right from the beginning. I’m having fun with the marketing side of things too.
Is the process something anyone could undertake or do you need to be tech savvy?”
I think a certain amount of tech-savviness is definitely a plus. If you’re not lucky enough to have a graphic friend to help out with the technical stuff than I suggest going a different route. There’s so much you need to know, from what colours you can use to dealing with transparencies and layers, in order to get a quality end result. Producing a children’s book is not as easy as some people might think.
“How cost effective is self publishing?”
Very. I spent no money in the creation of the book. I wrote the text and did the illustrations myself. I’m also lucky to have a fantastic network of friends that volunteered to proofread for me and help out with my technical questions. My network has been amazing in supporting my promotional tour to launch the book too with many of them offering to host me on their sites, review the book and help spread the word.
The only cost I’ve had was $25 to have the book added to expanded distribution via createspace (to make it available to bookstores, onlne retailers, libraries etc…) and the cost of a proof copy.
“How time effective is self publishing with regards to all the promotional and marketing work?”
Marketing takes up a lot of time. I don’t think self publishing differs particularly from other publishing routes when it comes to marketing though. Even if you publish through a traditional publisher you will be expected to do a certain amount of promoting yourself.
“Would you choose self-publishing over traditional publishing?”
I did. Self publishing was plan A for me. The reputation attached to self publishing has changed a lot over the last few years and even big name authors are ditching their traditional publishers in favour of self publishing their work.
“Would you self publish again?”
Definitely. I would only consider using a traditional publisher if I couldn’t get the result I wanted on my own.
Jo Linsdell
www.JoLinsdell.com
REVIEW
It's always a pleasure to visit your blog. Thanks for your support Donna.
Thank you for sharing a wonderful post full of inspiration and insight.
Thanks for dropping by Virginia :)
Hi Virginia,
Thank you for visiting with Jo today. I appreciate you stopping by.
Best regards,
Donna
Hi Jo,
It's always a delight to host you. Happy to be part of your virtual book tour. I too find inspiration in my children and listening to conversations in coffee shops.
All the best,
Donna
I have no kids of my own so I have to get my inspiration from other peoples children. I keep my eyes and ears open at all times so I don't miss an opportunity for a great idea!
Thanks for dropping by Allyn. I'm very lucky to have two little ones to feed me with ideas but there are plenty of other ways to get inspiration too. It really can come from anywhere. Keep those eyes and ears open ;)