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NOTE: Cynthea may be dropping
by so feel free to leave your
questions/comments for her.

Hi Cynthea, thanks for finding time to
join us today!

Before we get started, can you tell me a
little about yourself and your books
that all appear to be doing so well. :)

Hi Shelli. I'm the author of PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE (Putnam, 2009)--a middle grade novel about a dare, a creepy shed, some very bad basketball, and a heart attack that was possibly caused by a chili dog.

My YA novel, THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA--a Students Across the Seven Seas novel (Speak, 2009) follows an adopted teen to China in search of answers to her past. It's also part travel, part romance, and all-over fun if it doesn't make you bawl at the end.

WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE (Pivotal, 2008) is my tell-all book--without the gossip!--for new writers who had just as many questions as I did when I started writing for kids and teens. I hope it answers all those questions and then some!


Looks like you have had a busy 2 years. To promote your book, do you have your own website or blog? If so, when did you start it and who manages it?

I do. I am almost embarrassed to say I have THREE websites and a blog, managed by me and my pet rabbit Snoop. Though he's been slacking a lot lately.

My author site, my writing site, and my Debut Author site (which supports the largest collaboration of debut authors in the US, and quite possibly the world!)

I also maintain a blog.

Phew! Now I realize why I'm so tired. :)


Boy, those alone must keep you busy. But you seem to find time to do marketing for yourself as well. In your opinion , what are the top 3 things every author should and must do to promote their book?

The best things I think an author can do (in no particular order) are:

1) If you're going to go online: have a website where people can find the following information:

a) Info about yourself
b) Info about your books
c) Info about visits, talks, or presentations (do you do them? how much does it cost, what can you do?)
d) How to contact you

2) Tell everyone you know about your book. It's so easy to forget to do that sometimes! Even if you're not a web-savvy person, let the people you personally know (family, friends, your dentist) know about it. Yes, even Dr. Smile who may give you nightmares, can be your biggest fan and supporter.

3) Write the next book! It is way too easy to get lost in PR activities. And it could make you crazier than you already are. We have to remember, FIRST AND FOREMOST, we are authors, not marketers. Our writing is what keeps us going! That said, if you can joyously market your book without feeling guilt, by all means, do it! But if marketing makes you sick and angry and annoyed, remember: no writer needed to know how to build a website in order to be a great author!

See? Isn't this just sooooo simple? Why do we stress ourselves out with all this stuff? There's just no need!

In your opinion, how important is social networking? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GoodReads.

First I think it is important. I am on Twitter and Facebook.

If we're talking about social marketing and its correlation to book sales, you will find examples where social marketing has let a not-so-big author sky-rocket to the top because a social network gave them visibility that they wouldn't have had otherwise. But there are right and wrong ways to do it! Most people online can see through sales pushes now, and social networking can actually be a negative if you don't use them correctly.

How important is it? Based on my answer to Question 3, you can tell I don't feel like every author HAS to do it. Can it make a difference? Sure! But it's still a question of ...

Do you want to do it?
And can you do it joyously?

Otherwise, you could be wasting your time.

Personally, I use social networks according to the purpose for which they were built--hanging out, getting to know people, connecting and reconnecting. Direct-selling on social networks can be kind of Ick. Though I have sold stuff before using Facebook and Twitter for my PARIS PAN launch called Take the Dare: Show You Care. I held an auction that raised money for a Title I school in my home state of Oklahoma. I was selling and selling hard. But I wasn't trying to sell PARIS PAN. (What?!) I was selling the school, auction prizes, etc--motivating people to put money down for a cause. Sure, fans could buy my book in support of the school. And the book got great exposure. But did I expect to sell thousands of copies? No. Not at all. So if you're thinking "what Cynthea did" is what *I* need to do to sell my books, think again. A book launch DESIGNED to sell books would have been a much better alternative.

But..."it's my party, and I can do what I want to ... do what I want to!" :)

In the end, the community raised around $15,000 for Tulakes Elementary in less than a month. Most of it through social networking. While I'm talking about it, I have to thank everyone who put up with all the noise during that time and supported the cause. (And btw, if you want to donate money or books straight to Tulakes, you still can. Find out how to double your money at http://www.cynthealiu.com/showyoucare. Don't be left out!) See? I still can't stop selling that school. I LOVE IT!

So this brings me to a big point about social networking.

Be genuine. Be you.

If you're putting a sales-hat on, and it's just not fitting your fat-writerly-head, don't wear it.You might as well go door-to-door and sell your book that way. The result is the same. Doors closed. No one answers. Who cares?

Finally, social networking is supposed to be fun, not work! If people buy your books as a side-effect of social networking, amen. If you set out to sell your books through social networking, more power to you! But I, for one, am perfectly happy with just reading and commenting about other people's stories when I can, posting fun pics of my Baby Liu, and sharing my writing joys and woes with others. And that's just another way you can socially network effectively!


Wow that was packed with a lot of great advice. You mentioned your auction, when you started marketing your books, did you have a formal marketing plan or is your marketing more random?

A formal marketing plan? Ha. I can barely find my planner, much less formulate a marketing plan. But I do have some idea about what I want to do and when. Like my book tour to Oklahoma this fall. Does everything I want to happen get all done? Absolutely not. There's just no end to the things that you can do to get your book out there.


What creative things have you done to promote a book?

People have told me that my book launches are some of the best launches they've ever seen. Wow! But that praise always takes me by surprise. I guess I haven't stopped to think about it until now. So here's what I'm thinking ...

If you do something creative, it becomes more memorable automatically.

Even though my first book launch (for THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA), wasn't "mind-blowingly" creative or anything, I did spend some moments thinking about how to make party-goers feel like they were REALLY at a party (but online). Then it became .. we have to have food, games, prizes, movies, etc. So I made a video that wasn't just any old book trailer, I served up some grub (recipes related to the book), got the game figured out, made sure everyone left with a party favor, and gave away free prizes. I guess, as a total package it WAS creative. And that's what made it stand out to people.

The Paris Pan launch party was like the new-and-improved version of my first launch party. While online auctioning isn't a new idea, the combination of the book launch, the auction, the new movie, the game, the contest, and everything else made it even more special to my fans and supporters. I was so happy I could show everyone a great time and do something truly meaningful to me in the process. And btw, if you'd like to go to one of my online parties, the after-party is still on at http://www.cynthealiu.com. You can see what happened: the auction bids, the passed-out people with lampshades on their heads, and even take home some prizes. Sweet!

I also put together an essay contest that tries to do more than just get kids to write about the book. In true Paris-Pan-style, I ask readers to "Take a Dare: Dare to be You." It's part writing-rigor, part social-experiment. Kids will dare themselves to change something about their behavior, and take their own Dare over the course of one week. Their dares should get themselves to act in ways that are more aligned with who they truly are. For example, a reader might say, "I should stop acting like washing dishes is worse than an oral cavity search. I am not a lazy person, I am a helpful one." Once the reader carries out the Dare, he or she then reflects upon it in an essay. Finalists will be published in a book of winning essays and the top winners will also get some serious cash. Now how can you beat that?

So if you have any kids, know any kids, who might benefit from this one (maybe YOU might benefit from it if you need some dish washing done :) ), definitely check out the essay contest. It's open to all students in the U.S. and Canada (including homeschoolers) in grades 3-7.


You obviously have a knack for marketing that not all authors have. Did you do this great of a job marketing yourself to agents/editors before you were published?

Before my books sold, I focused on writing, more so than getting noticed by agents/editors in any other way. It's easy to forget in this age of Internet-Everything, that YOUR WRITING is what matters most. You do hear about examples where writers have gotten stuff sold from having great blogs and so on; I think that's fabulous! But keep in mind you still have to be a great writer! It's not a matter of putting up just any old thing and then hoping it happens. There's a lot of hard work involved.

Also, the Internet is now inundated with blogs. That means it's becoming harder and harder to be noticed by editors and agents through your blog unless you're doing something truly unique, and doing it in a way that shows publishing people that you might actually have a really good book in you! So let's remember what editors and agents think about when trying to make that determination. I won't spell it out for you here. I want you to think hard about it ... Done? Now make sure you're "showing" that in your blog, if getting noticed by agents/editors is one of your objectives. And keep in mind, that even if if you are doing all the right things, don't bet on anything happening either. You'll just frustrate yourself.

Finally, I can't say enough about how wonderful it is to put yourself out there, online, and befriend other people in the community (not just agents and editors) BEFORE you're published. If you want to blog, have a website, or socially network now, but you're holding back because "I'm not published yet!", get that thought out of your head. You don't have to be published to have a wonderful place to hang out on the Internet. It could be one of the best marketing moves you'll ever make. Who wouldn't want a fan base already in place when your first book comes out? (And I'm not just talking about your mom and your English teacher! *Though we love them, too!*)

So go for it. I look forward to meeting you in cyberspace!

Thanks for the great tips today, Cynthea.

Thanks for having me, Shelli! Hope your readers enjoy the interview!

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This post is part of a year-long series of blog interviews I'll be hosting with my fellow 2009 Debut Authors, called "How They Got Here."  

It should be an especially helpful series for teens who write, teachers, and anyone who wants to write for kids.  2009 debut authors will be dropping by to talk about how their writing in school shaped the authors they are today, what teachers can do to make a difference, how they revise, and how they found their agents and editors.  (You'll even be able to read some successful query letters!)  If you know a teacher or two who might be interested, please share the link!

Today... Cynthea Liu, author of PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE!


A photo from ALA: That's Cynthea Liu on the right, along with her fellow debut author Cindy Pon (SILVER PHOENIX) on the left!

Twelve-year-old Paris Pan's life is a mess. She's just moved to a tiny town in Nowheresville, Oklahoma; her family life is a comical disaster; her new friends are more like frenemies; and the boy she has a crush on is a dork. Things couldn't possibly get worse, until she discovers that a girl mysteriously died years ago while taking a seventh-grade rite of passage–the Dare– right near Paris's new house. So when Paris starts hearing strange noises coming from the creepy run-down shed in her backyard, she thinks they could be a message from the ghost of a girl. But while she has no plans to make contact with the great beyond, her two new friends have other thoughts. Everyone who's anyone takes the Dare, and now it's Paris's turn.

Welcome, Cynthea! Tell us about the first thing you ever wrote that made you think maybe you were a writer.

One of the first things was my first query letter, but if I go back even further, really, the first thing I DREW when I was in college (sketches of animals), later became the impetus for my full children's book novel.  A novel that barely got subbed and is now sitting quietly on my hard drive, waiting for me to come back to it again when I'm ready. 

Unlike a lot of writers, I never thought I'd be one when I was younger. Seriously, if you had asked me in high school or junior high, I would have rolled my eyes and said, "WHY WOULD I EVER WANT TO DO THAT?!"

Even when teachers and college professors encouraged me to pursue it, I just laughed them off. I had no idea that what I wrote was actually readable and interesting to people. I just thought, "well, that's how I talk. That's not real writing."

Now I know, that being authentic - expressing yourself as a "real" person is exactly how writing should work. Why hadn't someone said that to me earlier? I could have fifteen novels under my belt by now. :)

What books did you love when you were a kid?

I was a freak for animal stories. Talking animals, nontalking animals, animals that played instruments, animals that saved lives, animals that got lost, animals, animals, animals!
RATS OF NIMH
TRUMPET OF THE SWAN
BLACK BEAUTY
MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE
WATERSHIP DOWN
I gobbled them all up. And of course, I had to have an animal in PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE. Go, the dog, is one of my favorite characters.

Is there a particular teacher or librarian who was a mentor for you in your reading and writing life?

Yes, my algebra teacher. Yes, my ALGEBRA teacher left a lasting memory for me about books. I had complained to her one day that I couldn't find anything to read anymore. I'd read it all. She said, "Well, have you tried some adult books?" She handed me my first DEAN KOONTZ book. Which I LOVED. Of course, now she'd probably be jailed for giving me an adult book, complete with a racy scene, to read. But man, thank you, Mrs. M for saving my reading life when I was in 8th grade.

Moving on to the here and now, most writers admit that making time to write can sometimes be a challenge.  When and where do you write?   Do you have any special rituals?  

These days, I've been extremely swamped with my book launches BUT when I do write, it is heaven. I've got my Diet Dr. Pepper at my side, my laptop, and my critique partner, the fabulous Tammi Sauer, at the ready, online. I work for at least four straight hours, either laughing my head off or banging my head against the computer. It's such great fun. And I mean that!

Your favorite strategy for revision?

My strategy for revision these days is to keep going back to the beginning and rereading it as I build each new chapter. This helps me check story flow and work out any kinks before I end up with a huge plot disaster on my hands. Nothing worse than a huge plot disaster.

Best advice for young writers?

BELIEVE that you can do it. START NOW. You're a hot commodity. Publishers LOVE young writers. When you're old like me, no one cares. But your YOUNG and cool and so talented. So get crackin' on that book! Nancy Fan was 12 or 13 when she got her first book published. Christopher Paolini was 15 when he started his book Eragon. 

YOUR AGE IS A PLUS in the book publishing industry. So stop worrying about how long it'll be before you are 5 feet tall or when you'll get your driver's license. You can get a book written and published NOW. That's definitely cooler than getting behind the wheel so you can cart your younger sister around.

What’s special about your novel?

PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE is actually my first novel. I started it before THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA so it'll always hold a special place in my heart. There is so much of me and my family experiences in the book, that I feel like the book is actually a "part" of me. So don't rest a pop can on it or anything. Let's show some respect for the Pans!

What were the best and worst parts of writing it?

The best parts of the book are the most difficult parts of the book to write. I try very hard to strike an emotional chord with the reader, and doing that is no easy task. So if you ever feel yourself getting scared, laughing out loud, getting angrey, tearing up even, that scene right there was one of the hardest parts to write.

How did you find your agent and/or editor?

Finding an agent and an editor was like courting this cute guy who has no idea what you look like or what your personality is like. All you can do is hand him your book and hope THAT does the trick. Fortunately for me, I nabbed my agent fairly early in my writing process but getting an editor to fall in love was not as quick. I had to give the editors several different versions of my book before they fell for my wiley ways. Hard work, man!

And here's Cynthea's successful pitch for PARIS PAN:

Twelve-year-old Paris Pan has moved to a small town where she has a real shot at making friends. But that friendship comes at a price. She must take The Dare, something that killed a girl on the very property she now resides. To make matters worse, Paris must play basketball against her will, eradicate a crush on the least desirable boy in sixth grade, and cope with a family crisis that was possibly caused by a chili dog.

Thanks for sharing your journey, Cynthea!

You can read more about Cynthea at her website, and of course, you can ask for PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE at your local independent bookseller.  You can also order it through one of my favorite indies, Flying Pig Bookstore (they ship!), or find an indie near you by checking out IndieBound!