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Have you ever started a new chapter in your life?  Have you ever dared to do something you never did before?  Did you feel launched into it and found yourself in free fall? You are not alone. It happens all the time! Anyone who wants to do something worthwhile in life has to take risks and sometimes those risks lead to even more risks!

When my art career began, I was imagining all the possibilities. I dreamed of success. I created many fun little cartoons and talked about what I wanted to do with them.  Then one day, I ran into a friend who was DOING what I wanted to do.  She shook me!  She said, “Les, you have to go to the N.Y. Stationary Show and you have to go NOW!

I had heard of this show. I had many of my friends online talking about going.  This was back in the late 90′s.  There was something in her voice.  It was more like a command from heaven than a gentle nudging from a friend.  I made up my mind to go!

This was huge for me.  I had only been on an airplane once for a 45 minute flight. I practically sat on the lap of the man sitting next to me… asking him what this bump was and what THAT  bump was!    I decided I better pray about this trip.  I told the Lord that if HE wanted me to do this then he would have to make the way for me.   A few days later someone had put an envelope in my mailbox. It was  $300.00.  Enough for my flight!  It was not long until I was flying across America to New York City.  I met up with my girlfriend and stayed with her uncle and aunt. We took buses, rode trains and cabs.  Once at the show we had to pedal our portfolios. I am NOT a sales person. … but there I was asking people where their art director was and if I might have a minute with them.  Over and over.  Hmmm…. it became a little easier each time.

One last company sat down with me.  They looked through my whole portfolio and asked if I had anything more?  I pulled out one last picture of a little baby.  That was it!  That was the one the art director liked.  She asked me if I had any more and I told her I would email them to her when I got home. You better believe I was sketching babies on the airplane!

This was one of my first “be brave” moments. Over and over the good Lord has taken my by the hand and shown me what to do next.  Some would say, “you are weak if you need help for everything.”  But I say,  I am smart for asking.

I have a few more adventures I am yearning for.  There will come that day, when the dreaming is over, and the bags all packed and ready to GO!

What are you waiting for?  Be Brave!!!!!

Guest post by Ashlee Rowe.
A Wisconsin native, Ashlee Rowe was the public relations manager for a small children’s publisher before leaving for the freelance writing and publicity market. She currently lives in Charleston, SC. For your publicity needs contact her at [email protected]

You’ve probably been there. The local bookstore or festival signing shiny new copies of your books, reading to excited children, and answering questions. If you’re a children’s author, you’re usually lucky. Children are star-struck by the chance to meet a real live author, and most parents are eager to encourage any literary interest. The event is a success; you’ve managed to reach an audience—maybe as many as one hundred more people know about your book. But does it really help the bottom line? Is this the best use of your time? What other things could you be doing to help promote yourself and your books?

In my time working as public relations manager for a small children’s publisher there are two major and often overlooked types of events that authors, especially children’s authors can do to help their book sell: school visits and speaking at tradeshows.

Book Marketing at a Tradeshow

As an author, it is more essential than ever to market yourself, and to make your name recognizable to those in both the writing community and in your local region or state. There is no easier way to make your name recognizable to bookstores, gift shops, and distributors than by connecting with them at a trade show, especially if you are available to give a presentation. Speaking at these events gives you that rare opportunity to reach a large audience in a memorable way, especially if you have some background that makes you an expert in a literary or childcare field. By speaking, you are showing distributors and booksellers that you are serious about the industry that you are working in, that you are willing to market yourself, and that you believe in your product. As they say, it’s a small world and if you can impress that one right person, it matters a little less whether or not your book “fits” for their company, they’ll work to make it fit.

Not sure what to speak about? Pick from any number of topics related to your books or your professional background and become an expert. Are you a former teacher? Then speak about the importance of picture books for early readers. Does your latest book have science or math themes? Then give a presentation about how picture books with these themes can enhance and strengthen understanding of these concepts for visual learners in the classroom. If you’re creative, you can find a way to incorporate your book into any type of presentation for any show.

School Visits Connect You with Audience

I’ve been surprised at how many authors and illustrators I’ve worked with that are afraid of speaking in front of a group of children. You write for children right? By declining or refusing to do school visits, you not only miss out on a major sales opportunity for your books, but you also miss out on a potentially lucrative opportunity for yourself. If you have a part-time job or are fortunate enough to make writing your full-time career, school visits are a perfect way to supplement your income while boosting boo

So shortly after my last post I set out for Serendipity Book in Berkley. The shop is legendary, as its owner, Peter B. Howard. One of the things I was looking forward to on this trip out, and part of the reason I came out early was to be able to spend time at this shop. Six hours later, I can attest that it was one of the very best days I've I had in a long time and that I only just scratched the surface (I did not even get upstairs at all.

The definition of serendipity is the art of finding something while seeking something else. I suggest it is impossible to enter Peter B.'s shop seeking X and not finding wonderful copies of A, G, Q, V and Z. There are just so many books...great books, unique association copies, you name it...that you simply can't process it. I arrives shortly before noontime and do not think I left until around 6pm or so. I spent the first hour or so just wandering around the labyrinth-like rooms and sub-rooms, trying to make some sort of sense of where to start and how to proceed. Ultimately, I started and the front and worked back (to the back of the front room....argh).

A quick description of the pictures might help. The first is taken at the front doors looking in, diagonally across the front room (in the shot, r to l, are Joe Maynard, David Bergman and Peter B. (seated)). The next image is looking at the front wall from about the middle of the room [N.B. the white space above the windows is at 8 or 9 feetish...and then there is another five vertical feet of books...I have not idea what is up there, but I want to know...]. The next is looking down the main side room, brown bags filled with amazing things, you carefully go down through bits of this and that and suddenly happen upon something remarkable...serendipity, indeed [N.B. at the right side you can see one of the two sets of sliding shelves allowing Peter B. to keep far too many good books on site]. Finally, though hard to see, is the two volume set of The Key to Serendipity [Vol. 1, How to Buy Books from Peter B. Howard and Vol. 2, How to Find Books in Spite of Peter B. Howard]. Every shop should require at least one book to understand its working and nuances....some obviously might need two...or more.

It took a great deal of self control, but I managed to only leave with a half dozen books. The range of what I took home gives a great micro-glance of the shop. Item 1: a wonderful little collection of hand-colored erotic plates of the The Seven Deadly Sins; Item 2: a lovely copy of a Nonesuch Press volume that is very hard to find in nice condition; Item 3: a 1803 imprint of Astle's The Origin and Progress of Writing in the remains of its original binding (and with all its fabulous plates present). Just a ridiculously diverse group of serendipitously found books.

To top off a lovely day, I managed not to have to ride the BART back as Craig Harris (Bridge of Dreams) was in the shop for most of the afternoon and offered to drive me (and my new friends) back to the hotel. We were joined my Suzanne (who had been working in the hotel all day) and went out for a nice dinner of Greek food. Yum.

Set-up is tomorrow, starting at 9am. I'll keep you posted.