Day 3 Interview- Carlyn Beccia
http://www.raucousroyals.com/
http://www.whoballyhoo.com/
Gina:
Both Ballyhoo and Raucous Royals have complex and rich user-experience websites allowing readers to further explore and enjoy your books - So far, what has been the response to your extra efforts via website promotion from the publishers, booksellers, teachers, and readers?
Carlyn:
Teachers, booksellers and readers always tell me that they enjoy the site, but I really don’t have any scientific proof on whether it adds to the reader’s experience.
The Ballyhoo site was more fun and game. With www.RaucousRoyals.com, the site allows readers to find MORE information to dig deeper. Royalty is such a broad subjects that it makes it impossible to cover completely in 64 pages. I also find that teachers have such little time to cover European history in the classroom so I am hoping that they can use the Raucous Royals blog and site as a resource.
But I am not saying I would even advise this scale of effort for other authors. I don’t think it sells books because 90% of the people who are coming to the site are people who have already bought the book. I spend about 6-8 hours a week researching for a single blog posting. That’s a lot of time! But I love research and writing each week helps me think of new ideas for books.
PBJ's:
What advice would you give other illustrators interested in writing their own stories?
Carlyn:
Illustrators who want to write their own stories always have the advantage of showing their text in a visual format. A few thumbnails work far better than art notes. I would encourage illustrators to always give a couple of sample spreads to publishers BUT not to go too crazy. I personally don't believe in submitting a finished sketch dummy. I think if you submit a completed dummy it hampers the evolution of the story and makes it harder for the editor to suggest changes in the begginning that could take your story in a completely new and far more exciting direction.
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Thanks so much, Carlyn, for that fabulous interview! Everyone, don't forget to comment and get a chance to win a signed copy of "Raucous Royals". The winner will be announced tomorrow.
This book is going to be a hit for children and adults alike!
2 comments:
It's been so great to read all of Carlyn's responses - thank you so much for being interviewed by the PBJs! I certainly was eager to see what she said to my question. I imagine that your website visitors are a growing fan base - even if they may already have bought the book, it might make them more excited to share the book with other friends and educators. And I had never thought of submitting a dummy that is a little bit less structured - good food for thought!
Hmmm. I visit and I don't have the book yet. I found your site through a link from someone else's blog. I had never heard of you. I stayed because of the robustness of the site. I have become a fan. But I have a monthly book budget that I have to stick to (or we'd go broke), so I can't buy every book I come across. Instead, while I wait, I have become a fan. This is because of your site. I think sites that look lame or sparse don't hold new viewers like me. Just my opinion. I might be biased, though. :)
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