July 11, 2025 • 21 mins
The summer break scramble is real! Parents everywhere face the same challenge when school lets out: keeping kids entertained without surrendering to endless screen time. For authors of children's and young adult books, this presents a golden opportunity to connect with an audience hungry for solutions.
Drawing inspiration from Jennifer Garner's brilliant parenting strategy (she tells her kids they can have social media once they find articles proving it's beneficial for children), we explore how authors can position their books as the perfect summer entertainment option. Parents are actively seeking recommendations, activities, and reading materials to keep young minds engaged during the long break—and they want decisions that are easy to make.
Whether your book was published yesterday or five years ago, now is the perfect time to refresh your marketing approach. We share practical strategies and easily implemented tips and ideas!
Don't let another summer pass without maximizing this perfect marketing opportunity. Your book could be exactly what a parent needs when they hear those dreaded words: "I'm bored!"
Buy Penny's book The Amazon Author Formula
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello listeners, this is Penny and Amy, and we are.
We're really excited.
We're running the first of twospecial summer shows and, Amy,
this was one that I know you hadactually originally designed
when we did it in 2023.
Why do you think the show isimportant right now?
(00:22):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so Sorry, I just totallyput you think the show is
important right now.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so sorry, I just totallyput you on the spot.
No, no, it's like I have allthe it's.
This is perfect timing, becauseI am approximately not that I
don't have a countdown calendar,but I am like legit nine days
into summer break and it is.
It is time to start coming upwith ideas, because my kids are
already bored.
I can't tell you how many timesa day I hear that I'm bored.
(00:48):
I'm bored Mixed in with I'mhungry, but you know what I mean
.
Your book can't help them withthat, but right now, parents are
definitely looking for thingsto keep their kids busy.
So if you are an author thathas written for the kid or teen
space, do not sleep on howhungry parents are for ideas
right now and, honestly, theywant to make decisions, they
(01:10):
want easy decisions.
So these actually could be veryeasy sales for you, and I know
the show goes into a bunch ofdifferent ideas and ways to be
really clever and fun.
But keep it interesting, keepit unique.
And again, I think the bigpoint, penny, is that you want
to make it easy for parents tosay yes, right, don't bury the
(01:31):
lead, just throw it right outthere.
Take a chance.
This is why my book is amazing.
This is why your kids will loveit.
It'd be a good time topotentially do a discount, a
limited time discount.
So many ideas in the episode,but now is the time to move on
this, because, no matter whereyou are in the country, the kids
are roaming free Right theyneed things to do.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
This is really.
This is great, so we hope thatyou enjoy the show.
This is one of two specialdrop-in episodes.
They were super popular whenthey launched, so we hope that
you enjoy it and we will see youin the next episode.
Bye-bye, hello, and welcomeback to the Book Marketing Tips
and Author Success Podcast.
This is Penny Sansevierian, amyCornell, and today's show is
(02:16):
actually going to be run by Amy,because this was her idea,
which was great, and we're goingto start talking about our BFF,
jen Garner Jennifer Garner,even though she doesn't really
know who we are, which sounds alittle creepy.
But, amy, talk us through.
(02:39):
You came up with this idea forthe summer break for young
readers.
Tell me a little bit more aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, and again, jen Garner was kind of.
I love how we have a nickname,we get to call her Jen, we get
to call her Jen right Was kindof the catalyst for this,
because I have two kiddos and Ican tell you from personal
experience and the fact that Iknow I'm not the only one out
there with kids.
We are so excited that springsports are coming to a close
soon and most of us live inparts of the country where it's
(03:10):
just too hot to do sports in thesummer anyway, so we get a
little bit of a break.
There's summer break coming up.
Kids will be out of school and,believe it or not, despite what
the general consensus is aboutyoung kids these days, most of
us still don't want them to sitin front of an iPad or the TV
all day during during summerbreak.
And again, jen Garner recentlythis was.
(03:34):
I saw this on social media andI loved it and she said that
she's pretty strict with herkids about social.
And her kids are older now.
You know they're not youngyoung, so definitely old enough
to where you wouldn't be shockedif they had a phone and they
had all the things you know.
But she tells her kids thatthey can have social media and
screen time and things like that, once they can show her
articles that prove social mediaand screen time is good for
(03:56):
kids.
And I loved that so much.
I was like it was such a micdrop mom moment.
You know, if you can prove tome that this is good for you,
then then you can do it, thenyou can have social media.
But, the whole point being,parents are very much open to
getting book recommendations andideas to keep their kids busy
(04:17):
over the summer, yeah, and a lotof people just want their kids
to keep reading one, because youknow we're not selling anybody
listening on the benefits ofreading, but, truly like,
parents still really payattention to that.
Despite, you know, technologyand all the other things that
they could be doing, parentsstill very much love getting
solid book recommendations fortheir kids, and so I just
(04:37):
thought what a great time toremind anybody that's written a
book for young readers anywherefrom young kids to, you know,
young adult and even teens thatyou have so many opportunities
right now to get in front ofyour buyer market, in front of
parents, and just kind of, youknow, wave your arms around,
essentially virtually, and say,hey, I've got a book here.
(04:58):
It's going to keep your kidentertained.
Take a second look, buy it.
You won't be sorry, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, no, I think that's a really good idea.
I think that and I think thatwe, um, I think it's a.
It's a it's a market segmentthat when summer shows you know
we always talk about summerbeach reads, but I think it's
something that we often.
You know that book that authorsoften overlook.
You know that book that authorsoften overlook.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yeah, I think so too, because again we all, as a
parent I can say like we want toput our head in the sand, like
no, school's not going to be outsoon, but it's literally right
around the corner.
And then all of a sudden like,oh crap, how are we going to
keep them busy?
You know, all day long.
So the sooner you can get infront of parents and really sell
(05:46):
them on a slam dunk you know,pitch for your book, the better,
because we are hungry for ideasright now to keep kids busy.
So we can be a very easy sell,if you may, if you have the
right approach, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Well, and I think that it's a good opportunity to
do so.
So this is and I'm just goingto make this statement
regardless of how old your bookis, if it serves a particular
purpose like, let's say, forexample, your book teaches some
kind of a craft, or, you know,it could just be a great summer
read.
(06:21):
So it doesn't necessarily haveto be that specific, but you
could very easily go out to mombloggers and books, to grammars
and, you know, using the the thesummer break read for young
readers idea.
Um, so you're not necessarilyasking for a review, although
you're not going to say no to areview or or an excerpt, but
(06:44):
trying to get a shout out, likeyou know.
Here's a way if you want to.
You know, keeping your kidsbusy, getting them to read, uh,
learning a new craft again,whatever, um, this is a great
idea.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yes, and to your point, penny, I agree.
I don't think the age mattersas much as if you can sell your
book on the relevance, thenthat's that.
That is what people are lookingfor.
And I would say, definitely ifyou have a series, if you've
written multiple books um, mychatting with kids at book fairs
(07:19):
and things like that kids lovea series.
You know they love they really.
They are so easily they'responges, they're so easily
trained to go back to thefamiliar.
So I can tell you, at the bookfairs I've volunteered at, kids
just eat up anything in a series.
They're like is that book here?
Oh my gosh, they always wantthe next book in the series.
(07:39):
So that's another one too.
So it doesn't matter how oldyour book is.
If it has something going forit, that's all that really
matters.
And, yeah, even a social mediashout out from somebody is all
you're asking for.
And a lot of these influencersare, like I said, parents are
hungry for ideas.
They're putting together lists,penny, like, as you know,
(08:00):
influencers love puttingtogether lists because they love
to be resources, and so evenjust getting your book, a
mention on a list of ideas orreads or things for your kids to
do this summer could meanthousands of new impressions and
traffic to your book.
And then we've got a list of afew other things.
Consider doing a specialdiscount price for the summer
(08:23):
kickoff.
You know, especially if you canback it up with some social
media posts and announcement inyour newsletter, something like
that, to kind of bolster thatlimited time discount.
So maybe you discount your bookfor the first half of June or
something like that.
It doesn't have to be adiscount for the whole summer.
You can if you want to, ifyou're in a position to do that.
But a limited time is alwaysadds an another layer of urgency
(08:47):
and timeliness.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
You know, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah, letting parents know that your book is
discounted for the first coupleof weeks of summer break, you
know is is another great reasonto shout it from the rooftops.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, absolutely the other thing and this isn't
necessarily I know Amy loves itwhen I just sort of ad hoc my
way through the podcast.
This isn't necessarily on thelist, but it occurred to me that
.
So when I, when I was a youngperson which of course was in
the Stone Age, but when I was ayoung person the last like
(09:21):
couple of weeks of school wasjust, it was kind of a, it was a
little bit of a free for all,like the teachers were ready for
summer break.
We were ready for summer breakand our schools in particular
had a lot of they had a lot ofdifferent fun guests that came
in, right, so they, you know, wehad like this camping guy and
(09:43):
then we had, you know, a coupleof authors come in.
You know we had like thiscamping guy and then we had, you
know, a couple of authors comein.
I would think and maybe thingshave changed, amy again, since
that was such a long time agobut I would think that it would
be a good opportunity if authorsreally wanted to do any kind of
a school event or do a readingor you know whatever.
The end of school year is agreat time, right?
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Oh yeah, and we've talked about this penny before
and working up something that,really a great package or
something like that.
But teachers are also more thanhappy to take a prerecorded
video of you talking about, youknow, talking about your book,
talking about what it meansgiving them ideas for discussion
questions, because essentiallywhat you're giving the teacher
(10:25):
is, at minimum, 30 minutes oftime where his or her kids are
engaged in doing somethinginteresting.
You've given them a break fromthe lesson plan and from keeping
them busy, like Penny said, inthe last couple of weeks, where
all their brains are just kindof haywire anyway.
So those pre-recorded videoswhere you talk about everything
that they can play when it'sconvenient for them, and then
(10:48):
the teachers can take questionsand send them to you later, you
know what I mean.
Like, don't discount what animpact you can make by
pre-recording some content thatyou can give to teachers as well
.
That's a great idea.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
That is a great idea.
The other thing, too, is thatif you are, and even if school
is out, right, and you're toolate to do the event or too late
to do the prerecorded stuff,your local media.
So this is a really goodopportunity for you to get out
in your local media and talkabout, talk about your book,
right, talk about the the.
(11:21):
You know, um, why kids love it,why it's a fun, you know
whatever, why it would be greatfor a sleepover, or you know
whatever.
It is the local media.
It's a great local angle foryou too.
So that's that's, you know.
That's another thing I lovedoing Amazon ads.
I run the Amazon ads.
I, um, you can definitelyhighlight your book, depending,
(11:45):
obviously, on the age of thereader.
Depending, amy, do your kids,without giving up, obviously,
too many details.
Are the ebook readers or printbook readers?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
They read.
They honestly read both.
I will say they kind of.
Obviously, because of their agethey are still in elementary
school, so their immediateaccess independently is to print
books.
But my, um, my older child, whois just getting out of fourth
grade, has a Kindle that shereads off of and so she
(12:17):
definitely has eBooks that shereads because it's kind of nice
at night, you know she'll sitthere and read and then she
doesn't have to have the lighton and wake up her sister.
Really, it's all about keepingthe peace.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Right, right, exactly , but, yes, absolutely.
So I love, so I you know.
I wanted to ask that because Ilove doing Amazon ads, which I
know, depending on how you'vepublished, tends to tether to
the ebook.
But, as we've always said, ifthe ebook and the print book are
connected, the rising tidewhich hopefully they are on
(12:49):
Amazon that's a different show.
The rising tide floats allboats, so that's the other.
You know that's sort of.
The other piece of this too isthat you can do some special
promos.
I mean, amy, you do a lot of,you run a lot of our book Bob
ads and our good read stuff.
Do you want to talk about that?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, definitely book Bob ads.
Highlighting again we love bookBob ads.
They're very intuitive toutilize, create.
They have templates for youthat are actually really
impactful, so there's no reasonnot to use them.
But calling out again, callingout summer read, summer vacation
(13:25):
read, things like that I meanjust again, parents are hungry
for this.
You just got to use the rightwords and get their attention
easily.
You know, it really is thatsimple.
Same thing with the Goodreadsgiveaways Also a great time to
just get your book in more hands.
You know, it really is thatsimple.
Same thing with the Goodreadsgiveaways Also a great time to
just get your book in more hands.
You know, because word of mouth, you know, do a Goodreads
(13:46):
giveaway, do it for print books,especially for kiddos, I would
say, if you can, because thoseprint books end up in their
rooms, they end up outside withthem, their friends see them.
You know what I mean.
There's really a lot to be saidfor just getting more books in
(14:07):
hands and Goodreads giveawaysare great for those as well.
And, penny, you mentionedAmazon.
Book descriptions are not a setit and forget it.
We always talk about how youcan tweak your book descriptions
at different times of the year,depending on what's going on,
and what's going on even in thenews cycle sometimes.
So don't forget to update yourbook description when there's
something interesting you canhighlight.
So starting your bookdescription by introducing your
(14:29):
book is the perfect summervacation read for kids.
It's such a simple thing, butthe more of those boxes you
check off for the parents thatare actively looking, the better
, because it makes them they cansay yes a lot quicker, you know
.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
And then the other piece of it,though, too, is that doing.
Obviously, you know we'redropping this show at a time
when your kids may already beout of school.
Maybe it's too late to plan anddo events, but many times local
libraries have pop-up eventsand things like that that you
could potentially do.
(15:06):
Um, you know, do a, you know, doa book signing.
We have here in my town on the20th of May.
Um, we have our little parade,our little yearly parade, which
is really cute, and they have acraft fair.
And I know for a fact, becauseI talked to a couple of the
vendors last year they said, ohyeah, we just, we just let them
know last week that we're, youknow, that we wanted to come in
(15:27):
and they had some.
They had several authors thereactually who were, you know,
signing books and a couple ofthem sharing a table and things
like that.
So, any kind of summer eventsthat you can do, do you think,
amy?
Any kind of summer events thatyou can do, do you think, amy
and this is a- really randomquestion I'm going to throw at
you, so feel free to tell me toshut up.
I love this one.
I just started this stuff.
Are there particular types ofbooks for young readers that you
(15:50):
think would do well as summerreads, or does it not really
matter?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Really dependent on the kid Got it.
You know my kiddos have,especially my older ones.
I mean we have a neighbor and Iactually gifted one of our
author's books to him and hereally enjoyed it.
One of our authors that did aseries because he just loves
like epic, like just he loves todig in, he loves the series, he
(16:19):
likes thick books for kids.
I mean this kid's amazing, heis like the ideal kid.
Wow, okay, any author would loveto get in front of.
But I think it's, and that'sone of the things too is that
getting kids interested inreading is working with their
personality type, working withtheir interests, you know.
So I really think it's fairgame for anyone.
But I love your local authorreminder, penny, because I can
(16:42):
tell you that anytime I'm outsomewhere and a local author is
selling books, especially kids'books, I buy it every single
time.
Yeah, I buy it every singletime because it is such a cool
experience for the kids it getssigned.
I mean, we have so many signedbooks from authors that the kids
have gotten to meet.
(17:02):
I think you know I don't wantanybody listening to discount
what a cool experience that isfor kids and adults alike.
For sure you know it'sabsolutely worth your time.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Well, and the other piece of it, though, too, is
that, again, even if you can'tdo like, if the events are off
the table, if the parade alreadyhappened, if the craft already
happened, whatever, there are alot of different places around
town that have kid, you know kidcamps like YMCAs, and different
(17:36):
places that you couldpotentially leave some signed
copies, maybe for them to resell, depending on you know what.
But I will tell you right now.
We had an author, and this is avery different kind of
situation, but we had an authora number of years ago, and she
used to put she would go aroundand leave a few copies of her
book in hair salons.
(17:56):
She sold lots of books.
Because you get done with yourwhatever you're doing, and
you're only maybe five chaptersin the book, you're like, oh, I
have to know how this ends Right.
So leaving books and you knowrec centers and sporting
facilities, gyms, things likethat, um, where they're they
(18:17):
have activities for kids or kidsare spending a good amount of
time is a great way to getrecommendations, get kids
reading your book.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeah, that's a really good point.
Penny Rec centers likegymnastics gyms, places where
kids kind of get dropped off andleft for multiple hours at a
time because parents are likeyay, they are great somewhere.
You know those kids need stuffto do while they're there.
Even if they're there for acamp, there's still downtime.
You know there's still theoccasional kid that just gets
burnt out and needs a break, andcounselors and coaches and
(18:50):
things like that get that.
So having something availableat the facility where like hey,
why don't you go sit and readfor a minute, like, take a break
, chill out, it's cool.
You know that absolutely is avery that's a very real thing
that happens.
So having your book in thoseplaces for those kids to start
reading and get into, and thenwhen their parent picks them up
they're like I need this book, Istarted reading this book, I
want this book, like that is thebest thing that can happen.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
And yes, it absolutely is the best thing
that can happen, and none ofthis stuff that we talked about,
um, that we've talked about inthe show, is, uh, time sensitive
in terms of your book has to benew to be able to.
Your book could be five yearsold, right, exactly as long, and
(19:32):
it's.
It is a great way.
And, you know, maybe even atsome of these events, some of
these rec centers, some of thesethings, I mean they might even
be open to having you come inand, do you know, read a few
chapters for the kids and leavea couple of books behind, or
something like that too.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
So leave your book and your contact information.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Very good point, yeah .
So, really, I'm so glad that wetalked about this today.
This is such a great idea and Ihope that it has inspired you
Certainly.
Um, it's an.
I'm like thinking about some ofthe authors that we I know,
right, Like, yeah, I'm thinkingabout some of the authors that
we've worked with over the lastyear, Like, oh, I need to get
out to them and tell them getyour you know, get your young
(20:11):
reader book out in the hands ofsome of these hungry, hungry
readers and desperate parents.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Yes, exactly, I am one of them.
We exist, we want to be seen.
Make it easy for us to likefind your book and buy it,
because we're ready to startputting that list together of
things we can put in front ofour kids when they say they're
bored.
Like, look at all these greatbooks and things we have for you
to do.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
This was such a great idea forthe show.
Thank you so much fororganizing and for coming up
with the idea.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Sure, and if any of you have books, please send us.
We love hearing from you.
Let us know about your greatkiddo read.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Yeah, yeah, we, especially obviously Amy's
already put it out there thatshe's desperate for book titles.
So here's another, here'sanother.
We're going to get so many bookrecommendations, but, yeah, and
again, whether or not your bookis new, it doesn't, does not
matter.
None of this stuff matters.
It's a great read.
It's a great way to get, keepkids off of screens and immersed
(21:09):
in reading, which we all needto do a lot more of.
Thank you so much for tuninginto the show.
This is Penny Sansevier.
It's a great idea for a show,amy.
So Penny Sansevier, it's agreat idea for a show, amy.
So Penny Sansevier and AmyCornell, and we will see you
next time.
Bye-bye.
Hello listeners, this is Penny and Amy, and we are.
We're really excited.
We're running the first of twospecial summer shows and, Amy,
this was one that I know you hadactually originally designed
when we did it in 2023.
Why do you think the show isimportant right now?
(00:22):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so Sorry, I just totallyput you think the show is
important right now.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so sorry, I just totallyput you on the spot.
No, no, it's like I have allthe it's.
This is perfect timing, becauseI am approximately not that I
don't have a countdown calendar,but I am like legit nine days
into summer break and it is.
It is time to start coming upwith ideas, because my kids are
already bored.
I can't tell you how many timesa day I hear that I'm bored.
(00:48):
I'm bored Mixed in with I'mhungry, but you know what I mean
.
Your book can't help them withthat, but right now, parents are
definitely looking for thingsto keep their kids busy.
So if you are an author thathas written for the kid or teen
space, do not sleep on howhungry parents are for ideas
right now and, honestly, theywant to make decisions, they
(01:10):
want easy decisions.
So these actually could be veryeasy sales for you, and I know
the show goes into a bunch ofdifferent ideas and ways to be
really clever and fun.
But keep it interesting, keepit unique.
And again, I think the bigpoint, penny, is that you want
to make it easy for parents tosay yes, right, don't bury the
(01:31):
lead, just throw it right outthere.
Take a chance.
This is why my book is amazing.
This is why your kids will loveit.
It'd be a good time topotentially do a discount, a
limited time discount.
So many ideas in the episode,but now is the time to move on
this, because, no matter whereyou are in the country, the kids
are roaming free Right theyneed things to do.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
This is really.
This is great, so we hope thatyou enjoy the show.
This is one of two specialdrop-in episodes.
They were super popular whenthey launched, so we hope that
you enjoy it and we will see youin the next episode.
Bye-bye, hello, and welcomeback to the Book Marketing Tips
and Author Success Podcast.
This is Penny Sansevierian, amyCornell, and today's show is
(02:16):
actually going to be run by Amy,because this was her idea,
which was great, and we're goingto start talking about our BFF,
jen Garner Jennifer Garner,even though she doesn't really
know who we are, which sounds alittle creepy.
But, amy, talk us through.
(02:39):
You came up with this idea forthe summer break for young
readers.
Tell me a little bit more aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, and again, jen Garner was kind of.
I love how we have a nickname,we get to call her Jen, we get
to call her Jen right Was kindof the catalyst for this,
because I have two kiddos and Ican tell you from personal
experience and the fact that Iknow I'm not the only one out
there with kids.
We are so excited that springsports are coming to a close
soon and most of us live inparts of the country where it's
(03:10):
just too hot to do sports in thesummer anyway, so we get a
little bit of a break.
There's summer break coming up.
Kids will be out of school and,believe it or not, despite what
the general consensus is aboutyoung kids these days, most of
us still don't want them to sitin front of an iPad or the TV
all day during during summerbreak.
And again, jen Garner recentlythis was.
(03:34):
I saw this on social media andI loved it and she said that
she's pretty strict with herkids about social.
And her kids are older now.
You know they're not youngyoung, so definitely old enough
to where you wouldn't be shockedif they had a phone and they
had all the things you know.
But she tells her kids thatthey can have social media and
screen time and things like that, once they can show her
articles that prove social mediaand screen time is good for
(03:56):
kids.
And I loved that so much.
I was like it was such a micdrop mom moment.
You know, if you can prove tome that this is good for you,
then then you can do it, thenyou can have social media.
But, the whole point being,parents are very much open to
getting book recommendations andideas to keep their kids busy
(04:17):
over the summer, yeah, and a lotof people just want their kids
to keep reading one, because youknow we're not selling anybody
listening on the benefits ofreading, but, truly like,
parents still really payattention to that.
Despite, you know, technologyand all the other things that
they could be doing, parentsstill very much love getting
solid book recommendations fortheir kids, and so I just
(04:37):
thought what a great time toremind anybody that's written a
book for young readers anywherefrom young kids to, you know,
young adult and even teens thatyou have so many opportunities
right now to get in front ofyour buyer market, in front of
parents, and just kind of, youknow, wave your arms around,
essentially virtually, and say,hey, I've got a book here.
(04:58):
It's going to keep your kidentertained.
Take a second look, buy it.
You won't be sorry, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, no, I think that's a really good idea.
I think that and I think thatwe, um, I think it's a.
It's a it's a market segmentthat when summer shows you know
we always talk about summerbeach reads, but I think it's
something that we often.
You know that book that authorsoften overlook.
You know that book that authorsoften overlook.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yeah, I think so too, because again we all, as a
parent I can say like we want toput our head in the sand, like
no, school's not going to be outsoon, but it's literally right
around the corner.
And then all of a sudden like,oh crap, how are we going to
keep them busy?
You know, all day long.
So the sooner you can get infront of parents and really sell
(05:46):
them on a slam dunk you know,pitch for your book, the better,
because we are hungry for ideasright now to keep kids busy.
So we can be a very easy sell,if you may, if you have the
right approach, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Well, and I think that it's a good opportunity to
do so.
So this is and I'm just goingto make this statement
regardless of how old your bookis, if it serves a particular
purpose like, let's say, forexample, your book teaches some
kind of a craft, or, you know,it could just be a great summer
read.
(06:21):
So it doesn't necessarily haveto be that specific, but you
could very easily go out to mombloggers and books, to grammars
and, you know, using the the thesummer break read for young
readers idea.
Um, so you're not necessarilyasking for a review, although
you're not going to say no to areview or or an excerpt, but
(06:44):
trying to get a shout out, likeyou know.
Here's a way if you want to.
You know, keeping your kidsbusy, getting them to read, uh,
learning a new craft again,whatever, um, this is a great
idea.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yes, and to your point, penny, I agree.
I don't think the age mattersas much as if you can sell your
book on the relevance, thenthat's that.
That is what people are lookingfor.
And I would say, definitely ifyou have a series, if you've
written multiple books um, mychatting with kids at book fairs
(07:19):
and things like that kids lovea series.
You know they love they really.
They are so easily they'responges, they're so easily
trained to go back to thefamiliar.
So I can tell you, at the bookfairs I've volunteered at, kids
just eat up anything in a series.
They're like is that book here?
Oh my gosh, they always wantthe next book in the series.
(07:39):
So that's another one too.
So it doesn't matter how oldyour book is.
If it has something going forit, that's all that really
matters.
And, yeah, even a social mediashout out from somebody is all
you're asking for.
And a lot of these influencersare, like I said, parents are
hungry for ideas.
They're putting together lists,penny, like, as you know,
(08:00):
influencers love puttingtogether lists because they love
to be resources, and so evenjust getting your book, a
mention on a list of ideas orreads or things for your kids to
do this summer could meanthousands of new impressions and
traffic to your book.
And then we've got a list of afew other things.
Consider doing a specialdiscount price for the summer
(08:23):
kickoff.
You know, especially if you canback it up with some social
media posts and announcement inyour newsletter, something like
that, to kind of bolster thatlimited time discount.
So maybe you discount your bookfor the first half of June or
something like that.
It doesn't have to be adiscount for the whole summer.
You can if you want to, ifyou're in a position to do that.
But a limited time is alwaysadds an another layer of urgency
(08:47):
and timeliness.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
You know, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah, letting parents know that your book is
discounted for the first coupleof weeks of summer break, you
know is is another great reasonto shout it from the rooftops.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, absolutely the other thing and this isn't
necessarily I know Amy loves itwhen I just sort of ad hoc my
way through the podcast.
This isn't necessarily on thelist, but it occurred to me that
.
So when I, when I was a youngperson which of course was in
the Stone Age, but when I was ayoung person the last like
(09:21):
couple of weeks of school wasjust, it was kind of a, it was a
little bit of a free for all,like the teachers were ready for
summer break.
We were ready for summer breakand our schools in particular
had a lot of they had a lot ofdifferent fun guests that came
in, right, so they, you know, wehad like this camping guy and
(09:43):
then we had, you know, a coupleof authors come in.
You know we had like thiscamping guy and then we had, you
know, a couple of authors comein.
I would think and maybe thingshave changed, amy again, since
that was such a long time agobut I would think that it would
be a good opportunity if authorsreally wanted to do any kind of
a school event or do a readingor you know whatever.
The end of school year is agreat time, right?
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Oh yeah, and we've talked about this penny before
and working up something that,really a great package or
something like that.
But teachers are also more thanhappy to take a prerecorded
video of you talking about, youknow, talking about your book,
talking about what it meansgiving them ideas for discussion
questions, because essentiallywhat you're giving the teacher
(10:25):
is, at minimum, 30 minutes oftime where his or her kids are
engaged in doing somethinginteresting.
You've given them a break fromthe lesson plan and from keeping
them busy, like Penny said, inthe last couple of weeks, where
all their brains are just kindof haywire anyway.
So those pre-recorded videoswhere you talk about everything
that they can play when it'sconvenient for them, and then
(10:48):
the teachers can take questionsand send them to you later, you
know what I mean.
Like, don't discount what animpact you can make by
pre-recording some content thatyou can give to teachers as well
.
That's a great idea.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
That is a great idea.
The other thing, too, is thatif you are, and even if school
is out, right, and you're toolate to do the event or too late
to do the prerecorded stuff,your local media.
So this is a really goodopportunity for you to get out
in your local media and talkabout, talk about your book,
right, talk about the the.
(11:21):
You know, um, why kids love it,why it's a fun, you know
whatever, why it would be greatfor a sleepover, or you know
whatever.
It is the local media.
It's a great local angle foryou too.
So that's that's, you know.
That's another thing I lovedoing Amazon ads.
I run the Amazon ads.
I, um, you can definitelyhighlight your book, depending,
(11:45):
obviously, on the age of thereader.
Depending, amy, do your kids,without giving up, obviously,
too many details.
Are the ebook readers or printbook readers?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
They read.
They honestly read both.
I will say they kind of.
Obviously, because of their agethey are still in elementary
school, so their immediateaccess independently is to print
books.
But my, um, my older child, whois just getting out of fourth
grade, has a Kindle that shereads off of and so she
(12:17):
definitely has eBooks that shereads because it's kind of nice
at night, you know she'll sitthere and read and then she
doesn't have to have the lighton and wake up her sister.
Really, it's all about keepingthe peace.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Right, right, exactly , but, yes, absolutely.
So I love, so I you know.
I wanted to ask that because Ilove doing Amazon ads, which I
know, depending on how you'vepublished, tends to tether to
the ebook.
But, as we've always said, ifthe ebook and the print book are
connected, the rising tidewhich hopefully they are on
(12:49):
Amazon that's a different show.
The rising tide floats allboats, so that's the other.
You know that's sort of.
The other piece of this too isthat you can do some special
promos.
I mean, amy, you do a lot of,you run a lot of our book Bob
ads and our good read stuff.
Do you want to talk about that?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, definitely book Bob ads.
Highlighting again we love bookBob ads.
They're very intuitive toutilize, create.
They have templates for youthat are actually really
impactful, so there's no reasonnot to use them.
But calling out again, callingout summer read, summer vacation
(13:25):
read, things like that I meanjust again, parents are hungry
for this.
You just got to use the rightwords and get their attention
easily.
You know, it really is thatsimple.
Same thing with the Goodreadsgiveaways Also a great time to
just get your book in more hands.
You know, it really is thatsimple.
Same thing with the Goodreadsgiveaways Also a great time to
just get your book in more hands.
You know, because word of mouth, you know, do a Goodreads
(13:46):
giveaway, do it for print books,especially for kiddos, I would
say, if you can, because thoseprint books end up in their
rooms, they end up outside withthem, their friends see them.
You know what I mean.
There's really a lot to be saidfor just getting more books in
(14:07):
hands and Goodreads giveawaysare great for those as well.
And, penny, you mentionedAmazon.
Book descriptions are not a setit and forget it.
We always talk about how youcan tweak your book descriptions
at different times of the year,depending on what's going on,
and what's going on even in thenews cycle sometimes.
So don't forget to update yourbook description when there's
something interesting you canhighlight.
So starting your bookdescription by introducing your
(14:29):
book is the perfect summervacation read for kids.
It's such a simple thing, butthe more of those boxes you
check off for the parents thatare actively looking, the better
, because it makes them they cansay yes a lot quicker, you know
.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
And then the other piece of it,though, too, is that doing.
Obviously, you know we'redropping this show at a time
when your kids may already beout of school.
Maybe it's too late to plan anddo events, but many times local
libraries have pop-up eventsand things like that that you
could potentially do.
(15:06):
Um, you know, do a, you know, doa book signing.
We have here in my town on the20th of May.
Um, we have our little parade,our little yearly parade, which
is really cute, and they have acraft fair.
And I know for a fact, becauseI talked to a couple of the
vendors last year they said, ohyeah, we just, we just let them
know last week that we're, youknow, that we wanted to come in
(15:27):
and they had some.
They had several authors thereactually who were, you know,
signing books and a couple ofthem sharing a table and things
like that.
So, any kind of summer eventsthat you can do, do you think,
amy?
Any kind of summer events thatyou can do, do you think, amy
and this is a- really randomquestion I'm going to throw at
you, so feel free to tell me toshut up.
I love this one.
I just started this stuff.
Are there particular types ofbooks for young readers that you
(15:50):
think would do well as summerreads, or does it not really
matter?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Really dependent on the kid Got it.
You know my kiddos have,especially my older ones.
I mean we have a neighbor and Iactually gifted one of our
author's books to him and hereally enjoyed it.
One of our authors that did aseries because he just loves
like epic, like just he loves todig in, he loves the series, he
(16:19):
likes thick books for kids.
I mean this kid's amazing, heis like the ideal kid.
Wow, okay, any author would loveto get in front of.
But I think it's, and that'sone of the things too is that
getting kids interested inreading is working with their
personality type, working withtheir interests, you know.
So I really think it's fairgame for anyone.
But I love your local authorreminder, penny, because I can
(16:42):
tell you that anytime I'm outsomewhere and a local author is
selling books, especially kids'books, I buy it every single
time.
Yeah, I buy it every singletime because it is such a cool
experience for the kids it getssigned.
I mean, we have so many signedbooks from authors that the kids
have gotten to meet.
(17:02):
I think you know I don't wantanybody listening to discount
what a cool experience that isfor kids and adults alike.
For sure you know it'sabsolutely worth your time.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Well, and the other piece of it, though, too, is
that, again, even if you can'tdo like, if the events are off
the table, if the parade alreadyhappened, if the craft already
happened, whatever, there are alot of different places around
town that have kid, you know kidcamps like YMCAs, and different
(17:36):
places that you couldpotentially leave some signed
copies, maybe for them to resell, depending on you know what.
But I will tell you right now.
We had an author, and this is avery different kind of
situation, but we had an authora number of years ago, and she
used to put she would go aroundand leave a few copies of her
book in hair salons.
(17:56):
She sold lots of books.
Because you get done with yourwhatever you're doing, and
you're only maybe five chaptersin the book, you're like, oh, I
have to know how this ends Right.
So leaving books and you knowrec centers and sporting
facilities, gyms, things likethat, um, where they're they
(18:17):
have activities for kids or kidsare spending a good amount of
time is a great way to getrecommendations, get kids
reading your book.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeah, that's a really good point.
Penny Rec centers likegymnastics gyms, places where
kids kind of get dropped off andleft for multiple hours at a
time because parents are likeyay, they are great somewhere.
You know those kids need stuffto do while they're there.
Even if they're there for acamp, there's still downtime.
You know there's still theoccasional kid that just gets
burnt out and needs a break, andcounselors and coaches and
(18:50):
things like that get that.
So having something availableat the facility where like hey,
why don't you go sit and readfor a minute, like, take a break
, chill out, it's cool.
You know that absolutely is avery that's a very real thing
that happens.
So having your book in thoseplaces for those kids to start
reading and get into, and thenwhen their parent picks them up
they're like I need this book, Istarted reading this book, I
want this book, like that is thebest thing that can happen.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
And yes, it absolutely is the best thing
that can happen, and none ofthis stuff that we talked about,
um, that we've talked about inthe show, is, uh, time sensitive
in terms of your book has to benew to be able to.
Your book could be five yearsold, right, exactly as long, and
(19:32):
it's.
It is a great way.
And, you know, maybe even atsome of these events, some of
these rec centers, some of thesethings, I mean they might even
be open to having you come inand, do you know, read a few
chapters for the kids and leavea couple of books behind, or
something like that too.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
So leave your book and your contact information.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Very good point, yeah .
So, really, I'm so glad that wetalked about this today.
This is such a great idea and Ihope that it has inspired you
Certainly.
Um, it's an.
I'm like thinking about some ofthe authors that we I know,
right, Like, yeah, I'm thinkingabout some of the authors that
we've worked with over the lastyear, Like, oh, I need to get
out to them and tell them getyour you know, get your young
(20:11):
reader book out in the hands ofsome of these hungry, hungry
readers and desperate parents.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Yes, exactly, I am one of them.
We exist, we want to be seen.
Make it easy for us to likefind your book and buy it,
because we're ready to startputting that list together of
things we can put in front ofour kids when they say they're
bored.
Like, look at all these greatbooks and things we have for you
to do.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
This was such a great idea forthe show.
Thank you so much fororganizing and for coming up
with the idea.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Sure, and if any of you have books, please send us.
We love hearing from you.
Let us know about your greatkiddo read.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Yeah, yeah, we, especially obviously Amy's
already put it out there thatshe's desperate for book titles.
So here's another, here'sanother.
We're going to get so many bookrecommendations, but, yeah, and
again, whether or not your bookis new, it doesn't, does not
matter.
None of this stuff matters.
It's a great read.
It's a great way to get, keepkids off of screens and immersed
(21:09):
in reading, which we all needto do a lot more of.
Thank you so much for tuninginto the show.
This is Penny Sansevier.
It's a great idea for a show,amy.
So Penny Sansevier, it's agreat idea for a show, amy.
So Penny Sansevier and AmyCornell, and we will see you
next time.
Bye-bye.
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