[Editors' Note: KidsBuzz will begin running in Shelf Awareness on Monday, September 14, and repeat Wednesday, September 16.]
How do you make a children's book stand out in a field where more than 9,000 other titles are being published each year? Even before last fall's economic downturn, children's book marketing expert Deborah Sloan was receiving calls from publishers and authors seeking effective ways to market on a modest budget. "I wanted to come up with a program that was affordable to a large group of people and allowed the authors to speak in their own voice directly to their readers," said Sloan, owner of the marketing and promotions firm Deborah Sloan and Company in Andover, Mass.
The solution: KidsBuzz, a marketing service for children's and teen authors. Scribes "buzz" their books by writing personal notes to booksellers, librarians and consumers, which are then distributed through Shelf Awareness, DearReader.com and KidsBookClubBook.com. Sloan has teamed up with M.J. Rose, the founder of AuthorBuzz, a similar service for authors of adult books, to offer the kids' version.
AuthorBuzz evolved from an online class that Rose started in 1999 called "Buzz Your Books." She began the class after becoming an author herself: "I realized how much authors didn't know about what they had to do, and how much authors could help with their own books." And then after the class, Rose said, "I would invariably get authors who would say, 'That's all great and my book's coming out, but I don't want to do all this.'" In 2005, Rose approached Suzanne Beecher of DearReader.com and John Mutter and Jenn Risko, who had just begun Shelf Awareness, with the idea that authors could communicate directly with the people who have an impact on the sales of their books.
Rose launched AuthorBuzz in October 2005. "It's been sold out ever since," she said. Knowing that readers, booksellers, teachers and librarians are inundated with information, Rose wanted to avoid what she called "choice fatigue" and limited the number of books to five per month. Since then, she has also developed a promotion with Book Movement because she wanted to reach out to reading groups. "Everything I needed as an author I added," Rose said. The service is priced for authors (prices have not gone up since January 2006), and it's booked 50% by authors and 50% by publishers. Through its various partners, AuthorBuzz reaches 370,000 readers; 12,000 librarians; 5,000 booksellers; 10,000 bloggers and publishing professionals; and more than 18,000 book club members.
KidsBuzz will follow the model that has worked with AuthorBuzz. "I'd been thinking of how to do this for well over a year," said Sloan. "To me this was the right answer." Rose, too, was enthusiastic about the partnership, saying, "Deborah is the first person I've brought in and given my name to."
After working for various publishers, including Dutton (an imprint of the Penguin Group USA), Abbeville Press and Candlewick Press, Sloan launched her own company dedicated to children's book marketing in 2007. "Every book is an adventure," she said, and the best person to convey what makes his or her book unique is the author. When an author "tells a great behind-the-scenes story," said Sloan, it resonates with readers. "That's really what KidsBuzz is about. Some booksellers and librarians will respond to what a particular author has to say, and they can use that in talking about the books. It's sort of like having an author drop in for a chat over a cup of tea."
KidsBuzz will be used to promote both frontlist and backlist titles. "Books, especially children's books, should have a long life, and sometimes it takes a while to reach readers," said Sloan. The program will feature a wide array of authors and illustrators from major houses to independent publishers and university presses. Books must be readily available through a traditional distributor.
Some of the authors already scheduled to buzz their books are Laurie Halse Anderson (Chains), Deborah Heiligman (Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith), Amy Hest (Remembering Mrs. Rossi), photographer Susan Kuklin (Beautiful Ballerina), Catherine Gilbert Murdock (Front and Center), G. Neri (Surf Mules) and Rosemary Wells (Max and Ruby series).--Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Jennifer M. Brown