Last night, Tuesday, June 8, 2010, SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) held one of its monthly Tuesday Professional Series lectures at The Anthroposophical Society, NY Branch, 138 West 15th Street, New York, NY 10011 with Susanna Reich, author and publicist, and Melanie Hope Greenberg, author and illustrator of 6 books and illustrator of 10 more books as co-speakers.

When registering for this event you were cautioned to get your seats early as it might sell out. The event planners were correct and checking the website before leaving it said SOLD OUT. Lucky for this reporter that she got her ticket early and online. 

Arriving at the event, there was a line outside the door to get into the lecture space and looking around when we were finally seated there wasn’t an empty seat available. The event was labeled “Marketing to the Max: Publicity for Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators. It was advertised on the SCBWI website as a talk to share tips on promoting your published book, prioritizing your marketing time and money as well as working with an in-house publicist. The audience listened with rapt attention to Susanna Reich, who gave specific tips on how to market your books, how to work with your publicist, how to put together a press kit, and even discussed the book launch party. She told the audience how she publicized her own book launch and book signings by using local radio and TV stations.

Melanie Hope Greenberg added more information with her tips on using online resources. She spoke about organizing your online contacts and discussed how you can use social network sites, such as Facebook. Ms. Greenberg suggested that authors have two different Facebook accounts, one professional and one personal. She also said that interaction on Facebook should be mainly acknowledgement and support and kept professional. Ms. Greenberg had a PowerPoint presentation including photos of her own office, illustrations of her own contacts, and webshots of both her website and her blog. She urged authors to set up both a website and a blog and link them to each other. She mentioned how authors should get to know other book bloggers and link them to the sites as well. 

During the extensive questioning afterwards, Ms. Reich discussed various online ways to promote your book such as blog tours and book trailers. When asked if they had ever seen a book trailer, only one audience member raised their hand. Ms. Reich mentioned how you can use various non-profit sources to save money on your own book video. Ms. Greenberg added that she had recently been interviewed on this reporter’s Blog Talk Radio Show, Red River Writers Live Tales from the Pages and suggested using free sources such as web-based radio shows was another valuable way to gain publicity for your book.

After the formal questioning, tea and cookies were available and the speakers hung around to talk with anyone who wanted a more informal discussion. The price of this lecture was very reasonable and the lecture was extremely valuable with excellent and innovative ideas. 

Melanie Hope Greenberg has illustrated 16 picture books, six of which she has written. Her Mermaids on Parade Blog was recently selected as one of the "100 Best Book Blogs for Kids, Tweens and Teens."

Susanna Reich is an award-winning children's book author and the Account Services Manager at Raab Associates, Inc.