Tomorrow afternoon we’ll be discussing books that are part of Brodart’s summer reading program. There’s still time to register here and a recording will be shared if you can’t attend in real time. Tomorrow’s panel will be my last kid lit event until the National Book Festival in August. That means the summer will be reserved for writing!

This past weekend I was in Baltimore for the Reginald Lewis Museum’s book festival; it was wonderful to see so many friends gathered together in one place and the exhibit Black Woman Genius is excellent—don’t miss it if you’re in or near Maryland. I’ve been dealing with a cluster migraine for about a week but I’ve still managed to keep up with NaPoWriMo. Writing a poem a day has also helped me complete the poetry section of my hybrid verse novel. It’s with one editor and I’m aiming to finish the prose section by the end of May. Then I can turn back to Ireland and my middle grade time-travel novel.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about this article. Did Big 5 publishers lie on the stand to make themselves look like victims? Probably. Do 90% of books sell less than 12 copies? Probably not. Apparently I’m in elite company since only 10% of authors sell more than 500,000 copies but I’m certain my publisher didn’t spend the average of $36K on marketing and publicity. I’m giving editors a couple more weeks before proceeding with what publishers are now calling “disintermediation”—otherwise known as self-publishing. If you’ve got a big following, why not cut out the middle man and engage directly with your audience? Yesterday an author friend recommended a local publicist but when I visited her site, it clearly states that she doesn’t accept clients with self-published books. The main industry publications won’t review indie titles and many libraries won’t acquire a book that hasn’t been reviewed. I know the drill. I’m still a bit anxious but I’m also excited—it’s a new challenge but I’ve got over a decade of experience. I’ve sold over 30K self-published books and I have media contacts who loved the dragon series and might be open to the prequel. It might flop but there’s only one way to find out…wish me luck!