Category: SCP Expansion

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: 5 Easy Peasy Book Launch Party Tips

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When Story Catcher Publishing opens up this fall for submissions, we are hoping to be able to celebrate many new book launches with our authors. With that in mind, we wanted to share some easy peasy tips for having a book launch that is not only fun, but increases the chances of getting books sales off to a strong start.

PICK A THEME

Do you write mysteries? Are your picture book characters animals? Is fantasy your thing? Whatever the theme is, make it the focal point of the party. When your audience is caught up in the theme of the party, it’s only natural for them to drift to the book table for a signed copy of your party themed book!

SELECT A DATE

Is there something in your story that can be tied to a specific date? If I was doing a launch party for my HISTORY’S MYSTERIES: Ship of Dreams book about the Titanic, I might choose the maiden voyage date for my party. If your book has a specific holiday theme, maybe pick a date close to the holiday your book helps celebrate. If your target audience is teachers or librarians, maybe check the calendar for a day that is special to them and hitch your party to that wagon!

CHOOSE A VENUE

While bookstores are a great first choice when you’re thinking about where to have your book launch party, don’t overlook other possibilities as well. Check out places like bowling alleys, library meeting rooms, daycares, and even karate dojos like I’m contemplating using for the book launch of my latest chapter book, THE WARRIORS THREE, where three young boys try to raise money to attend a taekwondo tournament while still supporting a local library’s annual book drive. Look outside the box to find a really creative way to celebrate your book’s launch day.

GENERATE EXCITEMENT

Working hard to put a book launch party together won’t go far if you don’t advertise what’s about to happen. This is the time to work your social media, newsletters, venue websites, local newspapers and radio stations looking for feel good stories. If you plan to tie a portion of your sales to a local charity or other good cause, make sure to connect with them to have them share your good news as well.

SHINE THE SPOTLIGHT

While you want your party visitors to learn more about you as an author, you don’t want to hog the limelight. Try to have a photographer to take lots of pictures and videos of everyone having a good time. If you have a website, those book launch party pics and book signing photo ops will look great in your photo gallery.

Book launch parties can be large or small, costs hundreds of dollars or just pennies backed with a lot of creativity. What’s most important is to have fun while you are working the crowd and generating excitement about your latest book. Here are some links for more book launch party ideas…

https://writingcooperative.com/how-to-throw-a-successful-book-launch-party-43f91a842d71

https://www.smithpublicity.com/2018/01/bookbaby-blog-throw-book-launch-party-isnt-waste-time/?_vsrefdom=googleppc&gclid=CjwKCAjw_YShBhAiEiwAMomsENyMNOhyszHCQ2iUU8hOVWTDCwk4q0x3TKw6n2Oa2Cs-7fRGdNb9vhoCt3MQAvD_BwE
Check Out These 12 Creative Book Launch Ideas
Book Launch Parties: 15 Tips for the Best Party Ever!

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Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: When Rhyming Matters

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Most young children (and a lot of adults too) love listening to rhyming picture books. The lyrical storylines with near perfect rhyme, rhythm, and meter capture a reader’s imagination and creates worlds full of page turning adventure or whimsical silliness. But even though some people think this genre may be easy to write, a GREAT rhyming picture book contains certain key elements.

When Story Catcher Publishing opens for submissions in the fall, we will be looking for rhyming picture books which have these key elements as well as a strong storyline…

CHOOSE YOUR RHYTHM

Rhyming picture books are known for their lovely lyrical sentence structure. Nowhere is the word choice and placement of those words as important as in a rhyming picture book. Select your rhythm or pattern and STICK TO IT! Whether you choose couplets, A/B Alternate rhymes, simple four-line rhymes, etc. be sure to remain consistent to the pattern you have chosen. Once your story is read out loud, any deviation from that chosen pattern will jump right out to declare you amateurish attempt at writing a rhyming picture book.

WHAT ABOUT METER?

Once you have your rhythm chosen for your story, you have to pay attention to your meter or syllable beats for each line. You can’t jump around like a cat on a hot tin roof. Be consistent! Let’s say your first two line have a 10 syllable beat to it. Then your third and fourth line drop down to a 6 beat pattern. That means lines five and six would typically repeat the 10 syllable beat. Lines seven and eight would then follow with a 6 beat pattern. This way a writer stays true to the rhythm they’ve chosen AND conformed to the meter they’ve selected.

MAKE THOSE WORDS COUNT

I’ve mentioned before the industry “sweet spot” for picture book word count runs 300-500. Add to that the challenge of sticking to a patterned rhyme and now there is added pressure to make those words count! This is where some writers make the creative decision to switch to prose instead of rhyme.

DON’T SACRIFICE YOUR STORY

Once you’ve picked your rhyme, rhythm, meter, and words, you have to then make sure you still have a story to tell. The end result must still have a beginning, middle, and end. The main character still has a problem to solve, adventure to go on, a mission to accomplish, etc. and the reader can find a satisfactory ending to the story where the main character has grown in some way from a subtle lesson learned.

Here are some ways to help writers improve their rhyming picture book skills:

READ IN YOUR GENRE

It can’t be emphasized enough about reading as many books as you can in the genre you want to write about. Study the classics but embrace current industry favorites (released within the past five years) so you can be fully aware of what is out there…what is winning awards and capturing the attention of those readers you want to read your own book!

READ OUT LOUD

Once you have completed your manuscript…paying attention to rhyme, rhythm, meter, etc. then read your story out loud. Better yet, have someone who isn’t familiar with your story at all read it out loud. If there is hesitation or sudden stops in the flow of your words, then make notes of where you have to focus your editing efforts before submitting your story to an agent or publisher.

DON’T TALK LIKE YODA

Writing, or speaking, in a forced rhyme only works for a certain Star Wars character. Here’s an example:

“Whenever we go for a walk,

with you, I like to talk.”

No one but Yoda could get away with talking like that and you certainly don’t want to see it in a rhyming picture book. Be very careful to not put “forced rhymes” in your manuscript. It screams your lack of skill writing that type of picture book. It is the main reason some agents and publishers won’t even accept rhyming picture books as part of their submissions, so pay close attention to your sentence structure!

Writing rhyming picture books can be a huge challenge for some writers, but that’s not to say it’s completely impossible to have a strong rhyming story. Everyone knows Dr. Seuss’ lovely rhyming picture books, but here is a small list of other authors just as skillful so check them out!

Bill Martin

Giles Andreae

Claire Freedman

Anna Dewdney

Julia Donaldson

Arnold Lobel

Kess Gray

Just to name a few…;-)

***********

Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: Word Count Matters!

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***My apologies for not releasing this post yesterday as planned. My computer is acting up a little and deleted part of the original post so I had to rewrite it this morning.***

For the past 50+ years I’ve spent my spare time writing words. Tons of words. Millions of words. And like the picture above says, words have power.

When Story Catcher Publishing opens up for submission in the Fall, we will be looking closely at all the words coming in those query letters. Studying them closely to see if some of those words capture our attention enough to make us ask for more. Then the truly hard work begins when the actual manuscripts start rolling in.

Newbie writers may not fully understand how important it is to carefully weigh each word they use in their stories. Generally speaking, the shorter the story, the more powerful each and every word becomes. Below is a general countdown to the word count for each genre Story Catcher Publishing will be looking at…

FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Word count can be 50 to 1000 but industry sweet spot is between 300-500 words typically. Don’t use words that can be inferred through illustrations. Don’t use words far beyond the reading level of your target audience. Make sure those words weave a story with a strong beginning hook, engaging middle and a satisfying ending.

FICTION EARLY READER CHAPTER BOOKS

Word count can run anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 words. Most of the books Story Catcher Publishing has been releasing has been around 10,000 words. Early Reader Chapter Books challenge those new readers to expand their reading ability. This when writers can add an additional theme or even sub-characters storylines into their manuscripts. Early Reader Chapter Books typically still have some illustrations inside but not at the level you see in picture books.

FICTION MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS

Word count typically runs between 25,000 and 40,000 words. Industry sweet spot is around 35,000 words. Story Catcher Publishing hasn’t released any middle grade books at this time, so any writers who decide to work with us will have to have a very strong story to begin with. This genre of books have both stand alone and serial titles where readers will find deeper subject matter and sometimes even controversial topics not usually seen in picture books and early reader chapter books.

YOUNG ADULT BOOKS

Word count will run anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 words with the sweet spot being around 75,000 words. Sub-genres can cover everything from steampunk to fantasy, science fiction to historical, and everything in between. Longer chapters with multiple storylines for the main and sub-characters. The worlds found in this genre range everywhere from real to others created within the writer’s own imagination. Young adult books might include magic, time travel, portals, mythical creatures, war torn landscapes, new worlds and everything in between. The sky is the limit with this genre and any creations/situations within the storyline must still fall within the range of “believable” to the target audiences.

SPECIALTY BOOKS

Word count for this category would vary widely depending on the type of manuscript. Story Catcher Publishing will be considering specialty books which could include low-content (coloring books or activity books), memoirs, journals, short stories, anthologies, etc. The subject matter will really have to capture our attention, but we are open to the possibility.

Do you write outside of these listed genres, but are still interested in talking to us about your story?

You are welcome to drop us a query letter when we open for submissions in the fall, but please realize Story Catcher Publishing probably won’t be the best partner for your project. We want to focus on the genres we are best qualified to help our authors achieve their goals of building a writing career. And the only way to do that is to focus on all those fabulous words coming our way later this year, because EACH WORD COUNTS!

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Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: What Is Author “Vetting”?

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Opening up for submissions this Fall will be like opening the flood gates. We expect to get a number of different publishing queries because we will offer ways to help writers of picture books, chapter books, middle grade books, young adult books, and specialty books a way to become published authors when they may not have been able to step into the publishing world before.

Maybe it was outside their budget to self-publish properly.

Maybe it was too overwhelming to maneuver their way through all the channels to produce a quality product.

Maybe they are looking for a support team to help them achieve their goal of having a publishing career.

Whatever the reason, writers will be submitting to Story Catcher Publishing looking for a chance to work with someone knowledgeable in the field of publishing to help them share their story with the world.

But we will be looking for someone too.

“Vetting” is when someone investigates someone they potentially want to connect with. Agents, editors, publishers, etc. usually look at a number of factors before deciding to reach out to a writer. Here are some of the places SCP will check for activity…

Google…We will do a Google search of the writer’s name to see what pops up. Do a Google search of either my author name or Story Catcher Publishing, and you will find a long list of articles, images, and ways to find out more about us. Authors we want to work with may not have as many search links as we do, but it will give us a starting point.

Website…It’s one of the best ways to learn more about a writer. If they have a website, and especially a blog, it helps give a better sense of their personality and writing style.

Social Media…We will check if they have a presence in groups like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, etc. If they do, we’ll look at their posts, engagement level, number of followers, etc. to give us an idea of what level of assistance they might need from us for their project. If they don’t, that also tells us how much help they might need in the future.

Other Connections…If a query letter identifies some previous connection between the writer and SCP, we might reach out to those connections to learn more about those writers. We plan on working very hard to assist our authors with their future publishing careers, so the more we know, the better we can help them!

Vetting is a standard industry practice which helps both writers and agents, editors, or publishers better determine the best way to move forward.

Everyone at Story Catcher Publishing is excitedly counting down the days to when we open for submissions, so make sure to come back next week for another update on our expansion…

************

Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: Author Platform

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When Story Catcher Publishing opens for submissions in the Fall in 2023, the writers we will be working with will come to us from one of two groups. One group of writers will have worked on their author platforms before submissions and will be able to show us the strength of their social media networking. The other group of writers will still be learning their way around social media and might need our help once it’s decided to work with them on their project. If you are in that second group or even just don’t know some of those sites out there to promote yourself and your work, here is a brief overview of the major social media platforms to consider:

  1. Author Websites

WordPress.com…Over 400 MILLION people use or visit a WordPress website every month. Probably one of the most used website hosting companies, WordPress has a free version that gives authors the ability to set up their own website as well as being able to run their blogs from the same account. There is also an easy way to create a online bookstore on the WordPress site so an author can display their books with purchase links included. You can find a beginner course on learning how to use WordPress by clicking on this link…https://www.udemy.com/course/wordpress-for-beginners-course/?utm_sou0rce=bing&utm_medium=udemyads&utm_campaign=BG-Wordpress_la.EN_cc.BE&utm_content=deal4584&utm_term=._ag_1222657107173806.ad_.kw_wordpress+introduction.de_c.dm_.pl_.ti_kwd-76416199681009%3Aloc-4125.li_83573.pd_._&matchtype=e&msclkid=8fce019e9598150d269362656603c11c

Wix.com…Over 180 MILLION people use or visit a Wix website each month. The free version offers website, blogging, and ecommerce support but does have some limitations. Here is a review of the pros/cons of using Wix…https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/wix-review/

Squarespace.com…Over 4.2 MILLION people use or visit a Squarespace website every month. I don’t know much about this provider but apparently there are enough people using this website host every month to possibly consider using it. Here is a review of the pros/cons of using Squarespace…https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/squarespace-review/

It may not be as important as to which website provider works best for YOU as long as you work on creating a website so potential readers of your books will be able to find you. YOU have to create a way to promote your author identity to the world.

2. Blogger.com…The website hosts listed above are just a few of the options to host your blog. Blogger.com is the original way to create and maintain a blog. It is used by only 1% of internet users, but still offers a strong basic program for a beginner writer. Here is a review of the pros/cons of using Blogger…https://cybernews.com/best-website-builders/blogger-review/

3. Facebook.com…Over 2.9 BILLION people use or visit a Facebook page every month. While there is some negativity (political, religious, social, etc) on Facebook, there are many, many Facebook groups supporting writers and their books. Here is more information about why you might want to consider creating a Facebook account…https://www.lifewire.com/why-facebook-3486520

4. Twitter.com…Over 396 MILLION people use or visit Twitter every month. I’m slowly building my following on this social site. Twitter readers are different than some of the other sites because they look for frequent, short bursts of information throughout their day. Here is more information about why you might want to consider creating a Twitter account…https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-statistics/

5. Instagram.com...Over 500 MILLION people use or visit Instagram every month. I don’t have a huge following on this social site but what writers need to realize is that you don’t have to have thousands of followers on EVERY social site, to have a strong following over ALL sites. Here is more information about why you might want to consider creating an Instagram account…https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/

6. Pinterest.com…Over 478 MIILLION people use or visit Pinterest every month. I use my Pinterest account to collect possible story ideas, create collections of things that interest me, and connect with my followers on a different level. Here is more information about why you might want to consider creating a Pinterest account…https://www.omnicoreagency.com/pinterest-statistics/

7. Linkedin.com…Over 900 MILLION people use or visit Linkedin every month. This social site, for me, is more about networking and possible job connections. I share my brand and connect with writer groups. Here is more information about why you might want to consider creating a Linkedin account…https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-statistics-business/

9. YouTube.com…Over 2.5 BILLION people use or watch YouTube videos every month. I am just starting to use this social site and have a couple of book trailers on YouTube, but I have much to learn about how can grow my brand. Here is more information about why you might want to consider creating a YouTube account…https://www.omnicoreagency.com/youtube-statistics/

10. TikTok.com…Over 732 MILLION people use or watch TikTok videos every month. I don’t really use TikTok for Story Catcher Publishing but even then, I managed to pick up some followers who enjoy the videos I share that other creators make. There are opportunities for writers on this social site and ways to grow. Here is more information about why you might want to consider creating a TikTok account…https://www.omnicoreagency.com/tiktok-statistics/

What should newbie writers focus on?

Many new writers get overwhelmed by the fact there are so many social media sites to choose from. You have to know what you want from your author platform. Whatever you choose, CONSISTENCY needs to happen.

Consistently post.

Consistently engage with your audience.

Share bits of your personality and make yourself REAL to people. Then they will become invested in you and your books. Story Catcher Publishing will be checking out our author submissions this Fall and will vet any authors we are interested in possibly working with. If they have a presence on social media, we’ll look at how they consistently engage with their followers. And if they don’t have a presence, then we’ll know how we might be able to help them in the future!

Make sure to come back next week for another update on our expansion…

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Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: Creating A Strong Query Letter

storycatcherpublishing

Sometimes the mere mention of a word will instill fear in the hears of writers everywhere.

Query Letters.

A newbie writer may not even know what a query letter is, but if you have been writing for any length of time and trying to capture the attention of agents or publishers, then you will know how stress-inducing writing a eye-catching query letter can be. In today’s post, I wanted to share not only what Story Catcher Publishing will be looking for in query letters when we open for submissions later this Fall, but to also give you a few tips and links to better research what will work for your own journey into query letter writing…

QUERY LETTER WRITING DO’S:

  1. Address your letter to the correct person. I’ve been a female all my life, so when you decide to write me a query letter, please address me as Donna L Martin, Ms. Martin, or Ma’am. Any other title just shows me you have no clue who you’re trying to reach.
  2. Get it all on one page. Sending me an email with five pages of an ongoing chat will lose my interest. Be concise and to the point. If you don’t know whether you’ve gone over one page for your query letter, attempt to print it to view how many pages it will be. I like hard files on my authors, illustrators, formatters, etc, so I only want to have to print off one page to consider your story, not the equivalent of your entire book.
  3. Have a great hook. If your beginning paragraph goes on and on about how you even got around to writing your book, I’ll likely fall asleep before I get to the part why I should even READ your book. Give me something that catches my attention and I’ll probably ask for more!
  4. Include a strong bio. If you have won writing awards in the past, let me know. If you belong to professional organizations pertinent to the story in your query letter, let me know. Be sure to include all ways to contact you…Website, blog, social media, email, etc. If you’re just starting out and have little to no accomplishments to share, there is still a way to create an interesting bio.
  5. Make a connection. If we’ve met somewhere…author event, business event, online, grocery shopping…wherever it was, let me know! I connect with hundreds of people every day in different ways so my memory needs jogging every once in a while as to who you are. Maybe you’ve only “met” me through reading one of my books. That’s okay…tell me that!

QUERY LETTER WRITING DON’TS:

  1. It doesn’t matter to me if your kids loved the story or your second cousin twice removed thinks you wrote a NYT bestseller and I’d be a fool not to offer you a contract. I’m not being disrespectful to your family. I am being professional while I am conducting business and I expect you to do the same.
  2. Resist the urge to include anything in your query letter submission that I didn’t ask for. This includes the manuscript itself, pictures of cute drawings you think would look great in the final book, or your local bridge group can’t wait to see your name on the cover of your book. That won’t increase any interest I might have in your story. In fact, it will do the complete opposite because it will scream you aren’t ready to conduct your business in a professional manner.
  3. Being impatient for a response. Believe me, I understand the stress of waiting for some reply when you’ve sent your story out on submission. It can be nerve-wracking. And a lot of time, you don’t even receive a response at all which is twice as hard to deal with! I will start out giving myself 3-4 weeks to review query letters before responding. This give me adequate time to vet the authors I might want my team to work with, and still have a chance to respond individually to every writer that’s taken the time to reach out to Story Catcher Publishing. This might not be a viable practice in the future, but for now, I want to give respectful feedback to every person who tries to connect with me. So, please be patient!
  4. Combining multiple manuscripts in one query letter. If you have five different stories ready to submit, then write five different query letters. This is especially important if you write in different genres. You can’t do ANY story justice when you are trying to cram five different book viewpoints into a one-page query letter, so keep everything separate, okay?
  5. Putting your life on hold while you wait. That is the worst thing you can do for yourself and your writing career. It is demoralizing for YOU, and living in a suspending mental state prevents the flow of creativity. Keep writing. Send out more query letters. If I reach out to you with a request to read your manuscript only to find out you’ve sold it to someone else, I’ll be the first to do a happy dance for you! I’m here to support YOU as a future author, wherever that publishing path may lead you, not to get rich off your hard work.

RESEARCH LINKS:

  1. Picture Book Query Letter examples…https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Children%27s+Picture+Book+Query+Letter&form=RESTAB&first=1
  2. How To Write Query Letters…https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=How+to+Write+Query+Letter&form=RESTAB&first=1
  3. Jane Friedman’s Tips On Writing Query Letters…https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letters/
  4. New York Book Editors Query Letter Tips…https://nybookeditors.com/2015/12/how-to-write-a-darn-good-query-letter/
  5. Writer’s Digest Query Writing Tips…https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/the-10-dos-and-donts-of-writing-a-query-letter

There you have it. Just some words of wisdom to help better your chances that your query letter will grab my attention and make me want to read more! And for a final bit of help to all you lovely writers out there, I’ve included a few links to help you learn more about writing a strong query letter. Good luck and I can’t wait to start reading YOUR query letters later this fall. Be sure to check back next week for more peaks into Story Catcher Publishing’s expansion!

************

Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: Manuscript Wishlist

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Now that you’ve gotten to meet me and my design team, I thought it might be a good idea to give you a better idea of the types of stories we will be looking for once we open for manuscript submissions this Fall. In each genre we are accepting, there are distinctive plots that grab our attention. Here are examples of the types of stories we’d love to see come across our desks…

PICTURE BOOKS

Books that make us cry.

Books that make us laugh

Books to challenge our imagination.

Books like we’ve never seen before!

CHAPTER BOOKS

Books with mysteries to solve.

Books with strong female characters.

Books that are strangely funny

Books that fire up our imagination.

Books challenging historical events.

Books that blaze a new trail!

YOUNG ADULT

Books to quench our thirst.

Books to fuel our fantasies.

Books yet to be discovered!

There you have just a few examples of the types of books Story Catcher Publishing will be looking for once we open our doors to submissions beginning in the Fall of 2023. It’s time to start polishing up those manuscripts and making sure your stories are ready to take us on a grand adventure!

Check back next week for more exciting news about our upcoming expansion!

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Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: Contracts, Contracts, Contracts…

storycatcherpublishing

Even though I’ve been writing on and off for more than 50 years, it wasn’t until 2010 that I decided to seriously begin a writing career. I had the dream to become a traditionally published author and pursued that goal with great passion. I think every wishful author waits for that one special word that has the power to change their life…

CONTRACT.

Whether it’s a contract with an agent or a publisher, writers know when a contract finally arrives, it takes them one step closer to their publishing goal.

I’ve been working on the new Story Catcher Publishing contracts…upgrading them to include the expansion we will be offering the world this coming Fall. We have three new contracts in place:

  1. Design Team Contract…We now have a three-year agreement with my design team. Everyone knows what is expected and their costs have been taken into account because while my goal is to help as many indie writers as possible, the reality is that there are publishing costs involved with any new book release. My design team feels confident that we will be able to handle any number of production projects for chapter books and novels that may come along once we open to submissions this Fall.
  2. Illustrator Contract…We also have a three-year agreement with my lead illustrator. We’ve had long chats about the future growth of Story Catcher Publishing, and we will be able to handle six to eight picture books per year once we open to submissions this Fall.
  3. Publishing Packages Contract…I’ve spent a long time pouring over this contract to make sure the rights of all involved are protected and there is no confusion as to how Story Catcher Publishing will be helping writers on their publishing adventures. There are a few things that will be offered differently than by anyone else in the publishing industry. Like this…
    • If during any time during the term of this Agreement, the Author should receive an offer of agent representation or offer to publish the Work through a different third party not directly affiliated with the Publisher, the Publisher shall, at its sole discretion, provide a written revision of rights covering the Work listed in this Agreement to the Author if said offer meets one of the following stipulations:
    • The offer of agent representation comes from an agent affiliated with a major literary agency with an office based in the United States. Proof of a current, valid signed contract by the Author and the agent (covering Work previously published by Story Catcher Publishing) must be provided to the Publisher in order for the request for a written revision of rights to be considered.
    • The offer of publication from a third party comes from a publisher with a medium to large publishing house with an office based in the United States. Proof of a current, valid signed contract by the author and publisher (covering Work previously published by Story Catcher Publishing) must be provided to the Publisher in order for the request for a written revision of rights to be considered.

Contracts can be very tricky to read which is why I will encourage any writer we work with to have our contracts looked over very carefully or at least ask me plenty of questions before signing anything. And in case you may not fully understand what the above paragraphs says, it means any author signing with Story Catcher Publishing who still pursues a traditional publication path will be helped by us to try to better their chances to be signed by an agent from a major literary agency or medium to larger publishing house. AND we will release them from OUR contract with proof that they’ve achieved that goal.

What other publishing house has ever offered something like this before? And what other publishing house who offers publishing packages will offer those services for one-fifth the cost or even much less than the industry average?

None that I know of.

And why would Story Catcher Publishing do something like that? To turn its back on future profits for the company?

Because THAT is not what our company expansion is for! Story Catcher Publishing is expanding to help aspiring authors to further their writing careers as a way of “paying it forward” or giving back to the KidLit community for all the love and support it has shown me over the years. It has been a five-year dream of mine to do this, and it is finally coming true!

I’m trying to be as transparent as possible about what is coming this Fall, so polish up those picture book, chapter book, and young adult novel manuscripts to get ready for a new way to reach your own dreams of sharing your stories with the world!

And check back next week for more expansion news from Story Catcher Publishing…

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Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: Meet the Design Team

storycatcherpublishing

When I first thought about starting my own publishing company, I had no idea of all the details and responsibilities which came with that decision. I had the simple dream that I was capable of releasing my own stories.

And I was.

What I didn’t bargain for was all the OTHER details that come with running a publishing company.

Editing

Illustrations

Cover Design

Formatting

Production Set Up

And other things that came with getting an idea out of my head and into a finished, published book. Over the next three years I realized I could figure out MOST of the things I needed to do, but then I lucked out! I met my design manager, Shahbaz Awan, in early 2021 and our personalities, work ethics, etc. meshed perfectly so I decided to offer him the opportunity to work with Story Catcher Publishing. I’m so happy he accepted! Here’s a little more about Shahbaz:

Story Catcher Publishing’s design team manager, Shahbaz Awan, comes to us all the way from Pakistan. Shahbaz received a degree in Computer Engineering, but due to the pandemic, he wasn’t able to find employment in that field. In March 2021, he decided to transition into the world of book publishing to design his own website (www.ilayoutbooks.com) where he quickly began offering freelance services in cover design and formatting. He showed his knowledge and professionalism, handling a variety of projects, to quickly became Story Catcher Publishing’s design team manager. Shahbaz’ team of seven formatters and designers, one cover designer, and one illustrator also offer freelance project support for fiction, non-fiction, picture books, magazine design, or cookbook design in both eBook and print formats on many available printing platforms.

You can follow Shahbaz on Facebook (www.facebook.com/I-layout-Books-101811825653145) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/ilayoutbooks).

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Then I found my lead illustrator, Nimra Junaid, in late 2021. Nimra is so talented and does hand drawn sketches that are later digitally colorized. She has brought four of Story Catcher Publishing’s picture books to life and we have plans for many more in the future! Here is more about Nimra:

Story Cather Publishing’s Illustrator, Nimra Junaid, also comes to us from Pakistan. Nimra joined us as our lead illustrator in the fall of 2021. As a child, Nimra was good at sketching. Her father encouraged her talent and made sure she had the right supplies to develop her skills. After receiving her degree in Fine Arts, she started her artist profession in 2007. In 2012, Nimra was chosen to participate in painting the World’s Largest Pakistan Flag and received a Guinness World Record certificate for her effort. You can see the record setting flag by clicking on https://youtu.be/6AzRvBycyZs. Nimra has completed several murals and ceiling oil paintings as well.

Nimra also offers freelance support to indie author projects with a variety of illustration styles to choose from. You can check out her portfolio at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aXTpXDzxssWPhT5vCxz-ZqjOvfqlu0Od?fbclid=IwAR0r44ED7GeajwRtsLaGKzsmeEj0LGvqwthSgZ7zwewrwbwNQXTt3-Rx_YI

You can follow Nimra on Instagram at www.instagram.com/nimra_junaid89 or connect with her for a freelance quote at Nimraa.khaan@gmail.com. 

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There you have it. Story Catcher Publishing’s design team of hard-working artists ready to help other writers on their own publishing journey! Check back next week to find out more about our expansion coming this Fall!

Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

Story Catcher Publishing Expansion: Meet the Publisher, Donna L Martin

storycatcherpublishing

I have been writing and publishing for such a long time that I sometimes forget there are many people out there who might not know my author to publisher story…

Author Hat:

I’ve been writing ever since I was eight years old. Over FIFTY YEARS of creating stories out of pure magic and my imagination.

When I was eleven years old, I entered my first writing contest sponsored by my hometown library and I won first place! Right then I knew I would see my own name on the cover of a book some day. During my teenage years I wrote A LOT of poetry…sometimes collaborating with my sister …but usually all on my own. I was also working on my sketching skills, but wasn’t quite ready to share my works in progress with the world.

My twenties came along and I finally dared myself to submit some of my poetry for publication. A couple of my poems were accepted for inclusion in an anthology and I thought I was on my way to a writing career.

But a newbie writer’s ego is a fragile thing and harsh words can sometimes do long-lasting damage. When family members began to ridicule my work…to ridicule me, I decided to lay down my pen, to lay down my sketch pencil for the next TWENTY-FIVE years! I thought my dreams of becoming a sketch artist and author of children’s books were lost forever. But LIFE is funny that way…just when you think your boat is settled on a steady course in one direction, a squall rises up to toss you in an entirely different direction.

Fast forward to 2010 and a chance encounter with Tara Lazar and a funny little picture book challenge coming up where I was supposed to write down thirty ideas for stories in thirty days. I wasn’t going to join…until I dreamt of nothing but PICTURE BOOK IDEAS every night for two solid weeks prior to the challenge! I saw it as a sign that I needed to give my childhood dream a second chance and I signed up for the challenge before I could change my mind.

One of the story ideas to come out of that STORYSTORM challenge was a book about a girl named Addie who wanted so badly to learn how to read, but the words kept seeming to run away from her every time she sat down with a book. Five years later, in 2015, THE STORY CATCHER about Addies struggle with dyslexia was picked up during a Twitter Pitch and later traditionally published, which eventually led to my signing with a literary agent.

By the time 2017 came along, I realized that my agent’s vision of my writing future and mine wasn’t meshing too well so we parted ways as friends to pursue our own destinies which led me straight to my publisher’s path!

Publisher Hat:

With no agent and many, many manuscripts written over the years, I decided to look into indie publishing. Prior to then I had swore to myself I would never self-publish because the industry had such a negative connotation and most of the books I saw at the time just didn’t meet my personal high standards of what I wanted MY books to look like. But by the time I opened the door to STORY CATCHER PUBLISHING in January 2018, the indie industry was slowly improving the overall quality and standards of what would be put out into the world.

LUNADAR: Homeward Bound was the first book I released under my new publishing house. It is a young adult fantasy novel full of magic, mermaids, fairies, dark lords, mythical creatures, light romance, piracy, portal travel, and the ultimate battle to save the secret heir to the land of Lunadar. I was proud of the hard work I put into this baby, all the while still working full-time running a martial arts school five days a week.

Next came a historical fiction chapter book series called HISTORY’S MYSTERIES that was written for 7-12 year olds, but has become very popular with readers of all ages. Each book in the series is thoroughly researched and has a blend of fictional as well as historically depicted characters. I’m currently working on book four with many more titles to come!

Then came the release of my memoir (part one) of growing up among the Cajun people and the bayous of southern Louisiana. I had found my design team and started fine tuning the publishing process to make the most of both KDP for ebook files and IngramSpark for softcover and/or hardcover production. What once took me weeks to fight and figure out how to create, format, and design the files for production now takes days because I’ve delegated that side of the business to my design team who you will get a chance to meet next week.

Story Catcher Publishing 2022

Last year I introduced my picture book line to the world and ramped up working with my lead illustrator on the design team.

Now I’m ready to expand Story Catcher Publishing into realizing another dream I’ve had for almost five years now. I want to help strong writers publish THEIR stories under the umbrella of the SCP family, but all while teaching those writers how to set up their own author platform to take their careers to a whole new level! It will be a partnership where my design team sets up production, and I offer FREE services for helping create websites, blogs, social media sites, sales sheets, marketing plans, author events, book awards and much, much more! It’s my way of giving back to the KidLit community that has supported me for so many years, I’m really excited of what the Fall will bring!

Don’t forget to stop by next week to meet my design team and see what is on the horizon for Story Catcher Publishing…

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Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927