~ MMGM BOOK BLAST ZOE'S SCAVENGER HUNT FUN ~

 ~  MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADE

MONDAY BOOK BLAST ~

 --  'Zoe's Scavenger Hunt Fun: A Lake

 Vacation Interactive Chapter Book'  --

Author Rinda Beach

~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight, Author Bio,

Author Guest Post & Giveaway {US only}~

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Zoe's Scavenger Hunt Fun: A Lake Vacation Interactive Chapter Book

Zoe may be the youngest in the family, but when her mom reveals the Roberts' Family Scavenger Hunt Fun to complete by the end of the trip, she becomes determined to beat her older siblings. The more answers she finds, the more points she will earn towards the crown of her choosing -- and bragging rights for the rest of the summer.

Follow Zoe and her family on their lake vacation at Norris Lake, plus have your own adventure along the way. Read along as Zoe records her answers for the hunt and use the space provided at the end to record your own lake vacation memories. The perfect activity book to help you have your own lake adventure!

This early chapter book is great for ages 6-10 or grades 2-4 and makes a wonderful addition to any child's bookshelf or teacher's classroom.

 

PURCHASE LINK:  

http://www.rindabeach.com/zoes-scavenger-hunt-fun.html

 

'Behind-the-Scenes Facts About the Book'

I left my publishing house, Beach Girl Press, to do ZOE’S SCAVENGER HUNT Fun. I wanted a hardback, interactive story, but I couldn’t self-publish it with either IngramSpark or KDP.

I met Brook back in 2019 when she interviewed me about my chapter book, NEIL ARMSTRONG’S WIND TUNNEL DREAM. Last year I did an interview for her and her Kidlit Indie Summit. She said she was starting a hybrid publishing house. I asked a lot of questions, and Zoe was born!

There’s a lot to like about Hybrid Publishing! Indie Publishing is all about me, myself, and I. If something had to be done, I did it. My skills are in writing and revision. My learning curve the last two years was . . . steep!

BiblioKid gave me an editor and an art director. I didn’t have to work with templates or ISBN numbers. I’m getting marketing advice now. The downside – this isn’t traditional publishing. I paid the fee up front, and now it’s time to earn it back. I’m glad I have marketing help this time. I’m taking notes and learning as much as possible so I’ll be ready for the next book, especially if I return to self-publishing.

After we signed the contract, Brooke and I looked at my lake ideas. We wanted to give them a new spin. I already had a picture book. Brooke suggested doing an early chapter book. I have a hard time with new ideas. They have to grow on me. This one grew overnight, like Jack’s beanstalk! An early chapter book was perfect for my audience. Part of writing a book is about me, but you’re the most important part – the reader!

I have never had an editor before. I’ve had critique partners, and they’re kind of the same. This time I only had Brooke editing my words, and I trust her. Sometimes with a couple of critique partners you get different advice. You have to decide what to use, and what to ignore. That’s tricky!

I thought we did 3 rounds of editing, turns out it was 4.  I loved it so much I lost count. It was a lot like regular revisions . . . You add words. You delete them. I think it’s a lot like fishing – You throw out the line, and you reel it back in.

I didn’t mind all those rounds because when you change something in a story, it’s like dropping a stone into pond. The bigger the stone, the bigger the ripple, and the more changes you have to make. I also love editing because I’m a perfectionist – I love getting things right.

I’ve never had an Art Director either. I worked with an illustrator for Neil, and a computer expert for Lake Fun, but I had to put the illustrations on the page. I had to decide where they should go, then make sure the page was balanced. It’s hard work, and it’s not in my wheel house. I was so grateful to have a professional for ZOE. I never met him/her, and I don’t know their name, but I’m grateful that he/she worked so hard for me.

BiblioKid allowed me to critique the art work. I was shocked! In traditional publishing, once you finish your manuscript, you say goodbye, and the art department takes over. You don’t see your story until it’s done. With Indie publishing, the decisions were alone my shoulders. That’s heavy!

With BiblioKid, I got the first draft in November. I looked it over. OK – I critiqued it. My name is on the cover, and I wanted ZOE to look her very best. I sent my notes to Brooke, and we wound up doing a zoom meeting. We went over my concerns. She noted the things we agreed on. If something couldn’t/shouldn’t be changed she explained why.

I got the manuscript back a second time. We went through the same process again. I thought it was interesting . . . Brooke told me right away that we were an hour over the art budget. In other words, she could only change a few things. That eliminated most of my list, but we still made a few changes, the really important ones.

I had 3 concerns about the illustrations. I loved the computer screens you’ll see in 3 different chapters, but it was hard to get them just right. I wanted them to look like real screens, or as close as possible. Now they look great!

I loved the memes, all except one. I got it changed. It’s the compass rose in the book, and it’s way better than the first one. I also worried about how close the memes were to the text. You can have too much on a page, but I think ZOE looks just right!

The final thing I wanted was a beautiful page so that you can become my co-writer and illustrator. We changed the format for the journal half of the page, and the art director found a great frame. I hope you approve!

All that hard work paid off! ZOE’S SCAVENGER HUNT FUN earned a 5-star review from Readers’ Favorite. I got the news in 11 days. That’s light speed for them!

When you ask to get your book reviewed, you’re told there’s no guarantee you’ll even get one. You might wait 3 months to find out that no reviewer wanted to read your book. Getting the news in 11 days was HUGE!

Working with Brooke at BiblioKid was like having my own marketing team! It was also like taking a class. My learning curve has been sky-high! Brooke started with a set of dates – I called it homework – but it helped me stay on target to launch ZOE. Brooke taught me how to do everything from a presale to a launch team, things I’ve never done before. The biggest thing I learned about the presale – is to advertise it.

That seems like a duh, but you don’t know what you don’t know. I thought of presales in terms of Amazon. I forgot that I have a buy link on my website, and I never, ever thought of adding it onto my posts . . . Live AND Learn!

PS – Don’t worry! I gave it to June for this post!

I got this post in to June on March 3rd so right now I’m learning all about launch teams. I have 16 lovely friends who signed up to help me. One is busy taking 3 classes, but she asked for my advanced reader copy and will write a review when she gets some spare time. She’s wonderful!

I’m also learning how to build excitement across social media. I’m working on a Top 9 list of how you can have fun on a lake vacation. I love getting likes and shares, but comments are the best!

After the launch is over, the work doesn’t stop! I need to learn how to find and do author visits. It’s my biggest weakness, and I’m looking forward to marketing homework, to help me pump that up!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Rinda was a second-grade teacher who read and told stories, until she met a bat in Germany. She learned to edit, thanks to SCBWI classes and critique partners. Rinda substitutes to stay connected to the kids she wants to write for. She established Beach Girl Press to publish NEIL ARMSTRONG’S WIND TUNNEL DREAM and LAKE FUN FOR YOU AND ME.

BiblioKid Publishing is publishing her third book, ZOE’S SCAVENGER HUNT FUN on March 9th. You can preorder it now from Rinda’s website.  Please stop over and take a look at her blog and book reviews at www.rindabeach.com

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:

Web- http://www.rindabeach.com/

Business Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/BeachGirlPress

Twitter- https://twitter.com/BeachRinda

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/rindajbeach/

Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/rindabeach/

This will let you look up my blogs by subjects.

 

Rinda has graciously offered to give away one print copy of her book to one lucky US resident! Please enter using the below Rafflecopter form:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Find the links to read more great Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts from middle-grade authors and bloggers at Greg Pattridge's 'Always in the Middle' Blog.

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