Carriage Me Back in Brownsville, Oregon!
May 1st
Farmers Market 8am - 12pm
Bella Caccina's 1pm - 5pm
Local farmers, musicians, wagon rides, old cars and historical movies all located in one of the smallest, quaintest, oldest towns in Oregon...where my Granddaddy lived! You wont regret visiting this local celebration.
19th Annual
Canby Wine, Art and Garden Show
June 4-6, 2010
Main Pavilion and Main Lawn
Hours:
Friday 5:00-9:00 PM
Saturday 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tickets: $5.00 per person, 3 day pass, $12.00
Tickets and passes purchased at the door.
All weekend long, you'll enjoy wonderful wine, great art, and beautiful flowers, plants and garden decor while listening to the sounds of talented musical artists.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Answers to some of your questions
Here are the answers to some questions I've gotten. If you have more questions, leave a comment and I will answer them in a later post. Thanks!
How can I get a book and how do you set up book signings?
It's really easy actually. You can email me with you name and number to to set up an event, I will let my marketer know and he will take it from there. My books can be bought direct from the publisher at www.tatepublishing.com or any online bookstore like www.amazon.com or through me! I will always have a few on hand. You can request for them at your local bookstore, I'm sure they would be willing to order one for you. I can't believe I found one "used" for sale already and it's only been on the market for 2 months!
How do I get a book published?
I think there are as many ways to publish a book as there are Eskimo words for the color white. The more I talk to authors I realize that my story is unique and I really do not understand the entire process. I wish I could say it is going to be as easy as my experience was. Most first time authors have to self publish and prove themselves marketable before a big time publishing company will buy their book. This means you front all the costs (close to the price of a nice new truck), find your own illustrator, graphic designer, editor. Then you have to buy your own books one mass printing at a time and warehouse and market your own books. Its a lot of work, a lot of time and money before every seeing any pay off BUT those people who have taken that road are so much more apart of the process and understand at the end what all goes into making their dream come true. To me they are the giants in this industry.
My experience: I had an idea, I submitted it, they called me, we went from there. That was the short story. Honestly I didn't know what I was getting into. I used google a lot and looked in the covers of all my favorite books and looked up their publishers. I found a submit button on Tate's website and after researching the company felt comfortable submitting my manuscript. A couple of months later I got a call from them asking if I wanted to sign a contract. I put in a small down payment (comparatively) and away we went! They have first dibs on the next book and if I sell 5,000 copies they will invest 100% on the next book. This happens for less than 9% of all first time authors who submit manuscripts. Some publishers just don't accept first time authors at all.
Where did you get your idea?
Well the book is about my Granddad who was an AMAZING person. I like writing about life experiences. He passed away a couple of years ago but his last year we spent a lot of time at the farm as a family and boy did a lot of stories get told! One year after he passed, I was back at the farm for "apple weekend" with my friend Jenny. We were picking apples, canning apple sauce, pressing apple cider and spending evenings knitting near the fireplace, telling stories of loved ones passed. Sharing in our grief and joys. It was such a rewarding and sweet healing time. At the end she mentioned I needed to write some of these stories down. Getting home I was so inspired by our weekend, I wrote down what had been heavy on my heart for a long time. A book about life: before, during and after the death of a loved one...for children.
How did you find your illustrator?
I was very lucky to have an Aunt who is an AMAZING artist. When writing the story I had quite a few of her paintings in mind. She had painted many paintings of her dad and the family and the farm over the years so really I only had to get permissions to use her paintings and commissioned only one for the book. Tate has their own illustrators. I had to get special permission to use her, in other words her work went before the board and they accepted her work of course because it's AWESOME! I have heard of people finding illustrators, editors and graphic designers on websites like www.craigslist.com and at writing conferences and workshops. You can buy the paintings from the artist or the rights to use them or, as in my case, we decided on a shared percent of the profits.
How can I get a book and how do you set up book signings?
It's really easy actually. You can email me with you name and number to to set up an event, I will let my marketer know and he will take it from there. My books can be bought direct from the publisher at www.tatepublishing.com or any online bookstore like www.amazon.com or through me! I will always have a few on hand. You can request for them at your local bookstore, I'm sure they would be willing to order one for you. I can't believe I found one "used" for sale already and it's only been on the market for 2 months!
How do I get a book published?
I think there are as many ways to publish a book as there are Eskimo words for the color white. The more I talk to authors I realize that my story is unique and I really do not understand the entire process. I wish I could say it is going to be as easy as my experience was. Most first time authors have to self publish and prove themselves marketable before a big time publishing company will buy their book. This means you front all the costs (close to the price of a nice new truck), find your own illustrator, graphic designer, editor. Then you have to buy your own books one mass printing at a time and warehouse and market your own books. Its a lot of work, a lot of time and money before every seeing any pay off BUT those people who have taken that road are so much more apart of the process and understand at the end what all goes into making their dream come true. To me they are the giants in this industry.
My experience: I had an idea, I submitted it, they called me, we went from there. That was the short story. Honestly I didn't know what I was getting into. I used google a lot and looked in the covers of all my favorite books and looked up their publishers. I found a submit button on Tate's website and after researching the company felt comfortable submitting my manuscript. A couple of months later I got a call from them asking if I wanted to sign a contract. I put in a small down payment (comparatively) and away we went! They have first dibs on the next book and if I sell 5,000 copies they will invest 100% on the next book. This happens for less than 9% of all first time authors who submit manuscripts. Some publishers just don't accept first time authors at all.
Where did you get your idea?
Well the book is about my Granddad who was an AMAZING person. I like writing about life experiences. He passed away a couple of years ago but his last year we spent a lot of time at the farm as a family and boy did a lot of stories get told! One year after he passed, I was back at the farm for "apple weekend" with my friend Jenny. We were picking apples, canning apple sauce, pressing apple cider and spending evenings knitting near the fireplace, telling stories of loved ones passed. Sharing in our grief and joys. It was such a rewarding and sweet healing time. At the end she mentioned I needed to write some of these stories down. Getting home I was so inspired by our weekend, I wrote down what had been heavy on my heart for a long time. A book about life: before, during and after the death of a loved one...for children.
How did you find your illustrator?
I was very lucky to have an Aunt who is an AMAZING artist. When writing the story I had quite a few of her paintings in mind. She had painted many paintings of her dad and the family and the farm over the years so really I only had to get permissions to use her paintings and commissioned only one for the book. Tate has their own illustrators. I had to get special permission to use her, in other words her work went before the board and they accepted her work of course because it's AWESOME! I have heard of people finding illustrators, editors and graphic designers on websites like www.craigslist.com and at writing conferences and workshops. You can buy the paintings from the artist or the rights to use them or, as in my case, we decided on a shared percent of the profits.
Monday, March 15, 2010
"In Granddaddy's Hands, Jen Morris thoughtfully describes the gentle, strong, and constructive actions of her grandfather's hands. This loving portrait is gracefully expressed in vivid words and images. A wise man, Granddaddy emulates the love of Christ through his actions as father, pastor, teacher, farmer, and friend. His hands are unique and etched with the creases and calluses of a lifetime of love. Granddaddy's Hands gracefully details by example some of life's greatest lessons for children. Come and see Granddaddy's hands as they feed the cows, build a tree house, and encourage a family.
May 19th, 2009
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJqIXez4wd3zJ_OpFjPqAjkE0XvkAaek7Ppev5MNRAiZro2nHXn2RBnMOZeKjUP5ZCIhZxes6UqzhuFwEvxcZBjo9DXxlhhLygHnfZ2Esbo_FcQ_gWF4z77E8B4SC42o05xug1ooH7x3Q/s1600-h/granddaddyshands.jpg">
Well folks! It's official. As of today Tate publishing has accepted my Aunt Beth's art work for the book. Yea! They were thrilled with the quality and looking forward to working with us. Production starts April 1st, two days after I return from Mexico. I will let you all know what that is like as we go through the process. I can't hardly believe that its actually happening. I hope this book blesses children as much as the process has blessed me. Unfathomable! Here is the painting of the cover just to give you a taste of reality. These are my granddaddy's hands :)
Well folks! It's official. As of today Tate publishing has accepted my Aunt Beth's art work for the book. Yea! They were thrilled with the quality and looking forward to working with us. Production starts April 1st, two days after I return from Mexico. I will let you all know what that is like as we go through the process. I can't hardly believe that its actually happening. I hope this book blesses children as much as the process has blessed me. Unfathomable! Here is the painting of the cover just to give you a taste of reality. These are my granddaddy's hands :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
