While there is an exception to every rule, most of us hate, hate, hate the self promotion of books. It makes EVERYONE crazy!

Readers get sick of hearing writers with promo-citis. Admire my cover, pre-order my book, buy my book, review my book, come to my signing, I’m having a giveaway, buy my book, buy my book, buy my book. Did you see this review by someone who bought my book? It’s so awesome YOU should buy my book. Seriously, I didn’t grow up contemplating going into marketing. My life is not and episode of Mad Men. Here’s the truth…authors are juggling jobs and kids and pets and parents and illness and every other real world calamity you can think of. Self promotion kinda sucks. Authors just want time to write more good books and spend a little time surfing baby animals on social media sites. Is that really too much to ask?

Some days it’s seems impossible. But even though I know I’m not in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize, I’m going to put out a solution that could potentially work for everyone. Or at least ease the madness a little bit. The secret for slowing or stopping promo-citis is…

JUST REVIEW THE DAMN BOOK, PLEASE.

Word of mouth sells books.

If readers are talking about the books, authors won’t have to do as much self-promotion.

And it doesn’t have to be complicated.

*Reviewing on an online sight like Amazon or Barnes & Noble is fabulous and hugely appreciated. Your favorite author and their publisher and agent will love you forever for taking the time to put your thoughts out there. But if you’ve never done it before, don’t be intimidated. It isn’t necessary to write a lengthy, time consuming and complicated review, a simple 5 stars and an I love this book will do the trick.

*Reviewing a book is as simple as telling people that you liked it. Encourage other people to buy it and read it. Think of book buzz like a stadium full of people trying to do the wave. If enough people don’t stand up and wave their arms and cheer, no one will even notice. It takes a lot of people standing up and waving to get anyone’s attention. Authors can not make a wave on their own. It takes fans.

*Give books you love to people who love books. As a book lover, I have never gotten a book and been upset. Even if I don’t end up reading the book, I donate it to someone who will and it makes me happy that I helped another author out there. Book Nerds are fabulous freaking people!

*Please don’t assume that other people are reviewing and talking about a book, making it unnecessary for you to do it. There are so many books out there fighting for shelf space and reader attention. Worldwide there are over 2,000,000 books published each year. There is no such thing as too much attention–especially for mid-list authors. It takes a lot of pushing before a tipping point is reached.

*Not everyone has heard of the books you love. Remember there are lots of books out there. Bring the books you love to the attention of your librarians and teachers. Libraries and schools do not have a large amount of funding to play with, but they will appreciate your feedback. They want to purchase books that will get readers excited. Your positive review, of a book you love, might get that book in front of a lot more readers. Books just want to be read. <3

This is by no means an extensive list of ways to help authors by reviewing books. But I’m hoping it’s a good start. Please feel free to add in your suggestions in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for ways to support the books I LOVE! Also, sharing this information with others is great. Not everyone realizes how much an author’s career depends on book buzz. And don’t forget it’s time to be part of the solution–stop the promo-citis and review the damn book, please.

Tags: Authors, book reviews, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, promo-citis, Promotion, Word of mouth

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This morning I dropped off my oldest for an 8th grade overnight field trip. As I watched the bus get smaller in my rearview mirror, I couldn’t help but feel all the feels.

This isn’t the first time that my 14yo has gone away without me. It happens in certain degrees and combinations more and more often as he grows. This summer there will even be a week of sleep away camp in his future. And in four years he’ll be graduating high school and preparing for college. But as I pulled away from the bus (way too early) what I noticed was my mixed feelings. I was infused with a combination of giddy excitement for him, confidence in who he is and a wee bit of sheer terror as I imagined my unprotected heart driving away on a bus where anything could happen. Anything. Car accident, terrorist bombing, escaped tiger from the zoo. Do I need to go on?

No–I absolutely don’t. And I mean that a little differently than you might expect…

The only time that worrying like that is beneficial is if an asteroid, plague, bomb or whatever is about to hit and I’m packing up the kids and preparing to run. Day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute–nothing good comes from imagining the worst. I simply have to trust that what we’ve given this boy so far, is enough for the task at hand. We’ve done our best.

But that wasn’t all I thought about on the two miles back home to the coffee pot. The true connection I made this morning was realizing how far this young man must travel in the next four years. Every day between now and then he will be in revision. If we do it right, we’ll slowly and methodically listen to what our main character is telling us and help him tweak his story. We’ll make sure we use the most effective words in all the right places and we’ll try to show instead of tell and yell and nag and preach. We’ll have to step back and make room for the cast of characters in his life, that over time, will have more and more weight in his story. We must also give the plot a chance to take turns we never expected. He’ll need that to be diverse and complicated and interesting to everyone who peeks beneath his cover. We’ll have to give him room to fail because no one wants to read a book where nothing happens. And we’ll have to be reminded that no book is ever perfect. Art is subjective. People are too. And even more important we’ll have to be reminded that sometimes distance is as important as persistence and diligence. And maybe the hardest thing will be knowing when to stop tinkering and when to let him stand on his own out in the world.

My husband and I are the authors of this boy, but if we do our jobs correctly, he will one day know how to write his own story.

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Lately I’m having an unusually hard time coming up with blog posts. At first I thought my struggle was because I’m busy, both with life and writing. And I’m sure that plays a role, but after careful consideration, I don’t believe that’s the truest of answers. I think the most accurate reason for being stuck is that I have internet whiplash.

Unfortunately, blogging and social media have begun to seem a bit off. Kind of the way state testing and the common core feels uncomfortable. I’m not against some testing or having standards. In fact, I think they can be wonderful tools, but there’s something, not-quite-right about the current state of our educational system or the things going down on the internet lately.

For the first time, the trolls and the cyber bullies feel bigger than the things about social media that give me great pleasure. And then there is the sheer intensity of the opposing and highly volatile online opinions. I’m not suggesting that I only want to hear one side of an argument. I love intelligent conversation–I really do. But it is April of 2015 and already I can’t deal with the political FB stress. The hate mongering. How will I ever make it until November of 2016??? I refuse to comment, but can I also stop reading? I think I need to.

Of course, I’m smart enough to know the internet is the same functional and dysfunctional slice of pie you see in any microcosm. You should see some of the screaming, crying, throw-down dinners that have been had in my family over the years. I’m no stranger to the cray-cray, in fact I can bring the cray-cray just as much as anyone. But somehow the rapid, viral reach of the internet seems more sinister than I’d ever considered it before. When I fight with my family and friends, we make up and eat dessert and stuff. The world wide web doesn’t do that. Instead of stories I’ll laugh about at my kids’ weddings, there’s online shaming, which is probably as easy to catch as the stomach bug in a day care facility.

This is where the internet whiplash comes in. If you want to be heard, you MUST say something worth hearing. If you say anything worth listening to, there WILL be people who dislike what you’ve said. If you’re lucky those people simply disagree with you, but if you’re unlucky, it’s highly likely that they’ll abusively attack you online. My feelings about this state of affairs are whipping back and forth with such intensity it’s almost painful. One day I feel brave, the next cowardly. One minute I feel energized, but the next it’s depressing.

I’ve been trying very hard to find the remedy to my internet whiplash. I’ve been searching for a black and white truth that would clearly define how I move forward with my cyber life. As you might expect, that isn’t really working out for me.  Today’s blog post sums it all up perfectly–writing makes me see things clearer, all while mudding the same water quite a bit. So, there’s only one conclusion…what I need most is to be unsure. If I’m rigid, I will get injured. Instead, I need to be bendy. Perhaps it’s time to be flexible and blog when it feels organic and not blog when it doesn’t feel good. It’s a scary but liberating thought for someone who’s blogged regularly for years, but I should probably only blog when I have something important to say or share.

Is anyone else dealing with internet whiplash? What’s the worst part for you? What do you do to combat it? How do you feel about blogging at the moment?

Tags: Bullying, Internet, internet whiplash, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, online, trolls

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Last week has left me needing guidance and inspiration from those who are wiser and more eloquent than I…

“To be Jedi is to face the truth, and choose. Give off light, or darkness, Padawan. Be a candle, or the night.”–YODA, Dark Rendezvous

“It is not nearly so important how well a message is received as how well it is sent. You cannot take responsibility for how well another accepts your truth; you can only ensure how well it is communicated. And by how well, I don’t mean merely how clearly; I mean how lovingly, how compassionately, how sensitively, how courageously, and how completely.” Neale Donald Walsh

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”
Helen Keller

“The most important thing is to not stop questioning.”
Albert Einstein

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
― Oscar Wilde

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt, This is My Story

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
― Thomas A. Edison

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
― Elie Wiesel

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.”
― John Lennon

“Well-behaved women seldom make history.”
― Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“Peace begins with a smile..”
― Mother Teresa

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
― Dalai Lama XIV

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Two wrongs don’t make a right, but they make a good excuse.”
― Thomas Stephen Szasz

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
― Margaret Mead

“Whatever you are, be a good one.”
― Abraham Lincoln

Please feel free to add to my list. <3

Tags: guidance, inspiration, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, quotes

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I recently tagged a couple people in a Facebook post about a friend’s book trailer. I knew the subject matter of the book would highly resonate with them AND I know this author is an amazing writer. Win-Win for everyone! In less than ten minutes there were several people interested in ordering the book who never would have known about it before.

Initially, there was a little confusion because the book is available for pre-order but it won’t be out until 2/5.  But one of my friends jumped in and clarified the way a pre-order works and how it’s VERY helpful to the author to have pre-orders. Was it wrong that I wanted to kiss her on the lips? I forget not everyone eats, sleeps and breathes publishing. So, today I thought I’d give some simple tips about how you can make an author’s day.

*Buy their book. Pre-order it if it isn’t out yet.

*Buy the book as a gift for a friend or a donation to a school or library.

*If you loved the book, tell everyone who has ears they should read it ASAP! Nothing can compare to word of mouth for the success of a book.

*Write a review for Amazon, Barnes and Noble or any place that sells books. It does not have to be an insanely long and complicated essay. You can write one sentence and have the eternal gratitude of the author. Reviews make us feel good, but they also are important to the gods of Amazon and it’s algorithms.

*Help the author spread the word when they run contests or share information.

*Tell the author their books had in impact on you. You may not realize it, but fan letters make our hearts grow three sizes when we read them.

Now go forth and make an author’s day. And feel free to share any additional tips in the comments.

Tags: Authors, helping, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, reviews, Word of mouth

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I was just a part of the Blizzard of 2015–which  didn’t quite blow into what would even be considered a hearty storm in my area. To be fair, in some parts of the northeast, they got completely walloped. But in my neck of the Hudson Valley, we only got a couple inches. No one’s power was out for a week and I’ve got my fingers crossed that the only injuries have come from a family member grabbing another family member by the neck during a hot headed game of monopoly.

But for today’s blog I’m not actually writing about the storm. I’m here to talk about why I would never want to be a school superintendent, a city or state official, a weather person, first responder in a storm or the driver of a snow plow.

It’s because the rest of the population is batshit crazy.

Don’t be offended. Just learn to laugh at yourself, because honestly, if we don’t laugh, we’re going to be very embarrassed. The poor people who hold the jobs responsible for these decision-making weather calls, have a snowball’s chance in hell of looking like a hero. Even the ones out there, braving the elements and putting in sleepless nights. They can not possibly win in the decision making game. And I repeat, it’s because the rest of us are batshit crazy. Hell, we’ve proven that just by how we play monopoly, right?

If you don’t believe me (but I suspect you know exactly what I’m talking about) I could pull example after example off the news, Facebook and Twitter supporting my theory of batshit craziness. The internet was flooded this morning with all kinds of deep batshit thoughts like…

-we could have had school.

-the roads were unnecessarily closed.

-we could have gone to work.

-our insane need to swarming the grocery store and the home depot could have been avoided.

I can only imagine the conversation that the couple from the Home Depot parking lot must’ve been having this morning, after their huge melt down yesterday, when their newly purchased, unboxed generator (they drove an hour to get) wouldn’t fit in the car AND THEY DIDN’T EVEN GET A FREAKING BLIZZARD.

It’s enough to make a person batshit crazy.

But here’s the thing, I’m pretty sure that if things had gone the other way, we’d all be bitching up a blizzard about our fearless leaders not being safe enough. In fact I heard that two weeks earlier when we were hit with an unexpected ice storm. There were an insane number of accidents on the road and NO ONE PREDICTED IT OR DID ANYTHING TO STOP IT!!! But we can’t have it both ways, my batshit crazy comrades. We can not complain about both sides of the same coin. I mean we can, but as you might suspect–that makes us batshit crazy.

For better of for worse, we’ve created a litigious, judgmental society and it’s unrealistic to expect the decision makers not to cover their own asses. It’s the culture, us batshit crazy people, have created. If you don’t like it, it’s time to change the culture. Or get your ass to college, so you can try your hand at being a meteorologist.

Today, or any day like this, instead of complaining, try thanking the people who stepped up to try to do the right thing. It’s a novel idea–but maybe we should appreciate them for doing their best to try to keep our batshit asses safe. Now go shovel your driveway or strangle whoever bought Park Place and Broadway.

Tags: batshit crazy, Blizzard, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Snow, weather

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It’s time for some Book Auntie Braggery because my amazing, fantastic, wonderful writer friend, Amy Nichols has a book birthday today!!!!!

In a parallel universe, the classic bad boy falls for the class science geek.

One minute Danny was running from the cops, and the next, he jolted awake in an unfamiliar body – his own, but different. Somehow, he’s crossed into a parallel universe. Now his friends are his enemies, his parents are long dead, and studious Eevee is not the mysterious femme fatale he once kissed back home. Then again, this Eevee – a girl who’d rather land an internship at NASA than a date to the prom–may be his only hope of getting home.

Eevee tells herself she’s only helping him in the name of quantum physics, but there’s something undeniably fascinating about this boy from another dimension… a boy who makes her question who she is, and who she might be in another place and time.

Amy K. Nichols has been crafting stories for as long as she can remember. She is the author of YA science fiction novel Now That You’re Here, to be published by Knopf December 9, 2014. The follow-up, While You Were Gone, will be published in 2015. She is mentored by award-winning crime novelist James Sallis and lives on the edge of the Sonoran desert with her husband and children. Amy is a member of SCBWI and SFWA, as well as the Class of 2K14 debut authors. Visit her online at http://www.amyknichols.com.

I can’t wait for my copy to get here!!! If you’re just as excited as I am and want to read NOW THAT YOU’RE HERE, you can find it here…

*Amazon

*Barnes & Noble

*IndieBound

In celebration of NOW THAT YOU’RE HERE it’s time to discuss some important stuff. Do you believe in a parallel universe? What other books do you love that deal with the mysteries of parallel universes?

Tags: Amy Nichols, Book Auntie Braggery, JoNoWriMO, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, parallel universe, YA Book, YA Novel

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I’m going to point out the obvious. We all don’t think alike. And on most days, that’s a pretty good thing. Although, I’m completely on board with everyone taking a stand against people who kick puppies. Even though diverse thinking is great, I guess there are some “absolutes” in my world.  But, I will not list my absolutes here, because invariably, some of my non-negotiables will quickly be called into questions because…

WE ALL DON’T THINK ALIKE.

I tend to visualize our differences and similarities in a Venn Diagram…

First, there’s the No Brainer Absolutes. (Not really completely absolute because we know there are people who DO kick puppies–shame on them.) And then on the other side of the Venn is the Live and Let Live group. Get a puppy. Get ten puppies. Get no puppies. Totally up to you. I don’t have an opinion at all…unless your ten puppies are pooping in my yard. But really that’s a blog post for another day. Back to the Venn. Clearly everyone has no brainer issues counterbalancing their live and let live philosophy on the other side.

BUT…

There is always an area of overlap in a Venn Diagram. It’s that dreary gray space where things aren’t so clear. Like your neighbors ten puppies (who you had no problem with) until they started puppy pooping in your yard. A serious middle-of-the-Venn mind field if you ask me. You’ve got to watch where you’re stepping with that one.  And of course, how the pooping scooping get resolved depends heavily on what both parties value the most. And a few other factors, like if the neighbor with the puppies is apologetic. Did they clean it up? Did they kick the puppies for misbehaving? Did you fling the poop back in their yard  and “accidentally” hit the side of their house? See, it’s complicated and ultimately must be resolved outside of absolutes. There’s that gray area again.

But even though I’ve been talking about puppies, there are other things on my mind. I’ve been recently wrestling with that same sort of sneaky gray area myself. But before I pull out my soap box, let me warm you up with another example of Venn Diagram grayness that really happened to me. I recently heard that Toys -r- Us has Breaking Bad action figures and parents are petitioning them to be removed. I was bouncing all over my Venn Diagram with this one…

1.  I loved the show and know that many adults collect action figures. So, this belongs in my Live and Let Live circle. But wait…

2.  I also strongly believe that in no way, shape or form are these toys meant for children. So, when I think of it that way, pulling those toys out of toy stores (aimed to sell to young kids) is a HUGE No brainer. Come on, there ARE people on that show that would kick puppies!

3.  But the reality is that after I thought about it very carefully, I realized, that while I prefer those action figures not be sold in toy stores my kids might shop at, my kids also don’t shop for toys that I don’t approve of. Those meth making figurines are not coming into my house. And passing a Breaking Bad action figure in the aisle of a toy store will mean nothing to my children because they haven’t watched the show and won’t any time soon. They want to buy things they’re interested in. So, we have now landed in that gray area again. I have opinions, but I know I can also work around the situation however it plays out. I am able to monitor my kids.

Have I lost you? Am I making sense? It’s the end of the day and sometimes I can never tell. But, even if you’re not so sure what I’m talking about, I think you know what’s coming. I try to do it in almost all my blogs. My goal is to make a connection to a seemingly unrelated topic I’m thinking about and reading/writing.

Here we go…

Please stop telling me what my kids should or shouldn’t read. We all don’t think alike, but that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking. You can’t assume, just because I let my kids read things you wouldn’t let your kids read, that I’m negligent. I have a different opinion.  And it’s a responsible and intelligent one that is based on my kids and how I interact with them. My kids. My call. We don’t kick puppies and we won’t be buying Breaking Bad figures. But we will be reading all kinds of books.

I’m not going to go into the details of what I believe about reading. What I will tell you is there’s a difference between thinking you’re right and demanding other people only have the same thoughts as you. I may believe that you’d be better off if you thought about books the way I do. But that’s an unknown and I’m okay with that. Life choices result in different and varied responses, not absolutes.

Here’s the thing I’d like you to remember the next time you try to pull reading material off the shelf–when you pick and choose the books that are acceptable for YOUR kids, I don’t sneak into their bedrooms at night and read them stuff you wouldn’t approve of. So, please do not interfere with what my children are allowed to read. Classrooms, libraries, book stores and book fairs–in my humble opinion– are not dens of iniquity where puppies are kicked and souls must be saved. I believe they are the gray areas in the Venn Diagram of life. They are supposed to be one of the safe place where we can benefit from leaving the absolutes at home.

Those gray areas are the meeting places for all the people who don’t think alike.

The meeting of minds–that is a beautiful thing.

Tags: Books, Breaking Bad, censorship, Gray Zone, kicking puppies, Kids, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, reading, Toys-r-Us, Venn Diagrams

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I read for 10 miles yesterday!!! Wait that sounds a little weird. Let me clarify–I ran my longest run ever and the whole time I was running I was listening to a really awesome audiobook!!!!!! There are not enough exclamation points for a sentence like that. LOL! And it gets even better because I’ve acclimated to having a brain where half my attention is completely absorbed in the awesomeness of the story, but the other half is studying writing technique. *fist pump*

So, if I wasn’t clear about the awesomeness of what was going on, I spent about two hours of my busy day multitasking in the best of ways. I got to exercise while being simultaneously entertained and educated. And the bonus plan was that I didn’t have to feel bad about my Wednesday night bowl of ice cream because I burned 1,000 calories on that run. The only thing that was kinda tough was staying awake long enough to get my own writing done for the day–especially when everything (including my fingers) hurt LOL! I think today I’ll read the old fashioned way…snuggled up on the couch.

Anyone else reading for distance? Any audiobook lovers in the crowd? They are great in the car (can still be measured in miles) LOL! And they also make folding laundry a much better experience. Any guess about what book I finished on my run? I’ll give you a hint…it’s an adult apocalyptic novel getting a lot of well earned buzz. I really loved it.

Tags: Audiobooks, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, reading, running

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Yay! It’s almost here. Saturday is the Millbrook Literary Festival. Here’s a little bit about what will be going on right off their website…

Set your calendars: the 6th annual Millbrook Literary Festival will be held on June 21, 2014.

This year’s festival will present over 70 timely, thought-provoking, and thoroughly entertaining authors and illustrators to participate in panel discussions, readings, and signings throughout the day at the Millbrook Free Library on Franklin Street. The schedule of events and lineup of authors can be found at the links to the left.

People can start the day early at the Farmer’s Market beginning at 9:00 until 1:00. Lunchtime can be enjoyed at one of Millbrook’s many eateries for a deli sandwich, slice of pizza, French cuisine, classic American fare, or other culinary delight. Before leaving the festival, visitors are encouraged to shop in Millbrook’s eclectic stores where treasures abound.

Across the globe, literary festivals have been gaining popularity, increasing literacy, and celebrating books. There are more than 150 festivals in the United Kingdom supporting tourism and literacy while presenting people with direct access to writers, illustrators, editors, and publishers. Here in the United States, literary festivals are growing in numbers annually, and historic Millbrook joins the global and national movements with enthusiasm to make books and reading an important part of our lives.

Want to know who’s going to be there giving presentations and signing books? Click HERE to get the full list of authors and the schedule. Hope I get to see you there. <3

What’s the best literary festival you’ve had the pleasure of attending?

Tags: Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Merritt Bookstore, Millbrook Literary Festival, Touching the Surface

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