Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest Karen Cioffi co-author of Day’s End Lullaby.

Karen is a former accountant who left her profession due to MS and has now turned her talents to authoring and freelance writing.

Two of Karen’s favorite sayings are: Nothing ventured, nothing gained and You must be the change you want to see in the world.

Karen is on the team of DKV Writing 4 U that provides writing services, and she is the creator and manager of the Yahoo group VBT - Writers on the Move (a marketing group of authors who use a number of promotional strategies and tools to cross-promote). She is also the co- moderator of a children’s writing critique group. Along with this, Karen is a member of SCBWI, Children’s Writing Coaching Club, The Muse Conference Board, Linkedin, JacketFlap, AuthorsDen, and Goodreads. And, she recently joined BookPleasures.com as a reviewer.

Good day Karen and thanks for participating in our interview

Norm:

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? What keeps you going?

Karen:

I’ve been writing since I was a child. I wrote stories and poems right through my twenties. Life got in the way, as it does from time to time, and I stopped writing.  Then, after becoming disabled, my daughter was working on her Master’s in Children’s Literature; I would occasionally edit some of her papers and I got hooked again. After my grandson was born, Robyn (my daughter and co-author) and I decided to turn our family lullaby into a children’s bedtime story. Now, writing is what I do, especially writing for children. When I tell my grandson a story and see him light up with anticipation…well, that’s one of the reasons I keep writing, another is I thoroughly enjoy it.

Norm:

How did you decide you were ready to co-author Day’s End Lullaby and could you tell our readers a little about this children’s book?   How has the feedback been so far?

Karen:

The only difficult part of creating Day’s End Lullaby was the illustrations. Robyn and I worked on them, deciding what to use and where, and then actually drawing them was time consuming. I created the poem and music over 30 years ago, so that wasn’t an issue. Since the lullaby worked so well with my children and grandson, Robyn prompted me to share it with others and wanted to collaborate on getting it published.

The feedback has been wonderful. I have a 5 Star rating from Wayne S. Walker, a reviewer for Stories for Children Magazine. My local paper also did a ¾ page article about the book, and Robyn and me as local authors. In addition I have a number of other great reviews.

Norm:

What do you think of the new Internet market for writers? How do you use the Internet to boost your writing career?

Karen:

The internet market is a great tool for authors and writers. It’s a great venue for reaching a large number of readers. And, now videos are big, using them reminds me of the old adage: One picture is worth a thousand words. The trick is to persuade your readers or viewers to want what you have to offer.

I use a number of marketing strategies and they started with an online conference I attended last year, The Muse Online Writers Conference. One of the workshops I participated in was on marketing. Denise Cassino was the instructor and she advised that those in the workshop do virtual book tours for each other. So, I created VBT – Writers on the Move. I invited the other attendees of the workshop and somehow others found out about it - we’ve been on the move ever since. I’m always looking for ways to increase our visibility. We cross-promote using monthly virtual book tours, we have a monthly Viewpoint segment, we have a monthly mystery site give-away, link exchange, library marketing, reviews, and I’m looking into getting the members a weekly spot on blog radio. I even created a VBT – Writers on the Move blogsite where the members are contributing authors.

Before that, I created my own blog and post to it regularly and I also write articles and publish them in article directories. In addition, I’ve recently created a writing services website, DKV Writing 4 U, and try to post to that on a regular basis.

I’ve joined a number of groups and forums, and I’m always attending online marketing teleclasses. I also visit other writers’ blogs and leave comments. I research magazines, publishers and agents that might be interested in my work. I also utilize the online freelance writers’ job sites. All these strategies create visibility and that’s pretty much the foundation of any marketing campaign, and they are all useful in boosting one’s writing career.

And, now I’ve become a reviewer for BookPleasures. I’m looking forwarded to honing my skills and further increasing my visibility.

Oh, another great avenue for visibility is Amazon. They have great features for authors, including reviews.

Norm:

Do you have a local writing community or fellow writers that you look to for support and advice?  As a follow up, did you have a writing mentor? Do you mentor others here?

Karen:

I am co-moderator of a wonderful children’s critique group. They provide great support and advice with their critiques. I also belong to Children’s Writers Coaching Club with Suzanne Lieurance; I consider her my Coach. She is a wonderful motivator and very knowledgeable in her field. In addition, I belong to The Muse Conference Board where support and advice are plentiful. And, I’m taking Lea Schizas’ week long writing workshop in July.

I try to help others, especially in my critique group.

Norm:

What genre are you most comfortable writing and why?

Karen:

I enjoy writing for children, but I am most comfortable writing about marketing. As for why, I’d say it’s probably from my accounting background; marketing is business related.

Norm:

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Karen:

Writing for children is somewhat of a challenge for me. I tend to write words that I need to whittle down to a child’s level. And, you have to be very careful not to write something that might encourage a child to do something wrong or dangerous. An example: I recently wrote a story that I’ll be submitting to a children’s magazine and in it I wrote that the child snuck out of the house. I realized that scenario couldn’t stay in the story and had to revise it. It’s really not a big deal, but you do have to be careful and watch what you write.

Norm:

What do you think makes a good story? As a follow up, what tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

Karen:

The first aspect of a good story for children is a beginning hook. You need to grab a child’s attention right off. You also need be clear at the beginning as to who the main character is (POV). Along with this is the obvious of showing and not telling, and limit adjectives and adverbs. A children’s story should rise in action, the character needs to face a problem and struggle with it until he/she finds a solution. It’s important that the solution or realization is arrived at by the child in the story with minimal, if any, assistance by an adult. A good children’s story should have some form of growth on the main character’s part. One of my favourite children’s books is The Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. She seems to effortlessly weave gems of wisdom into the story without losing a beat.

Must-have writers’ tools: a dictionary; a thesaurus; and The Chicago Manual of Style

Other books I have that are great writers’ tools: Children’s Writer’s Word Book; The Little Brown Essential Handbook;

Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary; The Frugal Editor; and The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers; The Children’s Writer’s & Illustrators Market; and Hypnotic Writing

Books I have on my to get list: The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain; One Mad With Wine and Other Similes; The Analogy Book of Related Words; and a book of quotes

Norm:

Do you have anything else you'd like to share with our readers and what is next for Karen Cioffi?

Karen:

I’d like to share an experience I had: In April, I was on a teleseminar with Jack Caufield, the co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul.  There were three key elements to his talk: The first was perseverance and persistence. Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected by 144 publishers, and it took eighteen months before it became a hit. The second element was positive projection. Jack Caufield and his co-creator took the New York Times, whited out the #1 book, and then put Chicken Soup for the Soul in its place. They made many copies and put them everywhere, even if the bathroom. The third element to the talk was action. They didn’t sit idly by and wait for success to come to them, they worked along with their positive projection.

My plans are to continue on my current path of writing, submitting, researching and learning. I’m currently doing some ghostwriting; I have a children’s middle grade fantasy story that I’ll be submitting this summer; and I have a couple of articles I’m submitting to magazines.

Norm:

Where can our readers find out more about you and your book?

Karen:

Readers can find out more at: 

http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com;

http://www.dkvwritersonthemove.com;

http://vbt-writersonthemove.blogspot.com;   

http://www.childrensbooksbykarenandrobyn.com

Thank you for this opportunity.

Click Here To Purchase Day's End Lullaby