Book friends
Let’s start today’s post with a little get to know you question. (I bet you can guess which one I chose.)
When your husband has a pharmacy conference in Washington, D.C., what do you do?
A. Stay home.
B. Go with him and relax.
C. Plan a bunch of book events while you are there.
If you guessed C, your fortune says that you will probably get a million dollars in the mail today. Anyway, here are a few things I learned from my book adventures in Washington, D.C.
Booksellers are the best for many reasons (see below).
A few months back my dear friend and talented author Natasha Tripplett realized that, even though we both live in the west coast, we would be in the same place at the same time in Washington D.C.. So we reached out to local bookstores to see if we could stop by and sign stock. But we got to do that AND something even better: a storytime at Old Town Books, a meet and greet at Politics and Prose, and then I went rogue and took a train by myself down to Richmond to stop by bbgb.
One of my favorite things about book events is meeting the booksellers. They are just the best like…
Melissa LaSalle, the children’s book buyer extraordinaire at Old Town Books in Alexandria, Virginia
You’ve probably seen her amazing social media game on Instagram (@thebookmommy), but you’ll be even more blown away by her energy, passion, and brilliance in person. Despite her busy day full of events, she spent time with me nerding out over books and even talking through one of my next potential projects.
She helped me understand some cool things about her side of the industry like how book buyers often come in with very specific needs in mind like, “I want a book about a grandma but not a grandpa.” Or how at certain times of the year, booksellers pitch publishers to have certain authors and illustrators come to the store and it can be pretty competitive.
Sebastian and Heidi at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C.
I’d never done a meet and greet before which is basically a more casual storytime event. Natasha and I sat at a table, so people could come talk with us before reading our books. Sebastian and Heidi made our experience great by bringing us water, introducing us to the crowd, and preparing books for us to sign. We felt like we were in great hands. Also this store had the cutest book nook that I wish I could hang out in every day.
Jill and Julianna at BBGB in Richmond, Virginia
As I signed books, I got to know Jill, the owner of BBGB; she is so stinking cool and has done a lot to support the community by creating school book fairs, literacy nights, author events, scholarships for kid writers, and collaborations with publishers. Julianna ran the front desk that day and made me feel so warm and welcome.
The best way to do book events is with a friend.
Storytime with Natasha Tripplett
Our adventures started with a special spring storytime at Old Town Books under a magical tree!
You might not think that my book HOW TO PEE YOUR PANTS: THE RIGHT WAY and her book PLANTED WITH LOVE (buy her book!) would have much in common, but just leave that in the capable hands of Natasha. She’ll come up with a theme (big feelings) and even bring a little character to make it fun. I just brought my wacky self, but it still worked out great. One of my favorite things in the world is making people laugh, and the audience kindly offered me the gift of some great laughs. And then Natasha enveloped them in a word hug.
School visits with Kris Coronado
Kris and I met in a critique group, and we’ve been friends ever since. She is an incredible non-fiction author whose debut picture book comes out this year called Lighthouse Ladies (definitely buy it!). When I told her I was going to D.C., she was like, “You realize that is only a two hour train ride from where I live, right?” This west coast girl had no idea!
Kris connected me with two schools in her area, one of which was a title one school. I’ve learned so much from her like how one school’s budget can help pay for a title one school visit as well. Or how to collaborate with local bookseller’s to ensure copies are available. But the most fun I had was visiting the kids.
Kris and I had a blast running around on stage, taking kid suggestions as we improved a picture book live. I’ll never forget one session in which kids started cheering on their friends — I found out later that one of the kids who volunteered to draw was super shy and got the courage to raise his hand because his classmates cheered him on. We got so many hugs and met so many genius kids.
Speaking of genius kids, I got to meet Kris’s two girls and her awesome husband. Seriously, they made me feel like a part of their family for the few days I was there. I’ve learned that events are pretty much always fun, but they really are a million times more fun with a friend.
Huge thanks to Natasha, Kris, and all the booksellers I met along the adventure. I loved every bit.