Last Wednesday, our little community had a treat ... picture book author Karma Wilson came to town! Our lower-elementary school principal invited me to watch her kindergarten presentation. Karma was delightful--in person and as a presenter.
She read a couple of her books (including BEAR SNORES ON, her best seller) and told another story with a puppet, based on one of her books. I was so impressed with how she engaged her audience. The kids had a blast!
Watching Karma present made me realize how diverse the job of being an author really is. A big part is still holing up in your writing/editing cave and creating. But once you're published, you also have an audience to consider.
To be honest, the idea of taking my book on tour and visiting schools and libraries slightly terrifies me. I mean, I love people, but I think I'll need to work on my public speaking/presenting skills. I'd love to attend a YA author presentation sometime. I'm sure it's different than a picture book author's! (Probably not quite as fun, unfortunately.)
During question and answer time, one teacher asked, "When did you write your first book?"
Karma acknowledged that this was a tricky question, since she'd written twenty books before BEAR SNORES ON that weren't good enough to be published.
I loved that she said that. It's inspiring to be reminded that if we keep working at it, we can eventually reach our publication goals.
Have you watched an author present before? I admit, this is only the second author presentation I've attended (not including speakers at SCBWI conferences). Do you look forward to this aspect of post-publication?
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