Cartoon of a boy saying” I want to do some mischief today, but I can’t find a scapegoat.”
Some days, it’s just too hard to find a scapegoat. At least it is for individuals who still say “mischief.”
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Let’s Hear it for the Spearmen!
Today, Steven Heller has an article about a Wrigley campaign near the turn of the twentieth Century. They were the Wrigley’s Sprightly Spearmen.
The Spearmen are Dear Men, Buy Some Gum!
As a kid, I loved Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum because my Grandpa Spear did. He said it was a family obligation for citizens with the last name of “Spear,” to buy Spearmint gum. Now I have an idea why he seemed a little serious about that even while he gave a wink. That ad campaign would have been a part of his formative years.
I had to grin when I saw these ads. Take a look at the link and enjoy the spearmen.
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How to know you aren’t making your point
In the United States, we are coming back from the Independence Day holiday. Many people are out for summer vacation. You may notice your coworkers aren’t as alert as they were before  break. Sometimes, it’s obvious. Other times, you have to look for subtle cues. Here’s how to know someone isn’t listening to you.
- Coworker responds to each sentence you utter with, “I’m with you, Sparky!”
- Coworker still has remnants of exploded fireworks in hair. She keep yelling, “Fire in the hole!” and ducks for cover.
- Your coworker has replaced his glasses with glazed donuts.
- When you say “good morning,” your coworker replies, “Why?”
If any of these happen to you, don’t worry. It will take time for your friend to get reacclimated to the environment. In the meantime, have some fun and get your coworker to agree to take on some of your additional workload. You’ll be able to clean your desk before they know what hit them.
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2013 Children’s Product Trends
One of my highlights las week was to hear Children’s Product Trends for 2013 by Dr. Mary Manz Simon. I took a few pages of sketch notes. You can see them here:
I was excited to see Warner Press‘ Fun Family Devotions highlighted as one of this year’s products.
Christian Elden has done a great job designing this and Wilson Williams Jr. did a fantastic job on illustrating the cover.
Here are some of the highlights from the seminar:
- VeggieTales is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
- Smart phones are continuing to affect children’s publishing as well as publishing in general
- Â Brick and mortar stores are still an important part of a shopper’s experience. Don’t assume everything is online!
- Picture books were pronounced dead two years ago. Now they’re back (yes, it’s a cycle)
- Books with pictures are receiving a resurgence.
- Graphic novels are becoming mainstream in Christian publishing
- Comic books for middle readers are also popular
- Middle grade, illustrated books are trending up because we live in a visually oriented world.
I am excited that visually oriented books are seen as a trend once again. Let’s face it, nobody wants to read block after block of text, especially a fourth grader that is connected to the Internet. We like to see some pictures.
On the whole, I feel excited about children’s publishing. It is a good time for author/illustrators. Let’s get those products out there so the kids have something they want to read!
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ICRS First Impressions
Before I begin, I must note that these are my personal opinions, not those of my employer.
The last two days have been a flurry of activity in preparing for the International Christian Retail Show. I haven’t been to one as an exhibitor for a while and I almost forgot the work and energy that goes into making something like this a reality.
One noticeable difference from ten years ago are the flood of flat-screen TV’s and monitors that are in each booth. Screens are so lightweight now, you can add them practically anywhere in a booth. Of course, that means a book trailer isn’t as impactful at one of these shows as they used to be. Now hundreds of TV screens will be competing for attention!
One thing I also almost forgot is the amount of work that goes into these shows. As an author, I’ve heard the many complaints about publishers not putting enough marketing effort into their books. But when you’re on the other end, you realize it takes an enormous amount of time and money to be at one of these shows.
This reminds me as an author to consider how much work an editor or marketer has to do to make any book get noticed. It takes creativity, elbow grease and a lot of vacuuming to even be noticed at a book expo. (The dust in a convention hall is incredible! There is also no heat or air-conditioning until the exhibits are fully installed. Eek!)
So if you get a chance, you may want to thank your publisher when they go to one of these expos. It may ease their sore muscles from toting those flat-screen TV’s, building and tearing down their area, and smiling for twelve-hours on end. Seriously, I never knew you could pull a muscle from smiling. It can be done!