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September 12th, 2009
05:04 pm - PIXIU Press Illustration: Drought Fury vs Raggedy Chan
Originally published at Pixiu Press Blog. You can comment here or there.
 Drought Fury vs. Raggedy Chan Drought Fury vs. Raggedy Chan
Here’s another illustration from the PIXIU Press archives. Drought Fury and Raggedy Chan do battle in the illustrated juvenile fantasy novel Raggedy Chan. Artwork is by graphic artist Joey Manfre. To learn more, visit www.pixiupress.com. There you can preview book interiors.
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04:56 pm - PIXIU Press at Sonoma County Book Festival
Originally published at Pixiu Press Blog. You can comment here or there. PIXIU Press will have a booth at the annual Sonoma County Book Festival. Please come visit us! We are booth #48. You will be able to browse hard copies of our free, downloadable teaching curriculum, which is available at www.pixiupress.com. You can also see and purchase Raggedy Chan books and dolls.
The event is FREE! For directions and other information, vistis www.socobookfest.org.
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September 7th, 2009
01:00 pm - PIXIU Press Illustration – Winged Dragon!
Originally published at Pixiu Press Blog. You can comment here or there. Since PIXIU Press is so new to the publishing world, most people aren’t familiar with the wonderful illustrations produced for us by artist Joey Manfre. Here’s one — enjoy!
 Winged Dragon & Drought Fury
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August 22nd, 2009
04:37 pm - Raggedy Chan - Marketing
I'm working on a direct mail campaign for Raggedy Chan today. I'm sending out brochures to 123 local schools, advertising my free author visits and free teaching curricula. Hopefully the brochures will garner some interest.
I've also booked 3 Raggedy Chan events for Sept-Oct! I'll post details as the event dates are closer.
Also working on getting Pay Pal connected to my website. I can't quite get it all to behave quite yet, though I have ideas on how to fix it.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/aliens/happy.gif) cheerful
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July 12th, 2009
10:33 am - PIXIU Press: research
I am reading Dan Poynter's The Self Publishing Manual. It's a lot more than a manual for "self-publishers." It's actually a crash course for those who want to start their own publishing company.
Here are somethings I have learned:
1. I should have read this book BEFORE I published Raggedy Chan. It discusses in great detail the marketing that goes into a book. This information would have greatly helped my book launch.
2. I am completely, utterly, and totally overwhelmed by the idea of running my own publishing company. However, I don't give up easily.
3. The business model he describes is not necessarily the one I want to use. I have to look around for other books that talk more abour POD publishing.
4. His book has been around for a very long time and some information seems to be out of date. That aside, the book is a wealth of information.
Current Mood: cheerful
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July 11th, 2009
04:09 pm - PIXIU Press: BAIPA
I attended my first Bay Area Independent Publishers Assoc meeting today. The organization is really amazing. There is a gold mine of experience and information to be found, as well as great networking opportunities.
The agenda went something like this:
1. The first hour was devoted to a question/answer period. Basically, there is a panel of volunteers who have been in the publishing business for years, and you get to pick their brains. You'd have to pay hundreds of dollars to go to a writer's convention to get this same sort of information.
2. The next hour was devoted to introductions. The president went around the room and gave everyone 15 seconds to introduce themselves and their products/services. (He even had a timer to make sure people stayed honest!) This was a great way to scope out people for networking.
3. The third hour was devoted to a presentation by an industry professional. Today's speaker was Barbara Santos, who has successfully self-published several cookbooks. She gave a great talk on marketing.
Between each of these hours were 15 minute breaks for networking and munching on snacks (they had quite a good snack bar!)
My wonderful mom came along as my sidekick. And being my mom, within the first two minutes of entering the meeting she acquired the responsibility of manning the entrance and collecting dues from everyone! ($3 for members, $5 for guests.) My mom is always a hit, no matter where I take her. The best part was that during the networking sessions, we divided and conquered; she was able to talk up Raggedy Chan with some people, and I was able to talk with others. There is no better publicist than one's own mother!
I think this organization is great for both self-publishers and authors who work with big publishing houses. Either way, the writer is going to have to promotion. The goal of BAIPA is to help writers and those in the writing industry to be successful. Everyone is there to learn and share.
Can't wait for the next meeting!
Current Mood: cheerful
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June 21st, 2009
12:05 pm - Raggedy Chan - Asian Wine Event
Friday, June 19th was San Francisco's Asian Wine Event. I had a Raggedy Chan table there. It was held in the Veteran's War Memorial building in the Green Room. It was a gorgeous venue. It's hard to catch the full grandeur of these old buildings, but here's my attempt:
I got some neat ideas table displays at my last RC event. I incorporated a magazine stand for my teaching curriculum display and a brochure holder for my Educational Programs. I was able to cram a whole bunch of stuff into only 4 feet of space, and I think this is one of the best looking tables I've had to date. The best part is that now that I've figured out how to go "up" with my displays instead of "out," I can rent smaller tables and save money. Here's some pics of the table display:
Of the 500 or so attendees, I would say that about 90% were Asian. It was kind of like being at a family reunion -- black hair everywhere I looked. Heh. I tried to capture the "Asianess" of the event, but the pics all came out blurry. Most of the crowd were young Asians in their 30s.
This wasn't an event to sell books; this was an event for networking. I handed out more business cards than I ever have before. The cool part is that people were genuinely interested in my book and education programs. This is the first event I've gone to where I had people walk straight up to me because they wanted me to tell them about me and my product. We did lots of business card swapping. I met lots of very nice people. Hopefully some opportunities will arise. There were quite a few other Asian organizations there -- Asian magazines and newspapers, Asian health organizations, Asian performing arts group, and Asian education groups. Very, very cool! Asians unite and drink wine!
My wonderful mother, as always, accompanied my on this adventure. we don't usually get any photos of us together, but one of my friends from work was there (pouring wine from out winery) and she was kind enough to snap these 2 excellent mother-daughter photos:
Another happy RC event! I don't have anything coming up for a while, though I've got a pretty intense schedule beginning in Sept. Should be fun!
Current Mood: cheerful
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June 14th, 2009
04:16 pm - PIXIU Press
Check out this nifty website banner:
I had so much fun producing Raggedy Chan that I decided I'm going to start my own publishing company. PIXIU (pronounced pee-shoo) Press will specialize in fully-illustrated speculative fiction for children and adults. I'm chunking away at the website between dirty diapers, breastfeeding, and work (and sleep, whenever possible).
This is an ongoing work in progress. Right now I am only publishing my own stories, though I hope to start publishing stories by other authors in a year or 2 (though I've got lots of research/work to do--and did I mention diapers to change?--before that happens). I want take it slow with the hopes of doing it right.
I'm in the process of setting up an account with Lightning Source, so the books I publish will be available internationally.
Current Mood: cheerful
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January 22nd, 2008
07:39 pm - Raggedy Chan
We had dinner this weekend with my illustrator and his wife, and after chatting we realized my graphic novel will be finished much sooner than we had thought. It should be ready for release in June.
We've started to plan the release party. The plan is to invite everyone we know, plus their second cousins. We're most likely going to rent the parish hall at the local Catholic Church, where my husband works. It's not a glamorous location, but it's affordable and really very nice. It's clean, has a full kitchen, parking, plus tables and chairs. It's right in our downtown, so it will be easy for people to pop by for a glass of wine and some snacks -- and to buy a book, of course. And perhaps their own Raggedy Chan doll. I'm working with a broker to custom manufacture some Raggedy Chan dolls I can sell with the book.
This weekend, my mom and I are taking a trip to the local Chinese market to plan the snacks. So far we've got shrimp chips and won tons on the list.
Everyone in the area who knows me, save the date for Sat June 21st.
Current Mood: excited
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January 10th, 2008
08:26 pm - Raggedy Chan
The polished illustration of Torch Dragon and Yao-Chi. Isn't he fab?
We call him Torchy for short. :)
One more illustration and Ch. 3 will be finished!
Current Mood: cheerful
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January 5th, 2008
09:32 am - Raggedy Chan
This week's meeting with the illustrator went really well. (Though we got really absorbed in our work and I got in trouble for getting home so late. Husband was fine one he got fed, though, and we kissed and made up.)
Introducing Torch Dragon!
If I had to get my eyes poked out by a dragon, as Yao-Chi does, I'd want Torch Dragon to do it.
This illustration is only about 35% finished, but I think it's neat to see the WIP. We worked really hard on his head (hence the lateness in returning home). We wanted to capture the feeling of brightness and fire around Torch Dragon, but we also wanted to show that underneath all that was a creature. (He started out looking like an eyeball surrounded by flame.) I'm thrilled with the way he looks so far and excited to see how he evolves.
Current Mood: happy
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November 13th, 2007
08:55 pm - Raggedy Chan
Another picture from my graphic novel. This is one of my favorites so far.
Drought Fury and Winged Dragon
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