Wonky Wisdom

It's Been a While....

2010-04-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys!!

Sorry it's been so long since I have blogged, but I kinda feel like this guy on the left. Juggling so many things and trying to just keep them all in control. But I'm handling the stress well! Haha. :)

Anyway, Book 3 has been out for a little bit now, but I am hoping to have a Barnes and Noble party soon! We are currently working out the date. I just finished performing in the musical "Annie" at Harford Community College in March, and I had to wait until my schedule died down again before we set the party date. Currently, I am teaching dance in Bel Air, working on another musical - "Singin in the Rain" - and also choreographing a children's show of "Snow White". So, I am busy! Obviously! :)

I have been working on Book 4 a good deal recently, and I am super excited about it. It's going to be AWESOME! (PS - There's a sneak peek of Chapter One on my NEW Wonky website at http://www.wonkywitch.webs.com/)

Speaking of the new website, for those of you who don't know, I was having major problems with the old website. And although I loved the old site and had spent many hours, days and months on it, I decided to start fresh, change companies, and move on! The new site is really cool, and it looks very professional. I just started it a few days ago, so it has a while to go before it will be where I want it. But I am having fun working on it! Check it out!

I also had the wonderful experience of doing a last-minute signing at the Bel Air Barnes and Noble this past Saturday. I was brought in because another author had to cancel at the last minute, and they needed someone to speak. It was so cool to speak to some new fans, as well as reconnect with old ones. Some of them I hadn't seen in a few years! It was a nice afternoon. Thank you to all of you who came out at the last minute to chat and hang out with me! It meant a lot! :)

Hope to see you at the upcoming Book 3 party! As soon as I have a date, I will post it on here and the new website!

Maude's Birthday Party!

2009-10-29T11:47:00.001-07:00

Hey, everyone!

I am so excited about the birthday celebration for Maude tomorrow night, Friday, October 30th, at the Bel Air Barnes and Noble!!! It's from 6-9pm, and there will be a lot of fun stuff going on! There will be cake and punch, face painting, and other cool activities. I will be there chatting with new and old fans, as well as signing Books 1 and 2. (Book 3 will be released in November or early December - so keep checking the website for news on the date!) Come hang out with me, have fun celebrating with other Wonky fans, and get your t-shirts (if you haven't already) at the lowest prices yet! There will also be a few bracelets that I made available for purchase and you will get a flyer about the new websites. You can also wear your Halloween costume to the celebration or any other witch or wizard costume you have!

Come join me in the celebration, find out more about Book 3's release and the new sites, and enjoy some birthday cake in honor of Maude!

See you there!!! :)

Craziness....

2009-10-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

So....I know it's been way too long since I last wrote a blog, but I have been majorly busy.... and here's why....

<-----My new Book 3 cover! Cool, huh?

...I am currently in the process of moving back to Maryland, which I am very excited and nervous about. NYC has become way too expensive and I think it would be better for me to get out before things get out of hand. Plus, I WAS OFFERED A DANCE TEACHING JOB! I am thrilled to go back to teaching dance, which has been a passion of mine, other than writing and performing of course. So, needless to say, I have been getting things ready for the move, which is this Thursday, October 15th. I can't wait! It will be so nice to drive around in a car again, have fresh clean air surrounding me, and have trees and grass in sight. I know it will be better for Nimbus, my 7 year-old Weimeraner, too. He will have a dog run in the apartment complex and will be able to run around to his heart's content. He will be super happy!! :)

I also have been going through the publishing process with my publisher, and everything is pretty much done. The book will be released in November, not October like I had originally planned. I was kind of sad about pushing the date back, but I had to do it in order to give my publisher more time to complete some things and make necessary changes. I am really excited about the final galley, which is the inside pages of the book. It all looks so great, and my design team did a wonderful job. I cannot wait to actually hold one of the books in my hand. It's been a long time coming, and I am so proud of all of the hard work that went into it.

I have started writing Book 4, and I have to say that it is going to be a super cool book! :) Keep checking the website for updates and, once Book 3 has been released, I will add some sneak peeks of Book 4.

Make sure you check out my http://www.wonkywear.spreadshirt.com/ site and see the cool sweatshirts and winter hats, etc. These items are the perfect way to keep warm during the cool fall nights! I hope you like the designs, and I will be adding even more as the fall goes on.

I hope you all are having a wonderful beginning of the school year, and I will see you at the birthday party for Maude on October 30th at the Bel Air Barnes and Noble from 6-9pm. :)
We will be releasing the date of the third book's release soon, so keep checking back!

Enjoy your Fall Feast!!!

Design Team!

2009-09-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hi, guys!

I have a lot of exciting news to report...FINALLY!

Production for the book began today, September 2nd, after a ton of problems with the images and having to pay extra for additional pictures, which was fine and expected. I was assigned to a design team, the Jordan team. (Who is Jordan?...I have no clue...haha.) It was pretty exciting to get that e-mail and then be able to contact my author representative on the team.

It has been quite a whirlwind trying to get everything underway. After the images problems were solved, for like the 4th time (argh!), I am now able to officially say that the team is working on the inner layout of the book and the cover. Like I've said before, my publisher has grown so much, and that means that a lot of the things I was used to them doing, aren't done the same way anymore. Everything is pretty much done over the internet now, when before it was done over the phone or in actual handwriting. It's kind of exciting, considering I will be challenged to keep up with them, but it also meant a great deal of frustration in the beginning because of all the changes. I just have to get used to all of it! But now, things are actually being worked on, and that makes me feel better - I was worried that the book wouldn't be done in time for my release party! But I think it will all be okay. :)

I am talking frequently with the Bel Air Barnes and Noble about the release party, and I am so excited for it! Also, I am booking school visits for that week before the signing and party, and I think I will be totally booked if things keep going the way they are!! :)

Make sure to check out the WonkyWear clothing line at www.wonkywear.spreadshirt.com if you haven't yet. There are a few new items on there - some I added today! It would be so great to walk into the release party and see my fans wearing some of the items I've designed. Also, there are a few sales going on here and there, so make sure you check the site often. I will be ordering some items for myself and for the release party!

Also, if you want me to visit your Harford County or Baltimore County school, find out who your reading specialist is as soon as possible. And then give them my e-mail address and get them in contact with me. The slots are going fast, since I will only be there a few days, and I want to be able to visit with as many schools and readers as I can!

Hope you all have a great beginning of the school year! I will update more often now!!

Wonky Production Underway....

2009-08-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone!
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. There had been a lot going on.
I believe that Book 3 is finally underway....FINALLY! There has been a lot more issues with the illustrations, and I think I have finally solved all of them. Once that was done, my book has been moved into scheduling, which means the publisher is assigning my design team....and I will be able to start making cool desisions and creating the look for this awesome book! I am so excited! Book 3 is definitely my favorite out of the three so far. I promise I will up date more often. But until now, I didn't have too much to report.

One other cool thing...there is a sale going on at the WonkyWear shop now through August 28th! You can get 15% off of three or more items - just in time for going back to school. Hurry! This is a limited time offer. Go to http://www.wonkywitch.com/ and get the promotion code on the homepage, and then get your favorite t-shirts, bags, sweatshirts, hats and much, much more!

Send me a picture of yourself in your favorite WonkyWear gear and get a prize at the release party for Book 3 in October!!!! :)

The Wonky Illustrations Drama Goes On

2009-07-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

There has been so much going on in the last few days.
I entered the AuthorHouse contest, and I'm still waiting to see if I won or not....argh. It would really help me if I did.
I also had to AGAIN resend my images to AuthorHouse, because the resolution on most of them would not work with their programs. Everything has changed so much with their company, and I am so glad that they are becoming bigger and better than ever before. But it means that we, as authors, have to be more computer literate. And I have to say, I'm not the best at that. I'm learning, though. :)
So I resized the illustrations, and I think we've finally gotten them where they need to be for the production people to work with. I spoke with a really nice guy in pre-production yesterday. If he hadn't explained it all to me and what I really needed to do with the pictures, I would have been lost. Yeah, Scott! Haha.
I'm very excited about all of things that are coming up for me. I have some schools already interested in me visiting before my release party in October. I'm thrilled about the release party. And the fact that it will be at night this time will be awesome. And it's on Maude's birthday, too! :)
I am constantly updating the website now. I just added a cool game yesterday on a new page!! It's called Wonky Wizards, and you have to defeat Sini in it! Just check it out. I know you'll have some fun with it.
I added a few new things to the WonkyWear shop, too! Don't forget that they have summer sales going on, so visit the shop and grab your Wonky t-shirts before it's too late! Be the first one of your friends to have an Owl Cage Baseball tee or a Tempting Temptations tank top or Book 3 hat! Go, go, go! :) http://www.wonkywear.spreadshirt.com/
Have a Wonky day!

Wonkyness....

2009-07-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today was a little crazy on the book front...

I got a voice message from my publisher saying that I needed to resend my manuscript in because I had already put in all of the illustrations, and they need them sent separately. What? Apparently, because my publisher has grown so much as a company, things have changed a lot since I last published with them. Last time, when I published Book 2, I just sent it all in as is, with the pictures already in place.

So, today I had to go back into the manuscript, take out all of the illustrations, replace them with a little "place holder" (for example: insert 1/2 page picture of Image 2), and then resend the manuscript like that. I also had to rename all of the illustrations to match the Image numbers and e-mail them separately.

Whew!

It actually didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. But I had worked sooo hard to get all of the pictures just the right size, in the right place, etc. And then had to undo all of that hard work. Ugh. But...such is the life of an author! :)

And, even though I was redoing something, it was still fun in a way because I'm working towards the goal of a published third book! And, as an author, you have to revise and redo things a lot of times, like rewrites. So... be ready, all you authors out there!

Also, I started looking into Twitter today, and happened to come across the AuthorHouse site on there - that's my publisher! I just saw, by pure luck, a contest they are having tomorrow morning. I could win $700 towards my publishing with them! I will DEFINITELY let you know what happens with that! I'm super excited. That would help me out a lot. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

On another note, I hope everyone has seen the WonkyWear online shop! I added a few more items a couple days ago, and they're pretty cool. Check them out at http://www.wonkywear.spreadshirt.com/!

Have a wonky day!

What a Nice and Wonky Day!

2009-07-18T14:04:00.001-07:00

I hope this pretty summer day finds everyone happy and possibly taking a dip in the pool! I wish I could do that! Here in NYC, there are not very many pools... :(

Anyway, today hasn't been too eventful. I did find out that my publisher received my manuscript, which was good to know. But if I hadn't called to find out, I would still be wondering, since I never received any kind of confirmation. My publishing representative told me that they will contact me soon. But....argh....I'm too excited to wait! Haha. I actually was hoping to have some kind of creative project to do, like look over the cover or something. But I guess it's too early for that.

With the package I get for this book, I will have Rapid Release, which means the book could be available as early as September, as long as everything has been paid for. But I won't technically release it to readers until October. Halloween is a much better time for a Wonky book anyway. I also get a Marketing Package with this book, which is something I had last time for Book 2. It has 100 bookmarks, 100 postcards, and 100 business cards, all with my book cover and details on them. But I found that, as a children's book author, the postcards weren't very much help, so I have asked if I can get 200 bookmarks and 100 business cards. I used a lot of the bookmarks for prizes and gifts for my readers. I hope that I can get more this time! I'll let you know when I find out.

It's been a few years since the first two books came out, so make sure, when you're lounging by the pool or at the beach this summer, to pick up the books and re-read them! That way you will totally be prepared for Book 3 this fall!! And don't forget to check out the WonkyWear shop at www.wonkywear.spreadshirt.com!

Hope you are all having a Wonky day! :)

The Start of Book 3!

2009-07-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

Things are changing, growing, and beginning for me...

With Book 3 underway, I thought it might be cool to start a blog. This way my readers could follow me on my journey in creating the third book, The Wonky Witch and the Witching Well, and see what it's really like for me to go through the publishing process. It's very involved, and I like to be right there in the middle of the action!

So, Welcome to my Wonky Wisdom Blog!

Today, I sent in the manuscript to my publishers!! It was so exciting to hit that send button and know that Book 3 was sailing through cyber space toward my publishers! How cool is that? I also had to send in a Submission Information form, which just includes questions on the size I want the book to be, what I want on the cover (by the way, the picture on the front is super cool!), how I want the inner part of the book to look, etc. It was neat to be finished with the preliminary work, and now I get to look ahead to the exciting creative aspects of designing the book and working side-by-side with my publishing house. More news will be on the way....!

Also, I recently started my own WonkyWear clothing shop online! It's so cool. I've designed about 100 items so far, from hats to t-shirts to sweatshirts to bags. It was so much fun, and I try to add more items when I can. I already ordered one of the Book 3 hats for myself, and it looks great! I figured that this way, my readers and fans could have dozens of things to choose from. I plan on bringing a few choice items to the release party for Book 3 on October 30 at the Bel Air Barnes and Noble. That way, people can see some of the items, purchase them from me, and find out what cool things are in the WonkyWear shop! Visit the shop at http://www.wonkywear.spreadshirt.com/!

I'm really excited about all of things that are going on right now! I'm talking to the Barnes and Noble about release party ideas for this October, working on my website (http://www.wonkywitch.com/), getting new Fan Club members to join, e-mailing schools about author visits for the week before the release party, and I've even starting writing Book 4! :)

A LOT is going on, but I'm having a blast with all of it!

Keep thinking Wonky thoughts, and visit my website and this blog often to keep up to date on what's going on with Book 3 and for details about the release party!

With magical flourish,

Becky Titelman