Skype! Skype! Skype! – An Interview with Laurel Snyder

I already loved Skype, school visits, and mixing them together, so last year when I saw author Laurel Snyder announce that she was going to do 100 Skype visits in 100 days along with her book launch, I thought it was a fantastic, if exhausting sounding, idea.

Now that the visits are over, I asked Laurel a few questions about the experience – the logistics, what she learned, how it did (or didn’t) help her and her book. Luckily for all of us, she gave great answers, and I’m happy to share them with you all today.

You decided to do 100 Skype visits in 100 days to support the release of your new book, Bigger than a Breadbox. And you found the visits via a blog post and Twitter, yes? How did the word spread, and how quickly did you get 100?

Okay, my deep dark secret is that I didn’t *quite* hit 100.  I booked 100, but then (as you’d expect) the scheduling with 100 different school districts and their complex calendars and timezones (in some cases, overseas), was tricky. So a few schools ended up pushing off until spring.  But I was already so overbooked I didn’t replace them. In the end I think I did 87 or 88.

Word spread so quickly. I think I had 100 schools in about 2 weeks.

That’s fantastic. Shows you’re idea really connected with teachers. For yourself, though, I’m curious what your goal was, if any, in doing this. Visibility? Sales? Fun?

Initially, the goal was to do something to promote the book and generate some buzz, without traveling. Last year, when Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher came out, I did a ton of out-of-state events, and ended up on the road every weekend from September-December.  It was exciting, but also really really hard on me and my kids (who were only 3 and 4 at the time). So I was hoping to replace that kind of travel with skypes. That was the original goal.

But then I actually started skyping, and the goal changed. After about 2 weeks, once I stopped being nervous, I realized that it was going to be a hugely inspiring experience for me. It stopped being about promotion and started being something much better. The kids and the teachers were amazing. The questions the kids generated were so sharp and unexpected, and I’ve got pages of notes for my next book as a result. But even more than that, it was a massive kick-in-the-head for me, a reminder that writing is NOT about sales and promotion.

Kids don’t care about stars and lists and reviews and sales numbers. Kids care about stories and language and characters. As we all should. I feel much saner and clearer-headed for spending 100 hours of my life talking to kids, and remembering what matters most.

Did you arrange for book sales directly with any visits, or did you just put yourself out there?

I didn’t. I figured if they liked the book, and me, some people might buy books.  But I didn’t mess with that. My (awesome) Random House sales reps were in touch with the schools, and they tried to match the teachers up with their closest indie bookstores, as needed.

But we didn’t push sales. In fact, we gave each teacher a free copy, so that they could do readalouds if they wanted! Random House was wonderful about getting behind this crazy idea of mine.

Can you see any tangible impact from your visits?

Oh, yes.  I have a lovely box of chocolates from a school in Belgium!

Beyond that, there are all kinds of different metrics you can use if you want them. I sent out a ton of signed bookplates after the visits, as requested.   I got a Santa-sized mailbag of lovely notes from the kids.  I have several dozen new teacher and media-specialist friends, people I wouldn’t have met without the skypes.  I have a few ideas for new books, generated by questions from the kids.

But I’ll repeat that the main thing I “got” out of this was an attitude adjustment. Seriously. I think writers need to stay in touch with kids. I think the best way to NOT get bogged down by reports of the “death of publishing” is to talk to kids.  Kids don’t think the book is dying. Kids think the book is awesome, and that’s contagious.

Obviously, you’re now exceedingly familiar with Skype as a tool for school visits. What are your lessons learned? Is preparation of the network the key? Are there tricks for using it on your end? Do you have to get dressed fully to visit, or is it safe to think you’ll only show your face to the kids?

I’m a booster for comfort. For me, the most fabulous thing about Skyping is that I don’t get nervous the way I do for school visits, because I’m in my own element. I can show the kids my dog, my cat, my own kitchen breadbox, little things I have around the house that informed the book.

Skyping (for me) has none of the formality of a school visit.  So I wear comfy clothes (or in one case, a Halloween costume).  Some days my kids were home, and wandered through the room. The more visits I did, the more comfortable I got.  I think most people are at their best when you’re at ease.

I did make sure to use an ethernet line, so that I wasn’t at the mercy of my wireless network, and I set myself up in a spot with good light. And I tried to use the same spot/format each time, just so I got in a groove. But I didn’t worry too much about the details.

So much with skyping is unpredictable. A lot of the schools have tech issues. Connections time out or the picture is blurry.  I think you just have to be able to roll with it.

What’s next for you, off and online?

I’m revising a novel, “Seven Stories Up,” that’s a prequel to Bigger than a Bread Box. It’s due very soon, and will be out summer 2013.  And I have a picture book, “Good Night, Laila Tov” coming out in March. There’s a giveaway for it on Goodreads right now!

Online, I’m just going to continue skyping, at a calmer pace. I really can’t  imagine stopping now. I’d miss it too much. I’ll set aside a timeslot (I think an hour on Fridays) for it every week, and take classes on a first-come-first-serve basis.

And who knows what else will happen. One thing about technology is that you can’t know what’s coming, so you can’t know what you’ll be doing in a year. Right?  You really have to be willing to learn new things daily. You have to be willing to try things out, and fail sometimes…

Just like writing.

Thanks so much to Laurel for stopping by and sharing so generously. I love the surprise upside of the project… and I’m now an even bigger fan of Skype visits, and, yes, of Laurel Snyder, too.