Catherine Burr Diary

Shadow Cat Book 4: Shadow Cat Finds Fame is Released in Print

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:05:00 CDT

The 4th children's book in the Shadow Cat Shadow Series by Catherine Burr, "Shadow Cat Finds Fame" is now available in print at Amazon.com.

Buy link for print book to Amazon.com.

30 pages, ages 1-5, children's picture book
Published by New Line Press/NLP Kids

Shadow Cat Finds Fame

Mon, 14 May 2012 17:44:00 CDT

Available May 25, 2012

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Shadow Cat has become a diva! Shadow Cat is famous after books are published about her, and she travels the world and not only goes to Hollywood, but she goes Hollywood! Soon she learns that she would rather have friends than fame. 34 illustrated pages, in print and ebook.

Shadow Cat Finds Fame by Catherine Burr.
Published by New Line Press. Available May 25th, 2012.

Shadow Cat Series book 3: The Cat Would Never Never Be The Same is Released in Print

Sat, 05 May 2012 10:38:00 CDT

Catherine Burr's series of children's books, Shadow Cat Series, has seen the third release in the picture book series aimed at young children who love to look at picture books and have them read to them. The Cat Who Would Never Be the Same is 30 pages of pretty color pictures and a cute story about a cat who becomes jealous when dog Max moves in. Max gets to go the lake, go for car rides, do all kinds of things Shadow Cat doesn't get to do. And she is not taking it! She decides to find another home and doesn't have to look far.

The Cat Would Would Never Be the Same by Catherine Burr is now available in print at Amazon.com and coming soon as an ebook. Published by NLP Kids, an imprint of New Line Press, the book is the publisher's 109th published book. New Line Press is an indie press that was founded in 2004 as a print book publisher, and in 2008 moved into the digital arena with cutting-edge reading platforms. In 2010, the company started NLP Kids, books for young children and the YA audience.

Catherine Burr is a nationally recognized bestselling author of over a dozen published books.

Buy print book here (Amazon).

Shadow Cat book 3 Coming Soon!

Thu, 03 May 2012 21:56:00 CDT

After recently adopting our third pet, my cat (Shadow Cat) was starting to feel squeezed out of the picture, so I did what any writer would do, I wrote book #3 in the Shadow Cat Series. This one is entitled, The Cat Who Would Never Be the Same. And people wonder where authors get their ideas from!

This latest installment in the Shadow Cat Series of children's picture books (ages 1-7) will be released by mid-or May end. The other two books in the series, The Cat Who Had No Name, and The Cat Who Went Lame, are available in print and ebooks at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Apple iBookstores.

PS. A quick thank you to everyone who has been buying my motherhood humor books for Mother's Day! Motherhood Moments and Motherhood is not For Wimps are available at Amazon.com.

Please adopt a 2nd Chance Pet

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:08:00 CDT

If you are considering a pet, please consider adopting a second chance pet from your local animal shelter. There are so many adorable cats, dogs, birds, even horses, that need good homes, waiting for you to adorn them with love and care.

I have adopted 3 "second chance" pets now, and they are the most wonderful pets. Do not think you need to buy a purebred animal and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy a certain type of animal. If you want a particular breed, put a request in at your local animal shelter and when they have one being surrendered, they will contact you.

Here are my 3 second chance pets, Max, Penny, and Shadow Cat. Please consider a second chance pet, you will be so glad you did!

How to get your book into the library

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:48:00 CDT

By Catherine Burr

Local libraries love indie authors. And you'd probably love to have your book available for check-out in your local library, and to do so, you should follow some simple steps.

First, I have a question for you. Do you ever go into the library or were you just hoping the library would carry your book by osmosis?

Get a library card. Check out books. Get to know not only the librarians but the librarian who is in charge of programs and the one (if it's not the same) who is in charge of adding books to the circulation. Do this well before your book is published. Be a regular patron of the library.

Point to remember, if want your book available at the library for check out, don't just drop it off at the front desk and announce you are donating it. If you do, don't be surprised if your book gets lost in the books marked for donation to the library's "Friends of the Library" donation/fund-raiser stack.

Before you take your book in, find out who the person is that will be approving your book for circulation. Give them a promotional packet which include include items like publishing information, flyers, news or media coverage of your book, and author information.

Make sure you specify that your book is intended for circulation and not for donation. There is a difference.

Go in and introduce yourself to the person who will be deciding to carry your book. Be professional. Wear your author clothes, no not your jammies, but "you're going to give a talk" clothes.

Offer to do a program. You will not get paid and do not insult the library by asking to be paid! Offer to donate a portion of your book proceeds from any books sold at the event back to the library.

Programs don't directly have to be about your book. When the Kindle first came out, I arranged for one of our authors to give a talk about the new electronic reading devices, the library was thrilled and the room was packed. And the author got to sell their books at the end.

Do not wait until your book is published to begin the library process. Go to the library well in advance and do your homework. When your book is published, you will have already prepared the groundwork for your book to be in the library. Most local libraries have local authors shelves and, in my opinion, they truly want to promote local authors.

Once your book has been successfully added to one branch, don't be surprised if another branch also requests your book (many times at this point, they will purchase copies). Your book should be available through a national distributor for the libraries to purchase it. If possible, find out who the distributor is that the library procures books from so that you can make sure your books are available.

Libraries love books, libraries love authors. Show your passion for writing and books, because you undoubtedly share that passion for writing and books with the library personnel.

A little bit of legwork will go a long way to get your books on the library shelf.

tweet me @catherineburr

Catherine Burr is a nationally recognized bestselling author and publisher.

(Top) Catherine Burr books displayed on the library shelves and before a library program, given by bestselling author Catherine Burr.

Pre-Mades Available from Catherine Burr Designs

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:35:00 CDT

Here's the scoop, for years I've designed book covers exclusively for New Line Press and now for the first time have started to design covers for people outside the NLP community. Through Catherine Burr Designs, I design both custom covers and I also have a selection of pre-made covers. As a publisher, I am aware and have the experience of what sells, what covers work, what colors to use, how the author's name and title should look, and now my expertise is available to all authors. Yay!

Details are available on my website CatherineBurr.com.