Local author publishes book club guide

Cindy Hudson, a writer and our local correspondent for the Oregonian’s Washington County Weekly, has just published Book by Book, a guidebook for mother-daughter book clubs. Originally from Louisiana, Cindy lives in Cedar Mill with her husband and two daughters.

When Hudson’s daughter Madeleine was nine, she noticed that some of her classmates had begun to label reading as “uncool.” Worried that Madeleine might suppress her love of reading to fit in, she came up with the idea to start a mother-daughter book club.

She says, “over the years, our book club became much more than a sanctuary for reading. The books we read provided an entrée for us to discuss issues that otherwise may have been awkward to bring up on our own. As a bonus, the moms got to hear what their daughters' peers thought about these issues, and the daughters got to hear what other moms thought.”

Madeleine, Cindy and Catherine Hudson love books!

Hudson found the book clubs to be so rewarding that she started a website to share her ideas with others. This eventually grew into Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs, published in October by Seal Press, a division of Persius Books.

We had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her experiences.

Where do you have your book club meetings? Do they rotate in members' homes?

In both of my mother-daughter book clubs, we meet in our members homes for dinner and then book discussion. We like to have lots of time to talk about non-book club related things going on in our lives too, which is why we enjoy having social time over dinner, usually with the girls and moms separate, then we all gather together for book discussion.

You said you started the website first. Did you have a book in mind when you did that, or did it just become obvious later?

When I started the website, I knew I wanted to write about mother-daughter book clubs, but I didn't know yet if it would be a book, a series of magazine articles or even just an online presence. I just knew that more and more book clubs were starting all the time, and there were few resources directed to those clubs. I wanted to provide a forum that would help moms start their own clubs or find ideas for their existing groups. As I wrote for the website and blog, I constantly got questions from moms who were hungry for more information. That's when I knew a book was really needed.

Do you ever try to recirculate the books that are bought to another club? Or are you able to get library books since the groups are small? (sustainability issues, you know)

We get most of our books from the library. Occasionally someone will choose a new release book that's so popular we don't have time to get it from the library and read it before our meeting. That's when we buy it. When we do, we look for used copies from Powell's.

Sometimes I hear from readers on my website that they don't have a nearby library. I think that's so sad. We have such great library systems here that it's easy for us to be spoiled. I love the Cedar Mill Community Library's idea for book club kits, and I believe they've even got a few new ones that are good for book clubs with kids. It's such a valuable service, along with the ability to go online and place books on hold.

How did you get your book deal? Did you write the book first and shop it around, or submit a proposal? Agent? Advance?

I got the book deal with a book proposal. I had the idea a couple of years ago, and pitched it to Brooke Warner, an editor at Seal Press, at the Willamette Writers conference. She really liked the idea, but when I sent her the proposal, she turned me down because she didn't think I had good enough credentials to help market the book. So I kept developing my platform through the website I publish, www.motherdaughterbookclub.com and its companion blog, www.motherdaughterbookclub.wordpress.com. Through the website, I began to get more recognition from newspapers and magazines, and I was interviewed for articles a few times. I also developed more contacts with authors, librarians and other moms in book clubs around the country. When I revised my proposal six months later, I was able to get an agent—Rita Rosenkranz, who lives in New York City. She pitched the book idea to several editors, including Brooke. I was very happy that Brooke responded immediately, and we entered into contract negotiations.

It's available for Kindle and Sony bookreaders too. How did that come about?

My book contract includes electronic rights, but the publisher is the one who really decides to offer it for digital readers. I know some authors are specifying that they don't want their books to be offered digitally. While I prefer reading the old fashioned way, if I can reach someone who's using new technology to read my book I'm just as happy as if they picked up a print copy. For me, the goal of writing the book was to encourage more mother-daughter book clubs, not to keep people reading paper books.

Anything else you'd like my readers to know that nobody else has thought to ask?

Starting a mother-daughter book club seems like such a small decision when you make it. But it can have big impact on your life if you stay in one for several years. I think back on all the experiences I've had with my daughters, the friends I've made and the experiences I've had...all because of one small decision. There are so many things from my daughters' childhoods I won't remember, but I'll never forget our book club experience.

I have been doing a lot to promote Book by Book. I feel I'm lucky because my publisher has been working on promotions too, and I hear from so many authors who say they do it all on their own.

I believe the three key benefits of being in a mother-daughter book club are: they help you create a closer bond with your daughter as she grows, they help you connect to the community around you (through the moms and daughters in your club as well as with school librarians, public librarians and booksellers), and they encourage literacy in general. Those are benefits most everyone can get behind, which means the people I contact about guest blogging or doing an interview are often very excited to feature what I have to say. I can't imagine ever running out of things to talk about on those topics.

NEWS HOME