Playing Catch-Up

I've been reading through the emails at the bottom of my in-box. I have over 200 emails in the box right now and am determined to empty it by the end of the day. I've saved many emails because they had links to websites and blogs that I wanted to check out but did not have time to visit when they came in. Perhaps I should only sit down to email when I have the time to read and review everything and get back to empty? No more quick glances to see who/what has showed up?

Here are some really cool and helpful links that I've been following today:

Stephanie Ruble wrote out her notes from the annual SCBWI-LA conference. Reading through them reminded me of many great ideas I got and introduced me to some I hadn't.

Samantha Vamos sent me a link to an explanation of blog book tours which then led me to a number of other sites. It took me about a year and a half to get to Samatha's email, and maybe the timing is right since I have a book coming out in less than 2 months! And I will be making appearances on a number of blogs at that time.

And starting today, I will be active in updating my blogs and working to get the word out about The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal, Charlesbridge, 2010--coming to a store near you on February 1, 2010!

ISLMA/SCBWI-IL--2 Great Organizations with Terrible Acrynyms

Three Bewitching Writers

Just got back from ISLMA in Springfield. They hosted a breakfast for a number of SCBWI-IL authors. Breakfast began at 7:30 am--that meant I had to spend the night in Springfield. I took the train down and back--good choice considering how awful the weather was a lot of the time.

What I brought:

Page proofs of The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal, pasted into a dummy.
Truck Stuck, 1 copy. (Anderson's was selling books for the conference.)
Peter's Trucks, 1 copy.
Lots of bookmarks provided by Charlesbridge--Robin on one side, Truck Stuck on the other--very handy.
Robin postcards.
Meet the Author brochures--should have brought more--I left a bunch with the SCBWI-IL group to take to the IRC meetings in March, along with bookmarks. (Note to self--send a copy of Robin as soon as they come.)
Fresh Sharpie extra fine pens for autographing.

Two outfits built around my black pants--we were pushing black because the meetings were so close to Halloween.
Wore a comfortable travel outfit.
Sara Latta's Ice Scientist to read--getting ready to resubmit an NSF grant for Antarctica.
The Believer--an old copy I bought some time ago and hadn't gotten very far in reading.
4 other children's books that did not get read.

What I forgot to bring:

Water bottle.
Truck Stuck Book Plates.

What I brought home:

Eliza's Kindergarten Surprise by Alice B. McGinty to give to my sister who teaches Kindergarten.
Great notes from Esther Hershenhorn's presentation on "The ABC's of Growing Writers in Your Library."
Great ideas for both analyzing and writing picture books based on Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen's presentation, "Words and Pictures: Teaching Narrative Through the Picture Book."
The preliminary program for IRC--Illinois Reading Council conference in Springfield Mar. 18-20.

Back in the Saddle Again

Almost a year ago the publication date for The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal (hereafter to be known as Robin) was pushed back from July 1, 2009 to Feb. 1, 2010. I was disappointed, of course. I can't wait to have an actual book in my hands.

I wrote Donna Spurlock, Associate Director of Marketing, Publicity and Promotions at Charlesbridge, and Taylor Rogers, Publicity and Promotions Assistant, asking what the schedule would be for cranking up the marketing/promotions/publicity on this book.

Taylor sent me the following schedule:

August & September
compile list of special publications and organizations

October & November
catalog and press release mailing to our publicity list and specialty list

November & December
fulfill review copy requests, work on teachers' guide, continue researching special outlets, begin to set up appearances/signings for late winter

February 1st
the publication date of all spring titles
continue to pitch book, set up signings, etc.

Donna seconded Taylor's schedule and wrote to say that many advance review copies go out in October.

It is now mid-October and I feel as if I am already behind.

I have booked a launch party at the Magic Tree Bookstore. (Save the date--February 21, 1-3 pm.) And I have booked a show of the original art at the Oak Park Public Library for the month of April, National Poetry Month. Still to be determined is the date for a reception/book-signing at the library. There will be another show of the art and book-signing at the Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery in Center Sandwich, NH, tentatively scheduled for July 28, 2010.

Now to get to work on the list of special organizations and publications. Birds are a hot topic these days. There is a lot of interest. How to tap into it?

If you are ever in Ann Arbor....

If you want to do a program in the Ann Arbor Public Libraries, contact Ieva Bates, Youth Librarian. My sister-in-law, Sue Budin, is a librarian in the Ann Arbor Public Libraries and she told Ieva about my program at Bookamania. Ieva invited me to do a reading of Truck Stuck at the Pittsfield Branch of the Ann Arbor Public Libraries. 

The program was a blast. 45 truck-loving toddlers and their parents congregated on the floor of a lovely large program room.  While we waited for the room to fill I chatted with the children. "Who likes trucks?" was my first question. Several hands went up. "Trucks are my favorite vehicles," said one kid. "That's such a great word," I told him. "How old are you?" He was five. Others were three and a half, four and three-quarters, almost four. It was the perfect crowd for Truck Stuck. "What is this?" I asked as I held up my much-abused shoe box. "Rail-road tracks," said some, spotting the set of rails I'd drawn along the top of the box. "It's a bridge," said someone else. "It's a bridge for cars to go under train tracks," said one four year old. "We have a special word for that," I said. "Can you say 'Viaduct?'" Yes they could.

I had loaded the pages onto a powerpoint presentation and projecting them onto a big screen was a great way to share the wonderful details that Andy Robert Davies had created for the pictures. I  pointed out details in the pictures while Aimee, (who works at the reference desk), clicked through the different slides of each page. I was able to ask kids what they saw, what they thought would happen next. The story was well-received.

Then I brought out my trucks. Reminding the children that these are my toys and I am sharing them, but want them back at the end of the program, I handed out all my trucks and vehicles. I had just enough trucks for every child there. Then I read the story and we acted it out, creating a long traffic jam on the row of tables set up in the front of the room.  As I read the book again each child added his or her truck to the traffic jam as that vehicle was named. A few truck-loving kids had a hard time parting with their trucks and it was an experience in controlled chaos. Then I handed out the cardboard balloon cutouts and we marched around the room in a balloon parade, singing "The wheels on the truck are stuck, stuck, stuck... under the viaduct!" Lastly, while I signed books (book sales were provided by Nicola's Books) the children colored the truck page printed out from the Charlesbridge website. 

Some things I learned: have a backup plan. The powerpoint I prepared at home would not work at the library, but the one I prepared on my niece's computer did work. Be prepared for any number. I was lucky to have so many kids attend, and I had just enough trucks to go around. And I had plans of how to use volunteers if even more kids had come. And I could have delivered the same energetic program to a much smaller group.

Arrive early and get familiar with the people at the library, the room, and the AV equipment you'll be using. 

And most important of all, I began to get to know the kids and find out about them, their ages, the sports they play, what activities they've been doing, while letting them know a bit about me. I did not wait for the official start of the program. I kept the kids who came early entertained and engaged as we waited for the program to officially start. Getting related to your audience is the most important part of any program.

ALA in Chicago--my first big convention

Today I hauled my backpack and a canvas tote bag, loaded with publicity and resource materials about my books, down to the ALA (American Library Association) conference at McCormick West. I've never been one one of these big meetings before, where all sorts of publishers, librarians from all over the country, and many random people and exhibitors come together for 4 days of mass chaos and exchange. I had a great day and I learned a ton. Let me see if I can recap some of the highlights:

I really enjoyed meeting and chatting with the people at the Charlesbridge booth. Megan Bencivenni, schools and library sales manager and Emily Mitchell, senior editor, were extremely friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable. They had printed a two-sided bookmark featuring my two books. They had my books prominently displayed and I had barely met them and hidden my backpack and tote bag under their booth when people began to buy Truck Stuck and ask for autographs. I was scheduled to begin at 10 am, but set to work and was steadily busy signing from about 9:30 to 11 am when, when the next author came to take my place. Getting to meet other Charlesbridge authors was another bonus of coming to ALA.

I wandered around the booths of various publishers for the next two hours. I ran into Laura Montenegro, who taught the Intuitive Suitcase course I took last winter. She taught me to look at the publishers for image--what impression did the whole display leave you with--was it commercial and slick? was it arty? would you want to see your book sitting among the others in that display? I had been focused on individual books, but I think Laura's idea of getting a feel for the character and quality of a publisher's list as a whole is a good one and ALA is a great place to get that kind of feel and be able to contrast and compare different publishers.

I got copies of Alice McGinty's newly released biography of Darwin (illustrated by Mary Azarian, Houghton Mifflan Harcourt, 2009) and Kathi Baron's recent novel Shattered (Westside Books, 2009). I picked up a few uncorrected page proofs of books that caught my eye.

Then it was my turn to promote my books at our SCBWI-Illinois booth. I arranged an old journal with art for the Robin book, a dummy of Robin made by gluing together the page proofs into book form, postcards of the cover, my workshop brochure, a copy of Truck Stuck--there just wasn't enough room to show everything. But I found that my original journal and the cover of Robin were good conversation openers. I asked each person who stopped about what they did--many were authors themselves, or illustrators. Others were librarians. I offered everyone copies of my materials and traded cards with a number of people I intend to contact about workshop possibilities. I learned about curriculum tie-in ideas, about the Mazza Museum of children's book art in Findlay, Ohio (which I intend to visit on my road trip to NH), about a journal workshop for children which might be a good fit with the Robin book. Ideas abound. My head is almost as full as the backpack, canvas tote, and two shopping bags I carried home at the end of a full and rewarding day.

What I took: journal, reading book (currently reading Marco Polo, From Venice to Xanadu, by Laurence Bergreen), about 300 postcards of the cover art for The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal, camera, paints, ink, umbrella, a file folder with printouts of the emails concerning the SCBWI-Illinois booth, the page proofs to Robin (both the pasted up dummy I made of the first set of page proofs and the large black portfolio protecting the unfolded second set of page proofs and some of the original art), postcards for Truck Stuck, also business cards with Truck Stuck on them, a box of Sharpie ultra fine marking pens, the Truck Stuck bookplates, a paperback copy of Truck Stuck, the Korean copy of Truck Stuck, one of my journals with some of the original art for Robin in it, and a box of maybe 400 3-fold "Meet the Author" brochures to hand out to librarians looking for authors who like to visit libraries and present workshops.

What I'll take Monday, when I go back: journal, reading book, Robin page proofs in dummy form (but not the portfolio); about 50 "Meet the Author" brochures stuffed with Robin postcards and the bookmark from Charlesbridge, camera, Sharpie pens. I will pack much lighter and bring an empty canvas bag or two in my backpack to accommodate any further books, galleys, or catalogs that I collect before coming home.

Working with Reluctant Learners

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present two workshops for middle school students. These students are reluctant learners, lacking fluency and confidence in their ability to read or express themselves, and thus had been selected for a special summer session to continue their learning. My usual experience has been to work with a classroom, where I find a wide range of interest and ability and confidence in the students. I had not worked with such a concentration of at risk students before. But I had worked with the teacher and organizer of this program as a volunteer in her classroom when she used to teach at my sons' high school. It was great to reconnect with this very dynamic and gifted teacher, Dr. Edyth Young.

Here was my original plan, as expressed in an email to Edyth:

"I would like to talk with your students about how I use my journals to create all my art and writing. And I would like the students to have the opportunity to make some art, using collage materials, which I will provide, and to write in response to that art. If they have journals of their own, that would be the ideal place for them to work. If they do not, I can provide paper for their collages, and perhaps you would have some writing paper and pencils. I would also want a blackboard for group brain-storming. The students should be at tables or desks."

I had intended to brain-storm language about "my favorite things about summer" on the blackboard and from that language, have the students create collages and write poetry or descriptive phrases about their artwork. I hoped that they would have experienced keeping a journal and therefore could relate to my own journal writing. I was not prepared for the passivity and absolute reluctance of these kids to play with either language or art-making. No wonder they are considered "reluctant learners." I could sense their hesitancy, almost fear, of doing something wrong or stupid. There was a total absence of energy in the room. My journals did not connect with most of them.

However, Dr. Young has been working with these students on the concepts of visualization, perspective (point of view) and prediction. She quickly made the connection between visualization and making a collage--the students had to visualize their picture in order to piece it together. Next came perspective and prediction--the student artist knew what he or she had created, but would a viewer see it the same way? It became a game to say what you saw in someone else's collage and see how close you came to what the artist intended. Lastly, she asked each student to write a single "Comcast sentence" to describe the collage--a sentence that contained all the vital information, the way TV shows are summarized in a single sentence to entice the viewer.

With my materials and Dr. Young's energy and understanding of her students, these reluctant learners became artists and writers for the morning.

What I learned is that I need to have a very tightly prepared presentation for this age group that flows into the art project quickly. When dealing with reluctant learners I need to limit the amount of material presented and really generate excitement for the art-making. And the more closely I can relate the project to what they have recently been working on, the better they will connect with it. And you can't beat working with a real pro, like Dr. Edyth Young.

Another Blog Worth Checking Out

A link to the blog Market My Words, with an interview with Abigail Samoun, editor at Tricycle Press, posted on the SCBWI-Illinois list serve. Abigail gives three very concrete ways that authors/illustrators can promote their books, and she makes it clear that "active" authors are a step ahead in the submissions process.

If you are serious about writing or illustrating for children, you will be a member of SCBWI and keep up with the list serve in your region. Members ask questions and trade information on the list serve. In Illinois we are lucky to have so many generous and experienced authors and illustrators who give freely of their hard-earned expertise.

I've been catching up on other people's blogs

I have to admit, I don't read blogs all that frequently. I really don't like to spend much time at the computer, and I write my own books by hand. I wonder, if computers had been around when I started to write on a regular basis (30 years ago last February), would I have chosen to keep a blog instead of writing a journal? Journals strike me as being different--they are more private, for my eyes only. They are also a lot more portable, even than a laptop, which I don't have. And I like the feel of paper and pen and the different page sizes of my journals, the different papers. I also like that I come to the end of a journal and start a new one--I can see--well, maybe not progress, but I can see books piling up. I have over 150 full journals, I'm sure, to show for the last 30 years. I wish I could find them all! They are scattered all over the house and studio.

Blogs are meant to be read--they are written to an audience, whether it is family, friends, or colleagues. That means blogs are censored more than journals--self-censored. The writer is at least partially aware of how other people may respond, and therefore the blog is shaped to appeal to that audience and to present the writer in a particular light. The writing is more self-conscious than that of a journal. I know I sometimes consider what someone reading my journal might think, but I try to let go of these self-conscious thoughts and write from the gut. I worry a little bit that my family may read my journals and not understand that just because I put something in writing at a given time, when I was in a particular mood, doesn't make that entry true--or true forever. Often just by writing something down, by venting on paper, I alter the way I feel or I write myself into a solution to the problem. The journal is a way to have a conversation with myself. But as I often say in book group, the act of writing something down makes it fiction, not truth. There is a selection process that shapes "the facts" into a story, a particular meaning, which is no longer true to the random real-time unfolding of life.

But I have been reading blogs lately. Here are a few entries that I have enjoyed:

Art of arthurslade wrote an interesting post (4-21-09) about advertising his YA novel on Facebook. He generously shares what it cost, what he learned, and how he did it. Something to think about, but I'm not ready to try this yet. I learned about his post through the SCBWI-Illinois List Serve.

Yolanda LeRoy, editorial director of Charlesbridge had a fun adventure in Italy following the Bologna conference which she posted on the Charlesbridge blog, Unabridged. It's called "Truck Stuck, Italian Style."

And I'm discovering that there is a whole community of stay-at-home parents or home-schooling parents who share book reviews and craft activities and other ideas through blogs. When I was raising my kids I was lucky to be living in a community where I had a whole network of friends with children my kids' ages whom I could visit with almost every day and who gave me a level of support that is becoming hard to find. Blogging provides that connection for many people, I think, particularly if you live in a more rural area. Here are some sites that have been reviewing truck books and have enjoyed reading Truck Stuck. The Almost Librarian reviewed a group of truck books on her blog which is written to celebrate and promote early childhood education, early literacy, and family. Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile gives book reviews from both the mom's and the toddler's point of view--at least the mom describes how the books are received by her toddler. No Time for Flash Cards is full of craft ideas for very young children, but she also reviews related books. In a post titled "We're on a Roll!" she reviewed several books, including Truck Stuck.

How to have a great school visit

The best way to have a great school visit is to have it organized by someone as on-top of things as Sara Shacter. Yesterday I presented Truck Stuck to the four preschool classes at Families Together Cooperative Nursery School. Sara had made all the arrangements, first talking with the teachers to see who was interested, then scheduling a day that worked for all of us, and lastly, arranging for pre-orders of Truck Stuck. Twenty-seven copies were sold! I think that's pretty good for a school with a student body of 72.

I arranged to bring the books, already signed (as specified on the order forms Sara had devised), from the Magic Tree Bookstore. Sara distributed the books in the students' cubbies. In each of the four classes I introduced myself as the person who wrote the words to Truck Stuck. I pulled out my shoebox model of a viaduct and we talked about what a viaduct is, (a tunnel that goes under railroad tracks). I had the children repeat the word viaduct, and then we were ready to read the story.

I love reading this book. It has not grown old for me. I still find new details in the pictures and I love to see the way children respond to Andy Robert Davies' playful, cheerful drawing style. We made faces like the disgruntled drivers in the pictures. The children described the action (or lack thereof) at the lemonade stand--a sub-plot told entirely in the pictures. We counted lemonade cups. We discussed the resolution of the problem (better read the book--I don't want to give anymore of it away). Then it was time to open my suitcase full of trucks.

I handed out a vehicle to each child in the class (explaining that these were my toys which I was sharing, but would need back). Then, as I reread the story, this time without stopping to discuss the action, the children lined up their vehicles behind my big truck, stuck under the shoebox viaduct, recreating the traffic jam of the book. I was surprised at how long our truck parade became. There are a lot of interesting vehicles in this story, and I have managed to find toy versions of almost all of them. I'm still searching for a good exterminator truck with a dead insect on top. At the end, each child got to drive his/her vehicle through the viaduct and park it back in my box so I could pack up my suitcase for the next class. For hand-outs I had coloring sheets for the two younger classes and a word search puzzle for the two older classes, as well as postcards with the book cover image on the front and my website information on the back.

Although I was doing four similar presentations, all in one day, I found that each class responded in different ways, with different questions and observations. To keep my own energy high I focused on really listening to the children and on sharing in their fun. The teachers were wonderful, helping to keep the children focused. And I felt that the classes had been well-prepared for my visit. They knew my name and welcomed me warmly. And there were many truck-oriented activities planned for the rest of the day that tied into the story of the book.

An extra bonus--I got to go to lunch with Sara and her two boys, who are true fans of Truck Stuck and made me feel like a rock star.

Truck Stuck still rolling

Here is a picture from the Illinois SCBWI booth at the Illinois Reading Council conference held annually. What a wonderful job our Illinois members did of promoting Illinois authors and illustrators. Truck Stuck is front and slightly right of center--you can see how a good cover image can help promote a book. Thank you everyone who worked at this event, and especially Louann Brown and Toni Leahy, who organized the SCBWI-Illinois booth.

And on a completely different continent--I just got back from a two-week trip to South Africa with the Brown University Travelers and Penn University Alumnae. It was a fabulous, whirl-wind trip, packed with sight-seeing, lectures, and animal-viewing safaris. I brought two copies of Truck Stuck--one specifically for a school in Zambia, and one to carry in my backpack. We were crossing from a day of animal viewing at Chobe National Park in Botswana back to Zambia, where we'd come to view Victoria Falls. There was a school group waiting to take the ferry also. I gave them my last copy of Truck Stuck and asked if I could take their picture. There were several more opportunities where I could have shared my book with South African school children. Note to self--always travel with extra copies.



I did have postcards with the cover art on one side and information about the book and my website on the back. I handed these out to everyone on our tour who wanted one.

Evolution of a Cover Letter

It took me several (12!?!) years to find a publisher for Truck Stuck. I got many "good" rejection letters. I resubmitted. Each time I rewrote the cover letter to fit the editor I was submitting to. Here is my first cover letter:

"I have been distilling this picture book for some time. I am sending it to you first because you did such a nice job on Peter's Trucks. Again I envision a picture book for the very young. I think there is lots for an illustrator to work with, especially contrasting the reactions of the children and the adults to the situation."

This first cover letter was sent to an editor with whom I already had a relationship, having published my first book with her. In fact, my contract required that I submit my next manuscript to her. Eventually her publishing house passed on this manuscript, despite strong editorial support.

So I submitted to another editor:

"I read in the Prairie Wind, the publication of the Illinois chapter of SCBWI, that you are looking for picture book manuscripts. Enclosed is my manuscript for Truck Stuck, a picture book for 3 to 6 year olds. I am also enclosing a brief synopsis with some ideas I have for illustrations.

"Trucks get stuck under the viaducts in Oak Park on a regular basis. I have spent several summers looking at (and photographing) all types of trucks which are found on the residential streets here, the kinds of vehicles which could go through the viaducts here without getting stuck. I have tried to pick some of the most interesting vehicles and the occupations they represent....."

I got a really good rejection to this submission--"...love the title and concept of this manuscript, but..."

Quite a few years and many rejections later I wrote what I think is the almost perfect cover letter. A good cover letter will never make up for a weak manuscript, but a good cover letter can prepare the editor to read your manuscript with an open and engaged mind. This is the letter that presented a really strong manuscript:

"Here is a picture book, complete in 135 words, with a diverse cast of characters, which begs for joyful, playful illustration. The many vehicles and busy street scenes will appeal to the youngest toddlers. But the rhythm, rhyme, and dual story lines will hold the interest of older children as well as beginning readers. The short, lively text makes this book an appealing read-aloud. Since the subplot, contrasting the reactions of children to adults, will be told in pictures while the text focuses on the main storyline of a truck that becomes stuck, I have enclosed a synopsis and a dummy...."

This cover letter covers the important points: what I am submitting, who the audience is, and what the story is about, and it states these ideas in strong, unequivocal language. It is clear that I believe in this story. Every word in the letter is true, without making claims that are essentially subjective judgments.

And here is a photo that substantiates my claims for the audience appeal:

This is a friend of my older son, Lou, reading with his first-born.






"The kid looks so serious," commented my husband.

"He was probably trying to decipher the complex rhyming scheme," answered Pete, my younger son.

I think he was engaged in the lively street scenes.