Summer is Award Season and Writing Season
I’m free!
I did my last conference of the year this week, the Arkansas Association of Instructional Media (AAIM), the school librarians, in Jonesboro, AR
Book sales were strong at this conference because 1) they are school librarians, 2) I only brought hardcovers appropriate for their libraries, so the price points were higher, and 3) they bought series. The Children’s Animal Book series, Moments in Science, and the Read and Write series (writing essays) were popular.
Time to Clean My Office
This isn’t exciting news, but I’m planning to clean my office this week. I have lots of books that need to be organized and put into storage until the next season of conferences. They are stacked everywhere! I’ll need to inventory, sort and store them better so next season will start strong.
Order Books for Award Committees
This is also the season to mail books to award committees. I’ve written about children’s book awards here, which includes a list of appropriate awards. And I’ve started a Monster List of Children’s Book Awards here—subscribe to be notified when a new list goes live! Or download the Monster Books handout from the conference to see what books I recommended.
Right now, I have a spreadsheet of awards that I will submit to, the number of books required by each award (see the info on each award), and I’ll order books to send out. (Order more books? I really need to get those boxes sorted and organized!) I’ll also need to order packing materials. I tend to like the easy fold boxes because they can hold 1-3 books depending on award submissions that year. They are also sturdy and protect the books. I like to get these award submissions sent early because Book/Media Rate at the USPS can be slower; I mail early to get there in a timely manner. A majority of my publicity budget is invested in sending books to the award committees.
Write the Next Book!
Finally, I’m turning my attention to two new manuscripts. I’ve done research about a new animal to add to my Children’s Animal Book series. I’ve ordered used books from other countries, dug into scientific papers and actually started a draft. But here’s the thing. Right from the start, I wanted these books to be ABOUT the animal as a main character. They are biographies of a single animal, not a species. For WISDOM, one editor said I needed to add more about the scientists. Another editor said take out the scientists entirely. But my vision has always been that these are from the animal’s POV, but also includes how they interact with humans.
The first draft of the new story, though, is all about the scientist. I was trying hard to get the timeline and the science facts straight. One source is written by the scientist, so of course, I started channeling his POV. Now that I know the problem, it should be much easier to write with the POV and voice that will work for the story.
A second manuscript is a cosy fantasy. Have you heard that term, “cosy fantasy”? It’s become popular in the last five years. A space-opera or high fantasy is a story that takes into account the fate of the world. It might be a war between rival factions that will change the universe forever. It includes sweeping stories, years of battles, and bigger-than-life characters.
By contrast, a cosy fantasy is a local neighborhood story about smaller stakes. In children’s literature, I’d consider THE WILD ROBOT a cozy/cosy fantasy. It’s limited to the island where the robot is stranded. It’s about an egg, a baby duck and raising the duck. The stakes escalate to include the fate of the island, but it’s not an epic fantasy for sure. Another popular story is the GROWING HOME by Beth Ferry. A girl’s best friend is her goldfish and her talking ivy plant. Talking plants are big right now int he cozy fantasy category.
I realized that cozy fantasy may be better suited to the types of stories I write! I’m deliberately writing one and having a blast. I’ll be doing a major revision on that for the rest of the summer.
Planning for Fall
Planning for late summer and fall still continues, of course. Leslie Helakoski and I will teach a webinar on August 11 and 13 about writing picture books, Picture Book Essential.
We’ll also teach an in-person workshop for Boyds Mills on September 16-19, Picture Book Authors and Illustrators: A Generative Retreat. If you’re interested, hurry! Spaces are limited!
Finally, I’m speaking at the Wisconsin SCBWI Retreat on October 8-10, teaching an intensive, PUBLISH: Earn Enough Money to Pay Yourself a Salary. Come, join me!