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Minnesota: The Birth of Old Man River
A lake creates a lazy stream
That flows through pines and slips away,
Then picks up barges, logs and steam,
Becomes a mighty waterway.
Walk on rocks across this sliver,
Cross the current, slow and mild.
It will grow to Old Man River
Though for now it’s still a child.
--Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
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The headwaters of the Mississippi River are in Lake Itasca, Minnesota. At its start, the river is narrow and shallow, and you can cross the Mighty Mississippi by walking across some rather slippery rocks.
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| The water is high this year, so that rock path across the beginning of the Mississippi River is a bit underwater! Photo: Laura Purdie Salas |
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Here I am reading the poem:
Happy Poetry Friday! And welcome to my musings on our current topic, marketability of our manuscripts, and what we do with our unmarketable work.
Ah, this is such a touchy topic! As a poet, marketability is even MORE of a challenge than most other formats/genres. And as my career progresses, I am even more aware of this, always, because I need to make a certain income and want to earn that income by creating books I love. So, do I think about whether a project is marketable before I start it? Absolutely. If I decide it is not, what do I do? I might still write it, if it's something I feel like I just HAVE to write. But if it's not something I have to write, then I might skip it. I have way more ideas than I have time to write, so it's a matter of prioritizing. What project am I excited about writing that I think has at least a decent chance of selling to a publisher? That's what I take on.
Unfortunately, I usually don't realize a project is unmarketable until it's too late! Take my 50 state poems (please, publisher, take it!). Above is the Minnesota poem from that collection, plus a photo I took Tuesday at the headwaters.
So, what's my solution? Well, I have 6 poetry collections that I want to get out there. Four of them got lovely, wonderful responses from editors--some even went to acquisitions--but were deemed too hard to sell. Another one never went out because my agent felt it wasn't strongly marketable, and the final one I wrote for my blog in April. I am having trouble moving on from these unpublished collections. So...I've decided to e-publish them. I've got wonderful educators writing some teaching activities, and I'm going to try to market them TO educators, primarily. I am fairly certain I won't recoup the monetary cost of producing the books (I'm estimating about $2,000 for the six books together), because self-published e-books typically DON'T sell well at all. At. All. Not to mention the many hours of work it will take. But my big hope is that I will connect with more teachers and librarians, spread some poetry love, and, ultimately, share my name and work. And that I can get some closure and put all my creative energy into new projects instead of constantly looking backward at what feels like unfinished business.
P.S. Don't get me wrong. I have LOADS of unpublished, unmarketable manuscripts that I would not consider putting out there. Some manuscripts are unmarketable for good reason:>)
P.P.S. Jone at Check It Out (who does the wonderful April poetry postcards!) has the Poetry Friday Roundup. Enjoy!P.P.P.S. It's almost the end of our Rafflecopter Giveaway for Joan Bransfield Graham's THE POEM THAT WILL NOT END. Just go here and click on the link at the very end of the post. Good luck!--posted by Laura Purdie Salas
In a recent blog post, Marion Dane Bauer addressed a topic important to all writers who hope to have their work accepted for publication. “When I begin a new manuscript,” she says, “especially one that will require a major commitment of time, I pause to consider whether what I want to write will be marketable.” In the series of posts that starts today, we Teaching Authors discuss our own experiences with and thoughts about the question of marketability.
For five summers now, I’ve been gathering monarch butterfly eggs and caterpillars and raising them in our backyard, protected from predators by a mosquito net tent. Last winter, I finally—finally!—found a way to write about the process in a series of haiku. Sidebars include facts about monarchs and tips for readers who might want to raise them, too. I call the poems “butterflyku” and the collection
Butterflyku and Monarch How-To.
Here’s an excerpt:
Searching milkweed leaves,
I find what I’m looking for:
tiny monarch egg!
Five rejections later, I’m facing the prospect that this subject, important as it is to me, might not be acceptable in this form. Although I know that many manuscripts are sold after more than five rejections, I also understand that poetry collections are notoriously tough to sell. So I’m taking a different approach, a narrative nonfiction one that I hope will be more appealing to both editors and readers.
As I organize my thoughts in this new direction, I’m still learning. I attended a symposium last week at the Chicago Botanic Garden with brilliant speakers who elaborated on the urgent issues affecting monarchs today. I soaked up every word, took pages and pages of notes, and collected handouts to study.
To prepare for this year’s monarch project, I started three varieties of milkweed from seeds we collected last fall.
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| top to bottom: common, whorled, and butterfly milkweed |
Now the monarchs are back! Eggs are hatching! Caterpillars are growing! Today's tally includes 4 eggs and 7 caterpillars. I’m heading back outside to keep an eye on the amazing creatures and their awe-inspiring transformation so I can try, try again with a topic that’s not only important but also fascinating and dear to my heart.
Wish me luck!
Don’t forget to
enter our current giveaway for a chance to win an autographed copy of Joan Bransfield Graham's new book,
The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices!
JoAnn Early Macken
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 6/11/2014
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Today I'm pleased to share a Wednesday Writing Workout contributed by the inspiring and talented author Margo L. Dill.
I first met Margo some years ago at an SCBWI-Illinois writing conference. I believe she'd already sold her first novel, the middle-grade historical
Finding My Place: One Girl's Strength at Vicksburg (White Mane Kids), but it hadn't been published yet. With today's post, we join Margo's blog tour celebrating the release of her second novel,
Caught Between Two Curses (Rocking Horse Publishing), a YA light paranormal romance novel about the Curse of the Billy Goat on the Chicago Cubs. Margo has two more books under contract--both picture books--one with High Hill Press and the other with Guardian Angel Publishing. Besides being a children's author, she is also a freelance editor with
Editor 911: Your Projects Are My Emergency! and she is part of the
WOW! Women On Writing e-zine's staff. There, she works as an editor, blogger, instructor, and social media manager. When she's not writing, editing, or teaching online, Margo loves to spend time with her husband, stepson, daughter, and crazy Boxer dog, Chester, in St. Louis, Missouri. You can learn more
at Margo's website.
Here's a summary of
Caught Between Two Curses:
Seventeen-year-old Julie Nigelson is cursed. So is her entire family. And it’s not just any-old-regular curse, either—it’s strangely connected to the famous “Curse of the Billy Goat” on the Chicago Cubs. Julie must figure out this mystery while her uncle lies in a coma and her entire love life is in ruins: her boyfriend Gus is pressuring her to have sex, while her best friend Matt is growing more attractive to her all the time. Somehow, Julie must figure out how to save her uncle, her family’s future, and her own love life—and time is running out!
As a die-hard Cubs fan, I'm really looking forward to reading Margo's new book. (I'm hoping the main character solves not only her problem, but the Cubs' curse too!)
And now, here's Margo's three-part
Wednesday Writing Workout.Wednesday Writing Workout: Putting the Pieces TogetherWriting a novel is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with my daughter. I’ve been teaching her to do the edge pieces first and then fill in the middle. This reminds me of writing a novel because writers usually start with an idea, maybe a plot or an interesting character with a problem—in other words, our border. We build our foundation for a story by piecing together our ideas. But sometimes, that beginning border, even with a few pieces filled in the middle, is not finished or even sturdy. Here are exercises I use with my
WOW! Women On Writing novel students to add more pieces to their puzzle and come out with a strong, final product—a finished, publishable novel! (These can also be used with short stories and picture books.)
1. Create characters with internal and external problems.
The characters I remember best are the ones that struggled with both internal and external problems. What’s the problem your character has that he must overcome in the novel? Trying to raise money for a new bike? Figuring out how to deal with a sibling? Tired of moving around and always being the new kid at school? These are all external problems, and the ones that our plots are built on.
But your character also needs an internal problem! In
Caught Between Two Curses, Julie has to break two curses; but while she does this, she also struggles with her self-esteem and confidence as well as what love means. These are her internal struggles. While she rushes around to save her uncle, the events in the novel help her grow and work through her internal problems.
Just ask yourself these four questions either before you write your novel or even during revisions:
a. What is your main character’s internal struggle?
b. How does he or she solve it?
c. What is the external problem in the novel that affects the main character?
d. How does he or she solve it?
2. Brainstorm problems.
If you find yourself with a strong border for your novel—an exciting beginning and an ending that will leave readers talking for years, but you are stuck in the muddy middle, make a list of 10 problems that a person can have that’s the same age as your main character and in the same time period. For example, my novel’s main character is 17, lives in Chicago in present day. Problems she can have are: pressure to have sex, temptation to do drugs, failing classes, negative body image, disloyal friends, etc.
Once you have this list, are there any of these problems that you could turn into a subplot for either your main character or a minor character or sidekick? Subplots can often dry up the muddy middle and keep readers hiking to the end.
3. "Then what?"
The last exercise asks a simple question, “Then what?” Each time you answer, make the problem or situation worse for your main character. You don’t actually have to use all of these horrible situations in your book, but they may help you push your main character a little harder. Here’s an example:
Julie learns a curse is on her family.
Then what?
The curse makes her uncle fall in a coma.
Then what?
Julie’s grandma says her uncle will die before he is 35 if the curse isn’t broken.
Then what?
He is 35 in less than 5 months.
Then what?
She has no idea what to do to break the curse.
Using these writing exercises while you are piecing together your novel will give you a complete story in no time!
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 6/6/2014
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Howdy, Campers!
Before we get to Poetry Friday, before you enter our newest book giveaway to win a new spanking-new poetry book, I'm thrilled to announce the winner of an autographed copy of Debbie Dadey's Treasure in Trident City (Aladdin).
(Here's Carmela's guest TeachingAuthor Interview with the Debbie.)
And the winner is...drum roll, please...Catherine A!
Congratulations, Catherine!
And now onto Poetry Friday, which is hosted by Carol, of,
interestingly enough,
Carol's Corner. Thanks for hosting, Carol!
And today, we're lucky ducks. Why? Because my dear friend, poet
Joan Bransfield Graham, is stopping by for a glass of iced tea! Here she comes now ~ um...looks like I'd better bring a trough of tea...
.
The effervescent, inventive and truly original author and poet,
Joan Bransfield Graham.
In January, when her latest book of poetry
--The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices, illustrated by
Krysten Brooker--was published,
TeachingAuthors was proud to be part of Joan's blog tour. At our stop of her tour she offered a
Wednesday Writing Workout called the Olympic Writing Challenge.
Today,
Joan has agreed to be tied to a spit and grilled with our tough
TeachingAuthor interview questions. She has
also been kind enough to offer an autographed copy of
The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices to one of our lucky readers. (Here's
Miss Rumphius' fabulous interview with Joan to whet your appetite for this book.)
This book giveaway runs from midnight, June 6 to the end of the day on June 21, 2014. See below for entry details.
As I reported in January,
Joan is an award-winning poet who can't STOP writing poetry. She has files and piles of poems, which have been featured in anthologies, magazines, textbooks, and on CDs. She likes to think "outside the page" because poetry is "everywhere." Her books SPLISH SPLASH and FLICKER FLASH--shape poems about water and light--were both chosen as School Library Journal Best Books of the Year and NCTE Notables, among many other honors, and have been described as "ingenious," "wonderfully evocative," and "stunningly delicious." She loves photography, art, traveling and lives not-too-far from me in Los Angeles, CA.
Celebrating its 20th Birthday!
Celebrating its 15th Birthday!
So, Joan, how did you officially become a TeachingAuthor?
I officially became a TeachingAuthor when my teacher brain and my writer brain merged! My favorite part about teaching was helping students leap beyond knowledge into creativity, to use their imaginations to see the world in new ways.
What's a common problem/question that your students have and how do you address it?
"Does a poem have to rhyme?" Of course not. I tell students rhyme can be like a wild horse that wants to take you in the wrong direction. You have to be in charge of your poem and guide it; don't throw in any word just to make it rhyme. Expressing what you want to say is the most important thing--use the form that works best.
Lately, I've been surprised when students haven't been able to tell me what a poetry "anthology" is. The word anthology comes from the Greek word "anthologia," a "flower gathering." Isn't that a great way to think of it . . . a bouquet of voices rather than poems from only one writer.
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| Bouquets at the Davis, CA Farmer's Market |
Recently in an assembly, before we were going to do a poem together in sign language, I asked, "What is sign language?" A kindergarten child said, "Using your hands to communicate." Wow.
What one piece of advice do you have for teachers?
Share and enjoy poetry with your students across the curriculum--it fits everywhere! Do poems in "call and response" so that everyone can participate, be part of the poem.
Tell us about one particular school visit which stays with you.
Spending a day in the life of a school is an honor and a joy. Each school has its own personality. Between assemblies at one school, a teacher came up to me with a little boy and told me he had come to the school speaking no English and also had developmental problems. After my presentation, he went back to the classroom, picked up my book, and was singing the words he was so excited. He wanted to give me a hug to thank me. That's why we write, isn't it? To open the world for ourselves . . . and others.
And what's next on the horizon for you?
I've just had an incredibly busy May in California, which took me down to San Ysidro, up to Bakersfield for their amazing week-long Young Author Fair, down to San Clemente, and, on May 16, to my daughter Aimee's graduation from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
June 28 - 30 I'm headed to ALA in Las Vegas, where I'll be reading in the Poetry Blast. I have lots of poems due to come out in anthologies--April and I have been "flowers" in many of the same anthologies--at various times and many projects in the works. On Oct. 25 I'll be doing a Spotlight presentation at the SCBWI CenCal Writers' Day at California Lutheran University. March 7, 2015 you'll find me in Teaching Author mode conducting a workshop--REV YOUR POETRY POWER: Poetic Forms, Voices, and Choices.
And finally, since it's Poetry Friday in the Kidlitosphere, do you have a poem you'd like to share with our readers?
I'm torn about which poem to share. I've been having so much fun with my "Conductor" poem from THE POEM THAT WILL NOT END. I pass out my ocean drum, rain sticks, wooden frogs, thunder stick, and we have an environmental symphony. Those who don't have an instrument are part of the "wind chorus." I direct all this--"Conductor" is an Italian sonnet--with my large pencil baton as I read the poem.
But I think I'll share my haiku:
Footprints
Smooth patch of white snow,
stretched out before watchful eyes--
an invitation!
I say to students, "The next time you look at a blank sheet of white paper, think of it as a freshly-fallen field of snow, just waiting for the footprints that only you can make."
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| from morguefile.com |
My character Ryan O'Brian writes because he has to, he has a "Fever" (Can you hear Peggy Lee singing?). Thanks, April, for this opportunity to connect with kindred "fevered" spirits.
Thank YOU, Joan--and g'bye! (Readers, be sure to enter below for a chance to win Joan's newest book!)
Joan with her trusty camera. Behind her is one of her many fans.
Now it's time for you to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Joan's The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options specified. If you choose the "comment" option, share a comment to TODAY'S blog post telling us what you'll do with the book should you win: save it for yourself or give it away? And please include your name in your comment, if it's not obvious from your comment "identity." (If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com. )The giveaway ends on June 21st. P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address. Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.a Rafflecopter giveaway
I’ve so enjoyed the poetry activities this National Poetry Month that I’m sorry to see it end. (April, are you ready for a break?) I spoke about poetry this month to elementary school students from prekindergarten to sixth grade and worked with young poets in Merrill, Marshall, and Winneconne, Wisconsin—and I loved every minute of every visit! Hello and thanks to all the helpful teachers, librarians, and PTO organizers!
Today is Arbor Day (read about it
here), so I’m including a shape poem I wrote about trees and my own writer’s dilemma.
To celebrate Arbor Day and National Poetry Month, read some tree poems! Kristine O’Connell George’s
Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems is one of my all-time favorite collections.
Poetrees is a new collection by Douglas Florian.
Writing Workout: Write a Shape PoemA shape poem is also called a concrete poem or a spatial poem. You can find them in collections such as
Doodle Dandies: Poems that Take Shape by J. Patrick Lewis,
Splish Splash and
Flicker Flash: Poems by Joan Bransfield Graham, and
A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems, edited by Paul B. Janeczko.
To write a shape poem, choose a concrete object so you have a shape to work with. Write the poem first. Then fit it into its form. I used the WordArt feature in Microsoft® Office Word to create the poem above. Have fun!
Don't forget to join us in our first anniversary celebration and
enter to win a critique of your work!
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 2/26/2010
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Dear Followers of Teaching Authors,
Happy Poetry Friday!
I need your help.
I have been an instructor with UCLA Extension's Writing Program for ten years. I adore teaching there, love the students, love the challenges. Following the example of master teacher Myra Cohn Livingston (with whom I studied for twelve years), I am a big believer in homework for adult learners. Lots of it. I've found that the more work they do and the less dancing-on-a-table-top-in-the-front-of the-classroom I do, the better the teacher they think I am.
In Myra's Master Class, we basically shoved the rest of our lives aside for ten weeks to write poetry for children. Myra taught so many now well-known children's poets, I call her the Johnny Appleseed of children's poetry. My classmates including Monica Gunning, Janet S.Wong, Alice Schertle, Ann Whitford Paul, Tony Johnston, Joan Bransfield Graham, Madeleine Comora, Ruth Lercher Bornstein, Sonya Sones and many others.
Sometimes, though, critiquing each student's story every week wears me down. (Can you relate?) It's a fine line between thoroughly critiquing each story in order to help the author get it into shape...and spending more time critiquing it than the author spent writing it.
I don't know how you teachers with six classes a day, thirty students per class do it. I think you may be magicians.
I wanted to change my universe. I wanted the playfulness back in teaching. So I proposed a new class. It was accepted and I'll be teaching it this summer (yippee!). Here’s a draft of the course description:
Chockful of short and longer in-class writing exercises, this workshop is designed especially for children's picture book writers. By focusing on recurring subjects such as Tell the Truth, Less is More, Quote-Unquote, and The Power of Observation, you have the time and creative space to delve into a range of fresh approaches to these universal themes as you engage in stimulating writing exercises and constructive give-and-take with your instructor and peers. In addition to inspiring new work and points of view on it, this workshop loosens up your tight fists, unwrinkles your worried brow, and reminds you how satisfying and fun writing can be. All writing and critiquing is performed in class; students are given the opportunity to read their work aloud if they wish. Enrollment limit: 20 studentsNO HOMEWORK for me OR for the students! Doesn't that sound great?
Each of the six classes is three hours long, so I’m collecting fun, inspiring writing exercises.
Of course there are wonderful books that include all sorts of writing exercises. Among them:
Ann Whitford Paul's terrific
WRITING PICTURE BOOKS (s
6 Comments on Question Poems for Poetry Friday, last added: 3/1/2010
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What a great poem, JoAnn. And I have the same dilemma!
Carmela
Thanks for the tips on how to do a shape poem. I tried to explain this to a class I was working with to no avail.
I like your poem, too.
I can get my children haiku beautifully but they always shape things reminiscent of splattered droppings - I think I need your skills ;)
My preschooler absolutely loves Doodle Dandies. The snake poem is her favorite.
By the way, we also celebrated Arbor Day with poetry and a "POET-TREE"
Thanks, JoAnn, for the poem. Also, thanks for explaining how you made your poem. I didn't know about WordArt.
Laura Evans
all things poetry