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It’s usually read in the spring and one activity that students often do is to send a laminated paper version of Oliver on a trip to visit folks. Download the 2016 Lesson Plan pack, which includes Sample Chapters from five novels.(24 MB, zip file from Dropbox).
The Lesson Plan pack includes a simple paper pattern for Oliver. This is an example or case study of an easy ongoing promotion. First, I’ll explain what happened, and then we’ll look at how you can do the same for your book.
Interact with Readers
This year, Cynthia Wells, a teacher from Quitman, AR, contacted me and said that Kailin, her student, would like to send me her Oliver for a week’s visit. Of course, I can’t always do this, but this was a good year to say, “Yes!”
Kaylin sent her Oliver to visit me in my Blue Office. She’s holding the envelope I sent back.
When a student sends an Oliver around, they ask people to take photos of Oliver in different places. See the Oliver Pinterest board.
Oliver Sees the Sights
Here are some things Oliver did with me.
Kailin’s Oliver met the BIG Oliver that lives in my Blue Office. | DarcyPattison.com
Oliver joins a drummer and makes a bit of noise. | DarcyPattison.com
Oliver visited the Genius Bar at the Apple store to get Darcy Pattison’s computer fixed.. | DarcyPattison.com
Oliver Meets Rowdy
Of course, Oliver couldn’t leave without reading Rowdy, which is my Summer, 2016 book. The pirate captain, Miss Whitney Black McKee, and Oliver had a nice chat and compared adventures and travels. Oliver Meets Rowdy, Darcy Pattison’s Summer 2016 book. | DarcyPattison.com
Preorder ROWDY now and it will be delivered on May 25
And then, Oliver settled in to read Rowdy’s story. Imagine Captain McKee’s dismay when Oliver found a misspelled word in her book! Oh, my! It was lucky that Oliver came along to save the day!
Oliver K. Woodman finds a misspelled work in Captain McKee’s story, ROWDY. | DarcyPattison.com
Finally, here’s Kailin reading another of my books, I WANT A DOG, to her class. A happy reader! That’s what we like to see!
Kailin was so excited to receive a new book, I Want a Dog, that she had to read it to the class. | DarcyPattison.com
Your Promotion
Here’s a couple lessons for your promotion.
Lesson Plans. Provide Downloadable Lesson plans on your website, Pinterest boards, etc.
Interact. When asked to interact with readers, do it if your schedule allows.
Fun. I took Oliver places that I thought would be fun. I didn’t worry about promotional possibilities while playing tour guide for Oliver. It was just for fun.
Generous. Be generous if you can. I sent along an extra paperback book, just for fun.
Permission. When the teacher contacted me, I asked and received permission to share the photos of the student.
Share. I’ll be sharing this post on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Be sure all your social media accounts are in order before you start something like this.
Thanks. I’ll be sure to thank the teacher for thinking about sending Oliver to visit!
As writers, we put our books out into the world, and they take on a life of their own, apart from us. But sometimes, we get an echo back about what the book is doing, who is reading it and how they are affected. This week, I had one of those incredible, amazing and powerful moments.
Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma
When I worked on the story of an orphaned puma cub from Brazil, the scientists involved were incredibly generous with their time and information. Dr. Marcia Goncalves Rodrigues and Sergio A.P. Ferreira made this book possible. With the publication of the Brazilian translation, they are able to go into the schools with Project Abayomi and do education of teachers and students. Recently, over 500 teachers listened the story of the plight of pumas and other wildlife in urban areas of Brazil.
That’s exciting news, for sure. To see a book travel to a different country and start to make a difference is amazing.
And then, I received this special version of the Portuguese version of the book. What’s so special about it? Why am I grinning so crazily?
This book was signed by Abayomi himself. That’s his paw print. Thanks, Marcia and Sergio for allowing me to be part of Abayomi’s story.
Because Abayomi himself signed this book. When the puma was receiving a regular medical checkup, Sergio inked his paw and added his paw print to my book. This is one of those teary moments when you realize that a book isn’t JUST a book. It’s an idea. Pumas face very real dangers from loss of habitat and urban encroachment on their habitat. It’a a small thing to write a book; but a small book can have a huge impact. Thanks, Marcia and Sergio for allowing me the privilege of having a small part in Abayomi’s story. It’s been incredible.
Join Leslie Helakoski and Darcy Pattison in Honesdale PA for a spring workshop, April 23-26, 2015. It's a great Christmas present to yourself or a writer friend! Full info here.
COMMENTS FROM THE 2014 WORKSHOP:
"This conference was great! A perfect mix of learning and practicing our craft."�Peggy Campbell-Rush, 2014 attendee, Washington, NJ
"Darcy and Leslie were extremely accessible for advice, critique and casual conversation."�Perri Hogan, 2014 attendee, Syracuse,NY
About eighteen months ago, my writing career pivoted: I decided to commit to self-publishing my work. I’ve not talked about it much because I’ve been so busy being an author and publisher, but I’m going to take time to reflect on the experience and look toward the future.
WHY INDIE PUBLISH?
There are many reasons why I decided to go this direction but in the end, it’s a question of creativity. For many years, I’ve felt hobbled by the traditional publishing world because I can and do write a lot. Independent publishing offered me a chance to write and publish many titles in a short time period. It’s also offered me the possibility of creating a steady monthly income.
Setting Up an Indie Publishing Company
When I committed to funneling all of my work though my own publishing company, I had to make business choices.
What type of company? Self-proprietorship, C or S Corporation. Name of company?
Buy a domain, set up a website, open a business bank account, get a local business license, get a sales tax ID, etc. Don’t discount the business side of indie publishing; but don’t fear it, either. There’s lots of help for these business decisions. In the end, I set up MimsHouse.com — go take a look; I’m excited about this opportunity.
Then, to work! The first eighteen months have been about three things: production, distribution and accounting. I’m assuming that writing is always happening in the background, for it is, in fact, the foundation of everything else.
Accounting. I’m using QuickBooks and this is the hardest thing I do. I just keep plugging away at learning good business accounting and long for the day when I can afford an accountant.
Production. The first question to answer is formats. I decided to try every format possible: paperback, hardcover, eBooks. That sounds easy enough. Ha! It’s complicated. After 18 months, here’s my current configuration.
Createspace.com paperback in two versions. One version is with my own ISBN and is for general distribution; a second version is with a Createspace ISBN and I only enable it for distribution to Baker and Taylor.
LightningSource.com (NOT Lightning Spark which is the only section of the company currently open to newcomvers). I currently do paperback and hardcover books here.
eBooks. OK, this is where it gets tricky because each platform wants a version for their proprietary platforms. Currently, you’ll find my ebooks on Kindle, iBook, Nook, Kobo and various educational publisher’s platforms.
File production for the print and ebooks varies depending on the type of book. Also, technology changes every six months or so, which means that each time I come back to produce files, I have to reevaluate previous production methods to see if they are still the best, are compatible with the current ebook and print standards, and are the most cost-effective.
Novels that are mostly text-based or short chapter books with b/w drawings. I create the book in MSWord, making sure to be very strict on the style sheets. Word exports to print quality Adobe pdfs for printing on paper. I use Jutoh to convert these to ebooks.
Color picture books are laid out in Adobe InDesign, which a access via a $20/month subscription; the October, 2014 update to InDesign has made export to ebooks simple. I mean VERY simple. I tried the mid-year release of Kindle Kid’s Book Creator program and found it easy to use; however, there are two main problems with it. First, it only creates the .mobi files for Kindle, and I still had to create epub files for other distributors; second, it creates a bloated file which means you have huge download costs from Kindle. At 70% royalty, they charge the publisher $0.15/MB download fee, which amounts to a “printing cost.” A file created with the Kindle Kid’s Book Creator program is easily 6-8 MB, or $0.90-$1.20 per download. You have two choices: charge a lot for the book or drop to the 35% royalty which doesn’t charge a download delivery fee.
Examples:
$2.99 at 70% payment, 8MB file
$2.99 x 70% = $2.093 – $1.20 delivery fee = $0.893/book
$2.99 at 35% payment
$2.99 x 35% = $1.0465/book (NO delivery fees at this rate)
InDesign, on the other hand, takes the same book and creates files of 3-4MB.
$2.99 at 70%, 4MB file
$2.99 x 70% = $2.093 – $0.60 delivery fee = $1.493/book
My choices, then are to profit $0.89, $1.05, or $1.49 for each eBook priced at $2.99.
InDesign’s smaller file sizes mean money in my pocket, AND flexibility in what I charge. I could drop prices to $1.99 for a sale and still make a profit of $0.79/book; it’s my choice.
Math. It runs the business and it affects production methods!
Illustrations. Another problem of production has been obtaining illustrations for my color picture books. Fortunately, the first couple books were done in a joint business arrangement with Kitty Harvill. Since then, I’ve had to find funds to pay illustrators. Behance.net has been a great place to find new illustrators. That is Adobe’s social media site for artists, where they post their portfolios. Ewa O’Neill’s debut books will be out in February; and Rich Davis, a local longtime friend and amazing illustrator, struck a deal for b/w line drawings for my short chapter series. So, I drew from friendships and from an artist’s social media site to find quality, exciting art. This has been one of the most creative and fun parts of the process, to work with some great talents to produce amazing books. I’ve learned a lot about being an art director and working with artists—it’s just fun.
AudioBooks.Amazon’s ACX program is in its infancy, but it offers authors an entre into the audiobook world. By hooking you up with a group of narrators who will audition for your book, you have control of the process and can end up with some exiting audio books. It’s hard to say which is my favorites: I love the actress Paula Bodin’s reading of my novel, The Girl, the Gypsy, and the Gargoyle; she truly brings the story to life. Monica Clark-Robinson brings her acting skills to the production of Saucy and Bubba, which is especially exciting because she’s a local actress and author. Josiah Bildner knows how to crack a joke! His narration of the Aliens Inc, Series, Book 1: Kell, the Alien shows his genius in timing of comedy.
Distribution. The third piece of the puzzle for the last eighteen months has been distribution. This means I’ve had to think hard about where my books might sell. Who is my customer? Where does that customer already buy books? What price points do they want/need/like?
Because I mostly write children’s novels and picture books, eBooks haven’t been as big a factor (though, I think that is changing in interesting ways). My customers are parents, teachers, and school librarians. Teachers and school librarians buy from education distributors, rather than from the trade markets. They can and they do buy from Amazon, B&N and other online places, of course. But the bulk of their budget is spent at places that cater to their needs.
I’ve picked up distribution from Follett School Solutions, Mackin, Permabound, and Child’s Plus. The first three also have emerging eBook platforms which I think will become increasingly important. It means more production work because they want yet another format! It’s just a different type of pdf to export, but it means another step.
Pricing. Also, this sales channel brings some challenges in pricing. 1-to-1 pricing means a school building buys one ebook and has the rights to put it on one device only. 1-to-many pricing means a school building buy one book and has the right to put it on an unlimited number of devices.
Naturally, educators prefer the 1-to-many pricing structure; but this is so new that there’s no best-practices standards on how much extra to charge. You don’t want to leave money on the table; however, you want the pricing to be attractive.
I’m told that some publishers are asking 2x, 5x or even 15x the 1-to-1 price. But no one really knows what price structure will work. For a Newbery Award winning book, you could likely charge 20x—which in effect gives a full class set to a school building—and educators will gladly pay it. In other words, the popularity of a title, the likelihood of its use as a class set, and factors such as this should determine the 1-to-many pricing.
Also interesting is that the school pricing tends to stay at or near the suggested retail pricing, with few discounts. Translation: you’ll make more per book.
The first eighteen months have been busy. I’ve learned to pace the writing with production and marketing efforts. I’ve set up production protocols that allow me to be efficient in putting the books into multiple markets. And I’ve picked up distribution from education publishers, while also making sure I cover the digital and print distribution channels.
2015 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book.
Marketing. Because I come from the traditionally published world, I also decided early on that I would submit books for awards. That meant Mims House joined the Children’s Book Council, which gave me access to a variety of programs. In November, 2014, I learned that my nonfiction picture book, Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma: The True Story of an Orphaned Cub was named a 2015 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book.
I was ready. I already had the book in distribution to all major channels, including education distributors. Immediately, I sent press releases to those channels—and sales have picked up. I expect that early next year will bring even more sales for this award-winning book.
Someone once said that marketing means you produce demand for your books. You do that first and foremost by writing and publishing a great book. After that, you have to break through the noise and get noticed; and then you need to keep the book in the foremost of your customer’s mind for as long as possible.
Marketing is what I’ll focus on for the next year. I’m trying everything from online ads to awards programs to social media blasts. Ask me at the end of 2015 what I’ve learned about marketing.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS
Indie publishing is refreshingly creative. It’s not about control for me, though, I hear that sentiment often. Instead, it’s about creativity. It’s opened creative channels for me in the production of the books; and it will continue to challenge my creativity in marketing. Both of those have challenged the foundation of selecting stories to write: I now start out with a stronger consideration of audience. I like how the creativity builds as I engage in more aspects of the book production, distribution and marketing. Working with creative artists and audio narrators is inspirational, too.
Patience is crucial. I went into this with a long-term perspective. As an indie publisher, I am a small business owner. In the U.S., most small businesses fail in the first year; most don’t make a profit until their fifth year. From day one, I had books in distribution so I’ve made money. I sold a website domain for a nice profit and that added to my reserves. Financially, the cost to enter this business is extremely low, and it’s been easy to build up the income levels.
Still, patience is crucial because as an indie publisher I can’t afford the book launch splash; instead, I must rely on a slow growth of a title as word-of-mouth grows. You hear stories of fantastic sales of ebooks—but that’s rarer for children’s books. It’s just a different market, and I constantly remind myself that I am building for a future so I don’t need to be impatient.
Try everything. Test everything. This year, I’ve said YES to everything I could. I’m testing to see where and how I can reach an audience that likes and will buy my work. I’ve done Facebook ads, GoogleAdwords, displayed at various local and regional events, set up a sales channel on my own website, and much more. I don’t have lots of capital, so I’m careful in choosing where to put effort; but my attitude is to try something new if at all possible. Take risks.
Write. Through all of this, the writing remains. It’s the foundation for everything else.
CHALLENGES AND PREDICTIONS FOR 2015: Indie Books for Children
Pay attention to the education market. The education market for ebooks is poised to explode; I hear of more and more schools going 1-1, or one ipad/tablet for each child. I think the education distributors such as Follett, MackinVIA, and Permabound are going to be players, but also look for the sleeping giant, Apple, to come on strong. Since the iOS8 update this fall included iBooks as a native app, I’m moving many more books on Apple than on Kindle. It’s going to be a wild ride as companies jockey for position and as the pricing structures shake out. I’m working hard to put more books on the iBook platform; see my author page on iBooks.
Hard work. Indie publishing will continue to expand, but I think the boom of 2008-2014 has played out. Now, you’ll have to dig in and work harder to get noticed. It’s only limited by your imagination, your work ethic and a bit of luck. And beware of rip-offs who promise to make your book a best seller!
Change is inevitable; be ready to adapt or pivot. 2014 saw a rise in the subscription model of selling books and a host of startups that touted one way or another of promoting, marketing and selling books. Inevitably, most of these will fail; but no one knows which will fail and which will succeed. You’ll have to pay attention to the unfolding events and take advantage of sales opportunities as they arise.
Global media company. One interesting idea is to consider myself a global media company. This year, I did an online video course of 30 Days to a Stronger Novel to accompany a book’s launch. And illustrator Kitty Harvill, who lives in Brazil half the year, is working on a Portuguese translation of Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma. (If it goes through that will be my 9th language! English, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Arabic, German and Taiwanese Chinese.) Will the digital world allow for an expansion into other media and a global market? Of course. It’s a question of how to approach it. It’s one area I’ll be paying attention to in 2015, whether or not I actually make direct moves on either front. I’ll be reading anything possible about the expanding German market, and perhaps experiment (Try anything!) with more video or audio.
One key to success: own your own audience. You’ll see less emphasis on social media activity such as growing a Facebook Fan page. As the major social media companies work to expand income, they continually change the rules. In essence, they own your audience, not you. Instead, smart authors will build their own mailing lists of loyal fans who want to hear about new releases. Get the Fiction Notes newsletter and the MimsHouse newsletter here.
In the end, all of us in publishing are asking one question: How can I put more of my books into the hands of the right audience in the most profitable manner? We’re answering that in a myriad of ways. How do you answer that question?
Join Leslie Helakoski and Darcy Pattison in Honesdale PA for a spring workshop, April 23-26, 2015. It's a great Christmas present to yourself or a writer friend! Full info here.
COMMENTS FROM THE 2014 WORKSHOP:
"This conference was great! A perfect mix of learning and practicing our craft."�Peggy Campbell-Rush, 2014 attendee, Washington, NJ
"Darcy and Leslie were extremely accessible for advice, critique and casual conversation."�Perri Hogan, 2014 attendee, Syracuse,NY
Photo by Greg Joder, USFWS. https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/15853842138/in/photostream/.
On December 10, 1956, ornithologist Chandler Robbins banded about 20 Laysan albatrosses on Midway Atoll. Today, one of those is considered the oldest known wild birds in the world. Presumed to be at least five years old, the minimum breeding age, Wisdom is now over 63 years old. She has incredibly survived yet another year in the wild and has returned to Midway Atoll to raise a new chick.
It’s known that sometimes Laysan albatrosses will take a year off of brooding, so the best guess is that Wisdom has a minimum of 35 chicks. But she’s continuously nested since 2008 without a year off, so it may be many more.
Available on Follett, MackinVIA, and other education distributors
Praise for the Book
“It’s marvelous! I LOVE it! And I got a lump in my throat, tears! And I’m a biologist! Your book is beautiful, meaningful, simple, elegant………thank you for caring, thank you for sharing this story!”
Kim Rivera, National Seabird Coordinator, NOAA Fisheries, Deputy ARA, Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region
“Wisdom’s story makes my heart soar.”
Kirby Larson, author of Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship and Survival and Winner of the Newbery Honor for Hattie Big Sky.
“On December 10, 1956, early in my first visit to Midway, I banded 99 incubating Laysan Albatrosses in the ‘downtown’ area of Sand Island, Midway. Wisdom (band number 587-51945) is still alive, healthy, and incubating again in December 2011. While I have grown old and gray and get around only with the use of a cane, Wisdom still looks and acts just the same as on the day I banded her. . . remarkable true story. . . beautifully illustrated in color.”
Chandler S. Robbins, Sc.D, Senior Scientist (Retired), USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD.
" Saucy is a real character dealing with real stuff—hard stuff that doesn’t have easy answers, not in real life and not in fairy tales, either. This is a really compelling and ultimately hopeful story. Highly recommended."
– Debby Dahl Edwardson, National Book Award finalist and author of My Name is Not EasyRead a sample chapter.
When you sit in your home office and write, do you think about reaching kids around the world?
Neither do I.
Yet, I’ve been privileged to be published in eight languages: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, German, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and English.
My books have been read by children and adults across the globe. That’s an amazing thing.
I just learned that Wisdom, the Midway Albatross will be on the 2014-15 Reading List for the Sakura Medal, which is a children’s book award given by the international schools in Japan. The award reaches 15,000 students on 25 schools.
When WISDOM, THE MIDWAY ALBATROSS was published, I always hoped the book would find its way to Japan. While the story focuses on how the oldest bird in the world surviving the Japanese tsunami, the story is also about that March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. From that tragic natural disaster have come many stories of courage and survival. I hoped that Wisdom’s longevity in the face of nature’s forces would be an inspiration. Maybe one day, there will be a version in Japanese.
Thank you, Sakura Medal for allowing us to share Wisdom’s story with a Japanese audience. And thanks for letting me share my good news.
Read more about Wisdom here.
Where have your books traveled? What languages are your books translated into? What language do you WISH to be translated into?
" Saucy is a real character dealing with real stuff—hard stuff that doesn’t have easy answers, not in real life and not in fairy tales, either. This is a really compelling and ultimately hopeful story. Highly recommended."
– Debby Dahl Edwardson, National Book Award finalist and author of My Name is Not EasyRead a sample chapter.
Today, May 16th is Endangered Species Day. It’s a day to remember the dangers to our environment if we can’t help endangered species survive.
Here’s a not-so-serious look at my latest book trailer. It’s a spoof of DirectTV ads.
Technical stuff for you authors:
I had the lion part of the video done on a Fiverr, and then added Creative Commons photos from Flickr, and editing it in FinalCutPro. To write the script and edit the video took an hour. Cost of Fiverr was $5.
I just heard that Shirley Temple Black passed away last night. She was an amazing child actress and went on to a great career in politics as a U.S. Ambassador. I am offering here an original story that puts her early life into the context of the Great Depression. Enjoy!
Wisdom, the oldest known bird in the world at age 63, has just seen her newest chick hatch! Wow!
Wisdom and her chick on Midway Atoll NWR. Photo credit: Ann Bell/USFWS
One of the surprising things about writing a nonfiction piece is that the story isn’t finished yet. Our world doesn’t just stop, it’s not stagnate. Life goes on. And that means that Wisdom has yet another chick.
Laysan albatrosses are known to take a year off now and then, usually at 4-5 year intervals. Wisdom has continuously hatched a chick since 2008, so she’ overdue for a sabbatical. This year, I was worried that she might not return and that could mean she was taking a break; or, it could mean that she died somewhere, lost at sea. Instead, Wisdom is breaking all records and teaching scientists so much about the life of an albatross. Before Wisdom–banded since 1956–scientist believed that Laysan albatrosses lived to be about 25 years old. We still don’t know if her life is an aberration or the norm. Scientists have banded Wisdom’s chicks for the last few years to follow the life of her chicks. They could fall prey to predators, storms, pollution or fishing. Or, they could live as long as Wisdom, or longer. This story is far from over. And that makes it even more exciting to me than when Wisdom first captured my attention. When will her story end? No one knows. Cool!
Cornell Bird Lab maintains a web-cam of a Laysan albatross nest on Kauai, Hawaii. Watch it here.
The story of the oldest known wild bird in the world. At 62+, she hatched a new chick in February, 2013. Read her remarkable story. A biography in text and art.
Here’s the cover of my new book that will be out in March 2014! Wahoo! Only 90 days or so till you can read it.
And for your pleasure, here’s the recipe for Cranberry Tea Punch that we always have during the holidays.
Cranberry Tea Punch
1 cup sugar
2 cups Pineapple
4 cups Cranberry Juice Cocktail
4 cups brewed tea (I use Luzianne Decaf)
Cinnamon stix, cloves.
I also like to float slices of lemon and orange.
Warm it up and have it close while you read a book.
Six Winning Steps Toward a Compelling Opening Line, Scene and Chapter
You want to write a novel, but you don’t know where to start. You have a great idea and—well, that’s all. This book explains the writing process of starting a novel in six winning steps.
The Math adds up to one thing: a publishable manuscript.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In 1999, Darcy Pattison started working with fiction authors on revising their novels. In order to come to a Novel Revision Retreat, participants need a complete draft of a novel and we spent an intensive weekend revising. The results? Many published novels, including Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson, winner of the Newbery Honor award.
Now, I am turning to beginning writers and bringing order to the writing process. If you start well, you have a better chance of writing a publishable manuscript—and needing fewer revisions. Start Your Novel is a natural extension of my teaching of fiction and will get you past the terror of the blank page.
Please do me a favor!
As you know, reviews are extremely important! Please, post your honest opinion about the book on Amazon, GoodReads, B&N or other online sites. It isn’t necessary to enjoy and profit from the writing help you’ll find in the book. But I would appreciate it. Thanks! Darcy
Award Winning Book about the Oldest Bird in the World
Last year, I wrote this book about the oldest bird in the world who was on Midway Atoll when the Japanese tsunami struck. It’s an amazing story of survival that just won’t stop. At the age of 62+, she is about to hatch another chick. Yes! A mother at 62+
SEABIRD ALERT: Name my new chick and make a difference too!
Thanks to a dedicated Facebook friend of mine, were are going to have a contest this year to name my soon to born chick!
** And this year, I am sincerely hoping that the USFWS_Pacific Region and The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument will work with me on this endeavor **
Here is how it will work:
- Once the winning name is selected, a $500 DONATION will be made on behalf of my newborn AND the name of the person who comes up with my newborn’s name — which me and my crazy beautiful partner will select. (Unless the person selected chooses not to have their included)
Regarding the donation:
- The $500 donation will go directly to Friends of Midway Atoll NWR a non-profit organization
AND … wait for it …
- My dedicated Facebook friend will also make 2 additional donations directly to:
- the Kure Atoll Conservancy, AND
- an organization (yet to be named) which supports TERN ISLAND in French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Note: On DEC-16-2012, a freakish weather event (possibly a tornado) struck the camp at Tern Island, causing extensive damage to the facilities at this needed camp. Fortunately, the one intrepid employee and four tenacious volunteers were unharmed!
** the fun part is this: we won’t know the actual amount of these 2 additional donations until the name is selected!
This naming contest is open to everyone; and leave your name choice as a comment on Wisdom’s Facebook page.
Did you know that albatrosses have an 8-foot wing span? In this video, shot at the 2012 Audubon Summer Camp, kids compare their arm span to Wisdom’s wing span.
Wisdom, the Midway Albatross is one of the featured books in this BookLinks article:
Classroom Connections: Taking Flight with Books about Birds.
Larson, Jeanette (author). First published May 2012 (Book Links).
Please Vote for Kitty Harvill.
Illustrator of Wisdom, the Midway Albatross, Kitty has entered three paintings in the 4th International Animal Art Contest. Winners are decided by popular vote, so please go and vote for Kitty’s cats or bird.
I participated in the Author’s for Earth Day by speaking at Washington Elementary in Little Rock School District. Here’s a short report on the day, along with a photo.
Children’s Book Week 2012, sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, runs from May 7th through May 14th. In honor of this special week, Sylvan Dell will be offering our full eBook site license FREE on our website the entire week. Use this as a great opportunity to kick off a summer reading program for your students or children! Plus, the free teaching activities and quizzes included with every Sylvan Dell book make it an even better option for kick-starting a great summer! To participate, simply visit www.sylvandellpublishing.com from May 7th through May 13th, and click on the “Children’s Book Week” icon in the upper-right hand corner.
And to celebrate Children’s Book Week, enter this GoodReads giveaway for Prairie Storms.
Illustrator Kitty Harvill’s painting “The Guardian”, a 60″ x 16″ watercolor painting of a life-size Jabiru stork, the largest stork in the world, from Brazil’s Pantanal was selected for inclusion in the Customs House Museum’s National Juried Exhibition, May 12 – August 5. There will be an opening reception May 12 from 5:30 – 7:30. Clarksville, TN.
Writers, this isn’t really a post for you; it’s a post for your friends; it’s a post you can print out and give to your friends.
Dear Friend of an Author:
Congratulations! You have an author for a friend. And you want to know how you can best support your friend in her career. There are definitely some solid ways to do this. Read the post–and COMMENT, please.
Wisdom the Midway Albatross, a story about the oldest known wild bird in the world.
Wildlife artist, @KITTYHARVILL is offering a series of b/w, printable creative coloring pages for students to participate in Draw a Bird Day (dabday.org) on or about April 8. As the artist for Wisdom, the Midway Albatross: Surviving the Japanese Tsunami and Other Disasters for over 60 Years, Harvill is well-versed in bird art. The three creative coloring pages include a set-up for students:
Add a landscape for a soaring bird
Add a bird flying over a tsunami wave
Complete a drawing of a bird using a photo reference./li>
The Draw a Bird Day (http://www.dabday.com/) was created to honor the memory of Dorie Cooper. During World War II, she cheered up soldiers by encouraging them to draw birds. Soon the walls of the sick ward was covered with bird pictures. When ten-year old Dorie died in 1946, her coffin was covered with drawings from soldiers, nurses and doctors. To remember her life and inspiration, Draw A Bird Day asks people to simply draw a bird and share it with someone on April 8.
Because April 8 falls on Easter this year, we are encouraging parents and teachers to do the Draw a Bird activities the week before or after.
To participate, download the creative coloring pages and use them to draw birds with kids.
To share, post pictures online, then email the location to [email protected]. We will PIN all submissions to the Draw a Bird Day: April 8, 2012 Board at http://pinterest.com/darcypattison/draw-a-bird-day-april-8-2012/
To Join in the fun, you can see more here:
Facebook Event page: Please join here. Then, you add in any emails you want to invite Friends.
ONLY AVAILABLE FREE FOR 48 HOURS – 12 am on March 9 to midnight on March 10.
Read the story of the oldest known wild bird in the world–over 60 years old–and how she and her chick survived the Japanese Tsunami.
For 48 hours before the March 11 Japanese tsunami, this will be a free Kindle download.
No color Kindle? No problem.
This book shows up well on any Kindle desktop program or app. Get the free programs here:
TEACHERS & PARENTS
Download your Kindle program now and on March 9 or 10, download the book. Read with your kids to commemorate the tsunami and discuss natural disasters. Gentle introduction to the disaster.
I’m at the point in my WIP when I need to reread with a critical eye. Where did I leave that thing? I’m out of town on family business, stealing a few hours here and there to work. Because of this, I can’t print the thing out, which is what I really need to do. Reading on screen is more difficult for me, because I can’t move back and forth between sections easily, can’t flip a few pages to find what I’m looking for to check for consistency, for gaps, for repetitions.
I’m working on a update and revision of The Book Trailer Manual. One goal is to expand the section on how to write a book trailer script, including recommending some software and detailing the process more clearly. Another goal is to update the recommended software for actually producing the video, including adding about a dozen new, free resources. Finally, I”ll be looking at all the examples of trailers and updating the list of trailer to study.
Doing this revision all on-screen means I have to find new strategies for working.
Search. The search function or search and replace lets me find repetitions or find pieces to see where they are fitting in. I love how it takes a tiny snippet and finds it for me.
TOC. The Table of Contents allows me to check the structure of the piece, to see gaps and more easily find sections I need.
Rereading everything. I also find myself re-reading the whole manuscript every day. Geez, I wonder, isn’t there a better way? Well, no, not this time, because I can’t hold the mss in my hand and flip around, I don’t know how else to get back into the flow. In some ways, this constant rereading is good, though, because I’m polishing things every time I do this.
What techniques or tips do you have about editing on-screen?
When her father goes soldiering for a year, a girl decides that without Dad at home, it’s not a family photo album. Though her beloved Nanny is in charge of the album that year, the girl makes sure that photographs of her never turn out well. Photos are blurred, wind blows hair in her face. April rains bring umbrellas to hide behind. Halloween means a mask. This poignant, yet funny family story, expresses a child’s anger and grief for a Dad whose work takes him away for long periods of time. It’s a tribute to the sacrifices made by military families and to those who care for children when a family needs support.
THIS STORY IS A WINNER!
In conjunction with “The Help” movie (www.thehelpmovie.com), TakePart.com (www.takepart.com/thehelp) recently sponsored three writing contests: a recipe contest, an inspirational story contest and a children’s story contest. TakePart is the digital division of Participant Media which aims to bolster a movie’s audience with a message of social change. THE HELP movie campaign emphasized the role of stories in people’s lives.
Notice: This site and the story are not endorsed by or affiliated with TakePart, LLC or the motion picture “The Help” and or its distributors.
READ THE BOOK!
Darcy Pattison’s story, “11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph” is the winning children’s story. It is a free download at www.takepart.com/thehelp, or download it here (pdf download).
Read more at www.11WaystoRuinaPhotograph.
PLEASE pass this along to anyone who might know a military family or to anyone in the military that you know.
Life has been full! Here are some pics to prove it!
Arkansas Literary Festival
April 8, Literacy on the Lawn, Governor's Mansion
School Visits: Paris Elementary and Cherry Valley Elementary
Teressa, Cherry Valley Elementary Literacy Coach
Oliver K. Woodman Project by Cherry Valley Elementary Students
Paris Elementary Assembly: Reading The Scary Slopes.
After School Quilts
I wish I could show you the kids who made these quilts (privacy issues!). They had a blast. There were five boys and one girl and everyone had a great time. We talked about the history of quilting and they chose to make Amish quilts; I think they liked the black, as much as anything. We met once a week for about 8 weeks to finish these projects.
Amish Quilts made by 10 year olds.
NonFiction BookBlast
Sunday, June 26, 2011. 8-10 am.
ALA Conference in NOLA.
" Saucy is a real character dealing with real stuff—hard stuff that doesn’t have easy answers, not in real life and not in fairy tales, either. This is a really compelling and ultimately hopeful story. Highly recommended."
– Debby Dahl Edwardson, National Book Award finalist and author of My Name is Not Easy
