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We know how hard our members work for the kids they serve, their schools or programs, and their communities. The First Book Network strives every day to put high-quality, diverse books into the hands of kids in need — books that might encourage a reluctant reader, reveal distant worlds, or open eager minds to new ideas. Books help reinforce students’ interests and celebrate their strengths.

The Concierge Services team at First Book is here to help members who need a larger quantity of books. For events large and small, we provide the kind of high-touch, hands-on service that relieves you of the burden of logistics and allows every child you serve to find a book they love.

We are available to work with educators and program leaders to create a book list or collection that will fit your program’s needs and reflect the diversity of the population you serve. As experts in children’s books — with backgrounds in children’s literacy, education, and publishing — our team can guide you through the process.

If you are:

• Planning a book fair
• Building classroom libraries
• Sending home books as part of an after-school/summer program
• Creating a shared reading experience, or
• Distributing school supplies or basic needs items

We can provide you with a range of book choices for any age group, create an affordable package, and track the order right to your doorstep.

Over the next few months, the First Book blog will highlight some of the work Concierge Services has done to connect kids in need with stories and characters that they love. We are here to make things a little easier — to equip you with the resources you need to do the essential work of changing your students’ lives.

 

If you serve children in low-income communities and need a large quantity of books or resources at the best possible price, reach out to First Book’s Concierge Services at [email protected] or call the Member Services Team at 866.732.3669 and ask for Concierge Services.

The post First Book Concierge Services: A Helping Hand For Large Orders appeared first on First Book Blog.

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As we near the end of Social Work Month 2015, we asked Robyn Curtis, the new editor of the Encyclopedia of Social Work (which celebrates its second year as an online resource this July), about her "varied and stimulating" work life since becoming involved in Oxford University Press’s social work publishing.

The post Editing in social work, paving the way for change appeared first on OUPblog.

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I’m just back from a beach vacation where I learned something new – in my hometown those little sugary doo-dads you sprinkle on your ice cream are called sprinkles but at the beach they’re called jimmies. I took note because I’m playing with the idea of a book that happens at the beach. As a reader, I know that any anomalies (such as sprinkles where there should be jimmies) can ruin the reading experience. And as several authors I know can attest to, anomalies can also ruin the writing experience since readers can and will send you an “oops” letter to inform you that you have the wrong flowers growing in your character’s garden, have them using the wrong curse words, or painted their ’57 Chevy a color that wasn’t available in ’57. And not only did it ruin the whole book for them, but they also told everyone they know about your mistake!

At first, you may believe that fact-checking is less important with fiction writing than with non-fiction. Not true! Unless you are writing science fiction or fantasy (where it’s equally important to follow the rules for the world you’ve created), one inaccuracy can destroy the entire world you’ve created. If your Oregon character is using Arkansas slang it’s tougher for a reader to lose themself in the story, to fall in love with your characters, to want to share that world with other readers.

If it’s something you’re an expert at such as slang in your region, a job you’ve held, a hobby or skill you have you’re all set. Proof, proof, proof. But what if it’s something out of your realm? Tulips, ancient Egyptian culture, the life of a taxi driver? How do you ensure that your book doesn’t include any glaring errors? Find the experts. I’ve found experts in several places:

1. Academia – College professors can be helpful with specific factual questions. It helps if you know or can obtain an introduction from a friend but sometimes an out-of-the-blue email can result in an answer. Emails seem to be the contact of choice for professors. To help narrow down who you should contact, go to a school’s website and learn what the professor has published recently. Just because they’re a history professor doesn’t mean they can answer your questions about World War II, they may be an expert in the French Revolution.

2. Professionals – Find someone doing the job of one of your characters to learn if you’ve got all the facts, lingo, and timelines correct. Many times there are public relations people for specific companies or professional organizations that are happy to make sure you portray their world correctly. When I needed some basic information on the military world, a public relations officer at Dover Air Force Base and a local Army recruiter happily answered my questions and suggested other people that could help me.

3. Groups – There are groups for everything: gardeners, tattoo artists, Polish-Americans, collectors of beer bottles, Edgar Allen Poe enthusiasts, everything! Another great source that usually is happy to send out a mass email (or include a notice in their next newsletter) to their members about your questions.

4. Non-expert Experts – Want to make sure you have city living right? Run your book by an urban resident. Not sure if your Southern slang rings true? Time to consult a Southern belle. They’re not exactly “experts” but it’s the life they lead. If they don’t know, who will?

In my experience, for more “official” experts the more specific you are, the better. Don’t expect a response if you send a 200 page manuscript to a state police officer with a “Did I get everything right?” Instead, give a broad overview of your book and your key questions such as:

1. Who notifies the coroner?
2. How many people would be at a small town murder scene?
3. Do you really wrap everything in yellow crime scene tape?
4. Do you wear blue booties in the crime scene?

When you’re looking for a more general “Does this feel like Alaska/Irish step dancers/a bakery shop?”, especially for things such as regional or special groups’ details and slang, it seem more helpful to include the entire manuscript ( or at least the section that features this group). Things are less overwhelming if you highlight words, actions, or details that could be wrong (or better expressed by group specific lingo). Ask them to focus on the highlighted sections but to read everything, just in case you missed a key error. Often your non-expert experts are family and friends so they are more willing to take the time to read an entire manuscript. The highlighting reminds them that you don’t just want a “I liked/didn’t like the story” but also their expertise on details about Alaska/Irish step dancers/bakery shops.

Never forget that in fiction writing, even the smallest fact is important. Take the time to get it right. Your readers will thank you…by not sending you “oops” letters.

Jodi Webb is a WOW Blog Tour organizer and has taken a bit of time off from her blog Words by Webb to focus on her YA novel that takes place mostly in her regional area (Hooray! She knows lots of experts.) and partially in the military world (Where she's met lots of helpful experts who call her ma'am.)

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I offer to bust readers’ excuses for not pitching magazines — or, if they’re pitching, for approaching only low/no-pay pubs. (By the way, if you have an excuse you’d like me to bust, you can send it to [email protected].)

Jessica wrote to me about her excuse: Contacting interviewees before I’ve gotten the assignment to get quotes for the query letter fills me with dread, and I have a hard time overcoming this. I’m also a bit overwhelmed by exactly how and where to find my expert sources – I’ll find someone and think “Yeah, they seem to fit the bill.” But then I start looking and thinking “There are TONS of people who fit the bill. How am I supposed to be discerning about this when I’m so not the expert?”

This is a common fear, but it may make you feel better to know that my e-course students each have to contact three to four experts for pre-query interviews, and I can’t think of one time the students were treated with anything but respect. And I’ve probably done hundreds of interviews before getting the assignment, and most sources say yes.

Here’s my trick: When I write or call the source, I say something like this: “Hello! My name is Linda Formichelli, and I’m a freelance writer based in New Hampshire. I’m working on a proposal for Health magazine for an article on common period problems and how to solve them. Would you be available for just five minutes so I can interview you to get a few quotes for my proposal? Then, if I get the assignment, we can set a more in-depth interview.”

Notice that I name the magazine I’m pitching; I think this sounds better than telling the source that you’re working on a pitch you’ll send who-knows-where. Also, I make sure to say “proposal” and not “query,” because I don’t think most people outside of the freelancing world know what a query is. Finally, I ask for just five minutes of the source’s time. That’s hard to say no to — and often the source will end up chatting with me for longer than that. (However, when I say five minutes, I mean it — if the source needs to hang up after five minutes, that’s fine.)

As for how to vet your sources, that’s a more difficult question. Some people become experts because they call themselves experts. And some sources have something to sell, whether it’s a product or a viewpoint, so no matter what question you ask it will come around again to that product or viewpoint.

I tend to look for expert sources in the following places:

* Professional schools: For example, a well-known business school or medical school. Contact their PR department to ask for sources, or go directly to the school’s website and read through the bios of the faculty members.

* Associations: Organizations like the American Dietetic Association and the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (yes, I used them recently) can often put you in contact with knowledgeable sources. Just look up the topic you’re writing about and “association” in Google.

* Amazon.com: I usually assume that anyone who has authored a book on a topic can be considered an expert. However, I always check the publishing house to make sure the book is not self-published. I have nothing against self-published books, but anyone can write one and there are no barriers to entry, while with traditional publishers you have at least some reassurance that the author has been accepted by a board of editors, a

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