Simon Rose's Blog, page 220

Creating Time and Space for Your Writing - This month's teleclass at the Children's Writers' Coaching Club, Wednesday, November 24

[image error] Join me on December 8 at 7 pm, Mountain Standard Time,
at the Children's Writers' Coaching Club at the National Writing for Children Center. 
In this month's class, entitled Creating Time and Space for Your Writing, we'll look at tips for setting up your home workspace, ways to help you stay organized as a writer, suggestions for managing your time to pursue your chosen craft and how to juggle all your responsibilities and still manage your time.




Registration is available here for this class and you can also obtain copies of archived teleclasses. Check out the Children's Writers' Coaching Club today.

Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Twelve - The Day of the Visit 2

On the day of the author visit, once everything is all ready to go, have someone introduce the author with some biographical information, details about their books and about any other work that they do. Most authors who visit schools on a regular basis are proficient in crowd control, but make sure you have a staff member on hand to deal with any disruptive or just overly excited and enthusiastic students. Have someone thank the author either at the end of the whole day or at the end of each session, if the author is presenting to multiple groups. Although not essential, most authors appreciate any tokens of thanks, such as coffee mugs with the school logo, pens or whatever you have available, as a memento of their visit. If there are going to be book sales to students after the session in which the author will autograph copies of their books, ensure that this is organized properly and that students line up in an orderly fashion. Once the author is ready to leave, have student volunteers to help the author with their belongings, if needed, at the end of the session. This may be particularly important if the author is engaged in a tour of your area and has a limited amount of time to travel to another school for an afternoon presentation, for example. Before the author leaves the premises, ensure that their fee is paid, unless prior arrangements have been made to use direct deposit, mail out their payment and so on. Even if you have given the author a thank you card after their time at your school, always send a thank you e mail a week or so later, since this is always appreciated by the author. And finally, if everything went smoothly, don't forget to congratulate yourself on hosting a successful author visit at your school.

Magnificent Motorcycles Part Two - The Latest Article at Dark Roasted Blend

Check out the latest article at Dark Roasted Blend entitled Magnificent Motorcycles Part Two. 
Earlier this year at Dark Roasted Blend, we examined some of the cool, the fascinating, the unusual and the utterly weird designs for motorcycles that have appeared for over the last century or so. You can see Part One here and now Part Two takes another look the wild and wonderful world of motorcycles.
Magnificent Motorcycles Part Two is now published at Dark Roasted Blend, among the finest locations online to find the weird, the wonderful and the fantastic, crammed with great articles, stunning photography, plus fabulous new content which appears daily.

Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Eleven - The Day of the Visit 1

[image error] On the day of the author visit, have someone meet the author as they arrive and offer tea or coffee in the staffroom, if there is still half an hour or so before they begin speaking with the students. Be sure to let the author know if there have been any minor changes to the schedule. Perhaps one of the classes is on a field trip by, or there's a sports team practice you weren't aware of or there's something else that required an unexpected minor adjustment to the day's agenda. The author is usually able to adapt to things like this, but its good to let them know if they will be seeing classes in a different order or if a group's session has been reduced from sixty minutes to only forty five minutes, for example. Make sure the room is all set up properly, that the flipchart or whiteboard, if requested, is there and has markers that actually work or that any equipment such as projectors are connected and working. Provide a glass or bottle of water for the author and if you have such equipment in the school, provide a microphone, even if the author decides not to use it. Advise the author if you have any students with special needs in the audience. This could involve deaf or hard of hearing children, for example, who may require the author to wear an FM unit for the duration of their presentation. And remember to start the sessions on schedule, since the author may have a set time for their presentation and even five minutes may make a difference, particularly if he or she has promised time for questions and it isn't possible because of the late arrival of the group.

Autographed Books - Ideal for Christmas Gifts - Discounts Always Available

Ideal for Christmas. In addition to bookstores across Canada and around the world, you can also obtain signed copies of my books directly from me. I am always happy to sign books for my readers and to inscribe a special message. 

Full details of all my novels - The Doomsday Mask, The Heretic's Tomb, The Emerald Curse, The Clone Conspiracy, The Sorcerer's Letterbox and The Alchemist's Portrait - can be found here on my website.

Individual books are just $10 and discounts are available for those purchasing a full set of all six books. Complete the order form at www.simon-rose.com or contact me directly by e mail at sorcerersletterbox@gmail.com.

Pictures from the Calgary Children's Book Fair and Conference, November 27, 2010

The Calgary Children's Book Fair and Conference, held on Saturday November 27, was once again a great success. You can see a great selection of pictures from the event at http://calgarybookfair.com/gallery2.php

Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Ten - Scheduling and Equipment

The author will normally have planned their workshops and presentations before their arrival at the school, but make sure you discuss a schedule for the visit with the author as well. Ask them how long their sessions usually run for, the audience sizes they prefer, if there will be time for questions, any dietary needs the author may have if you are providing any meals and if they have any audio-visual requirements. The author may be uncomfortable being photographed or filmed, so make sure you ask about that too. At a school familiar with author visits, everything is usually well handled. However, it is not unknown for a school to have arranged too many sessions, allowing no time for students to get in and out of the library, gymnasium or wherever the author is presenting. The author may also be unpleasantly surprised at the size of an audience. Let's say their presentation is very interactive and requires participation from the students. This may be ideal with up to a hundred children or even with a single class, but could be less than perfect if the author is unexpectedly faced with a group of three hundred or more. The author may have specific presentations for different age ranges, or ones for which they use different props, so make sure you let them know if your school prefers those particular sessions, so that the author doesn't show up without the right materials.

Christmas Parties - Storybook Parties Have the Write Stuff

[image error] For your company's children's Christmas party this year, have kids create a truly unique story, complete with their original illustrations and have it printed in their very own special book. 

Employing inspiration, imagination and invention, children invent a one of a kind action packed story during a fast paced session where laughter is compulsory. Children will also learn about the writing process, where ideas come from and how authors turn them into stories.

Personally inscribed and autographed books are also available for prize draws and all party guests will also have the opportunity to purchase autographed copies of all my titles. 

In addition to large or small company Christmas parties this holiday season, I am available for individual children's birthday parties,  plus many other varieties of seasonal events with larger audiences. I am also happy to customize the event to meet your requirements. For fees and availability for children's parties and company events, please contact me directly at sorcerersletterbox@gmail.com

Creative Writing for Homeschool Students at South Fish Creek Recreation Association - January and February 2011

Join me this winter for classes in creative writing especially for home school children at South Fish Creek Recreation Centre in SW Calgary. Classes take place every Tuesday, from January 4 to February 22, 2011. Registration details are available here.

Junior Adventures in Creative Writing Ages - 7 to 9
January 4 to February 22, 2011 - Get the Write Stuff In these classes, children will create their own unique stories, with great beginnings, page turning action and cliffhanger endings. Participants will create crazy characters and learn how to write effective and engaging dialogue, plus lifelike scenarios for their creations. Learn all about inspiration, story creation and more as children give full reign to their imagination as we explore the wonderful worlds of words in an exciting series of fun-filled creative writing exercises. 
Adventures in Creative Writing Ages - Ages 10 to 15
January 4 to February 22, 2011 - Spectacular Story Starters  What if you discovered a door into another universe at the back of your bedroom closet? Or a flying boy dressed all in green appeared at your bedroom window, inviting you to take a journey to a magical land? Perhaps you followed a rabbit down a hole and ended up in a bizarre underground universe? Learn where ideas come from and how writers turn them into stories. Find out how writers get ideas from pictures and paintings, craft your own sequels to your favorite movies, create alternate endings to familiar stories, and more in these classes guaranteed to provide inspiration, spark imagination, and stimulate invention
All classes commence Tuesday, January 4 and run until February 22, 2011. Registration details are available here.
Contact me directly at sorcerersletterbox@gmail.com or through my website at www.simon-rose.com for details on all my programs for home school children, including online writing workshops for children and young adults.

Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Nine - Financial Considerations

No examination of author visits to schools and libraries would be complete without some mention of fees and honorariums. Fees naturally vary from one author to another and while writing organizations have recommended rates, usually calculated by the hour, it's still wise to do your own research. While some authors charge by the hour, others may charge by the day, half-day or even per head. Prices also vary greatly from one part of the country to another. What an author may consider a fair rate for his or her time and services in one city may appear expensive elsewhere, or even completely out of the range of a school in a less affluent region. These differences in pricing and affordability apply to Canada, the United States, the UK and other countries where there are always going to be significant regional variations, between both urban and rural areas or simply when comparing different areas of the same country.Make sure you always ensure that author in agreement about all the school's financial matters well in advance. This is particularity true of mileage, which may not be possible to calculate until the author arrives at the school. However, you should attempt to get at least a rough estimate, since this will be an additional charge on top of the author's agreed fee. Should meals and accommodation be required and the author expects the school to foot the bill, make sure this is all discussed beforehand as well. If your school requires invoices before they can release payment for anything, make sure the author is aware of this so that they can send you the appropriate paperwork. Similarly, ensure that you inform the author if your school requires forms to be filled out for the payroll department, if banking information is needed for direct deposit of the fee or if you require the author's social insurance information. With regards to the financial aspects of an author visit, planning and preparation in advance is always advisable.