Nancy I. Sanders's Blog, page 5

Reality Show: KidLit Writer on Teachers Pay Teachers

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Every KidLit writer needs to have a store on the website Teachers Pay Teachers.

Why? Because if you write for children, one of the biggest buying market for our books is…teachers! And teachers hang out on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT for short). And teachers BUY on TpT.

Okay, you may be saying…you aren’t really interested in selling products. You just want to sell your books. I hear you! But you don’t have to sell anything on TpT! You can just put freebies on there that will help sell your books. For starters, the very first product you put in your story is required to be a freebie.

You can put free coloring sheets that go with your book. You can put free bookmarks to download and print out for kids to use while they read your books. You can put free educator’s guides to use along with your book. Who is going to want these? Teachers! And librarians! And homeschooling mamas!

And they all hang out on Teachers Pay Teachers!

When I started on TpT, I first e-mailed them and asked if I could have a store on there because I’m not a teacher. I explained to them, though, that I write resources for teachers that go along with my books. And they said, “Sure! Join in the fun!” So even if you’re not a teacher, you can open a store.

When I started my store on TpT, I joined for the free option. I didn’t pay for paid membership until I sold enough products to earn enough to pay for my membership…and I’ve never looked back.

When I started my store on TpT, I first just put up a number of reader’s theater scripts for sale for $3 each. That’s because I only knew how to create a pdf from a word file, so that’s what I created. I just made things to put in my store that I already knew how to work techie-wise.

But then I set out on a journey to learn how to illustrate wonderful pdfs and teacher resources. I learned that most people buy clipart and copy the art into powerpoint and create pdfs that way. Others use CANVA. But I wanted to make my own art, to I learned how to use Inkscape. It’s a free art drawing program. (I’ll share more about that later.) It took me months and a year or two until I felt comfortable on it, but now I love it and use it every day to draw my own art and create my own digital teacher resources.

As you can see at the top of this post, one of my resources is 42 ANIMAL HABITAT MINI-BOOKS. It’s the #2 bestseller in my store. I don’t earn a ton of money on TpT. Right now I earn between $20-$100 a month. But that’s okay. I’m still in my growing stages.

The important thing to me is that I’m connecting with teachers as a KidLit author and offering free teacher’s guides to most of my books on there (which hopefully translates to sales of my books). CLICK HERE to visit my store on TpT to see what I have up there as a KidLit author.

How about you? Do you have a store on TpT? If so, let us know in the comments. Follow my TpT store at Teacher + Writer and I’ll follow you back!

Reality Show: KidLit Write Submits

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I just wanted to update you on my progress writing little poems and stories for Babybug magazine.

I put together about a dozen little things and went to Babybug’s website and followed their guidelines for submission. (You can read about this currenet WIP here.) If you’re going to submit something to Babybug, too, let us know and we’ll cheer you on!

Then what did I do next? Did I put that WIP away and choose another?

Nope!

I decided to continue working on this WIP some more.

There are several reasons why.

Reason #1: I want to continue writing and submitting to Babybug for awhile. I’m not going to worry about whether or not they accept my manuscript. I’m not going to sit by and twiddle my thumbs for 3 months waiting for a response…or not. I’m going to keep on moving forward on this journey because I want to learn how to write better for this age and this is a great target to aim for!

Reason #2: I want to polish my skills as a KidLit writer. And one of the ways that we can polish our skills as a KidLit writer is to learn how to write better poetry. Even if you only write in prose and even if you only write nonfiction, the rules and rigors of poetry are key skills to learn. Metaphors, hyperbole, figurative language, meter that flows smoothly within a line of words…all these skills and more add up to becoming a better writer, so I want to park here for awhile and work through my how-to-write poetry book (and others!) as I sharpen my poetry writing skills.

Reason #3: Because I have 4 grandchildren ages 6 and under who all love Babybug, this is a perfect stage for me to EXPERIENCE my target audience! So instead of waiting until they’re teenagers and I’ve lost touch with this age, I’m going to maximize my opportunity and write for it!

Reason #4: Writing these little Babybug stories and poems gives me practice for my other WIP as well that I’m working on: teacher resources for this age that I’m planning on selling on Teachers Pay Teachers.

So here’s a question for you…do you study how-to-write poetry books? I have one that I like a lot (Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Poetry) but I want to add to my collection and learn more. Can you let us know what your go-to books are for learning how to write great poetry?

REALITY SHOW: KIDLIT WRITER TIME-SAVER HACK

The other day I cooked a spaghetti casserole that’s a favorite in our house. And I doubled the recipe and made TWO spaghetti casseroles. I think it took me 10 extra minutes to double it.

The result? We ate the one casserole over a couple of days and I froze the other in individual servings.

So…for 10 extra minutes that one day, I get two entire days that I don’t have to cook dinner. I can spend those two extra hours writing.

I figured out this time-saving hack a few years ago. I don’t know why it had never crossed my mind before! It works so well that we went out and purchased a stand-alone freezer for our garage.

If I make a pumpkin pie, I make two. We eat one and I freeze the others in slices. If I cook a quiche or pot pie or casserole, I make two. We eat one and I freeze the other in individual portions.

Now I only have to cook once or twice a week and most other nights we grab a favorite frozen dinner from the garage. I seriously use those extra hours each week when I’m not in the kitchen to write. (The only downside, lol, is that we’re always stocked with homemade pies, cookies, cakes and more in our freezer…it does take some discipline not to go out and eat them all up!)

How about you? Do you have any time-saving hacks you’d like to share with us so we can log in more writing time instead?

Image by Lukas Bieri from Pixabay

REALITY SHOW: KIDLIT WRITER’S WORK IN PROGRESS

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know about my TRIPLE CROWN OF SUCCESS. But if you’re one of the newcomers to my blog, chances are you’re not quite sure what that means.

Basically, the TRIPLE CROWN OF SUCCESS is a way of setting goals as a children’s writer. I always like to set 3 different goals and have 3 different WIPs or Works-in-Progress that I’m working on to aim toward each goal.

What are these goals?

GOAL ONE: Personal fulfillment. I always like to be working on a WIP for personal fulfillment. Something I want to write and I want it to be just as I want it to be. I might get paid for this but probably not. I might sell this to a publisher or I might self-publish it. But it’s a manuscript that is near and dear to my heart. This WIP is often the one that motivates me to keep on writing, even on my other WIPs. Right now my current WIP for personal fulfillment is something I want to self-publish as a pdf file to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers. (CLICK HERE to visit my store on Teachers Pay Teachers.)

GOAL TWO: Write to Get Published. I always like to be working on a WIP to get published. And I like to get published frequently. So I write magazine articles and stories and submit to manuscript call-outs that interest me. I typically get published 3-5 times a year doing this. It doesn’t pay much sometimes, but it keeps building my published credits and it validates me as a writer. I’m currently working on writing a submission for Babybug for this goal. After that I’ll query another magazine I like to write for.

GOAL THREE: Write to Earn Income. I’m a career writer and I earn a nice income as a writer. But this doesn’t happen by chance. I study the market and write manuscripts that I have a strong sense will get picked up by a publisher in today’s current market. Often I submit queries and land the contract before I write the book. Currently, I’ve landed a potential series contract and am writing books on spec in the series…recently my publisher assured me that my most current submission in the series is practically guaranteed a contract. (If you ever want to know what kind of income I’m talking about, just let me know in the comments and I’ll write about this here in my Realty Show.)

So there you have it. When I mention that I’m currently working on three WIPs, that’s what I mean.

If you want to find out more about my TRIPLE CROWN OF SUCCESS and other insider secrets from my 30+ career as a successful KidLit writer with 100+ published books under my belt, you can read about it in my self-published book, YES! YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO WRITE CHILDREN’S BOOKS, GET THEM PUBLISHED, AND BUILD A SUCCESSFUL WRITING CAREER. Click here to learn more about my book.

So how about you? Do you have a current plan for your WIPs? And goals you’re working toward? Let us know!!!! We’d love to hear from your corner of the KidLit world.

REALITY SHOW: KIDLIT WRITER FINDS EXPERT

Recently I mailed out a couple of complimentary copies of my newest picture book, THE VERY OLDEST PEAR TREE, to some of the experts who helped me along my journey. One of these experts is influential in the local historical society in Danvers, Massachusetts where this ancient tree still stands. Another expert is a descendant of Governor Endecott who actually planted the tree. Both these experts, plus others, were so helpful along my journey!

(CLICK HERE to find out how you can buy a copy of THE VERY OLDEST PEAR TREE or download a free educator’s guide to share with a teacher friend or homeschooling family you know.)

What exactly does an expert bring to a KidLit author’s project? For starters, they can help fill in the gaps with research that might have holes and answer questions I have. Sometimes they are needed for permission to use their research in my research. Other times they offer images to use. And sometimes they agree to read over my manuscript before I submit it to the publisher to check for glaring mistakes, which was the case with some of my experts for this picture book.

So this week, I was also fortunate to make connections with potential new experts for my current Work-in-Progress. As I’ve been working on one of my WIPs over this past year (I always like to work on at least 3 WIPs at once, as you may know if you’ve studied my TRIPLE CROWN OF SUCCESS) I knew I’d be needing some experts to help. I’ve had my ear out for potential people to connect with, so when my hubby came back from an errand and excitedly told me he met some people who specialize on my current topic, I immediately hopped in the truck with him and returned with him to meet them myself. Cards were exchanged when I explained my task briefly (I never give out TOO much information about a WIP) and I assured them I’d be in touch soon. I am excited…a LOCAL expert…and a GROUP of potential experts at that! One of them has 3 Ph.Ds. That’s a rare find indeed!

So now I’ll plan to get in touch with them. I have a special e-mail set up just for this purpose. It has an automatic signature at the end explaining the confidentiality of the e-mail. And since I only use this specific e-mail for either contacting an expert or acquiring images, the conversation trail is easy to follow and doesn’t get bogged down in my everyday inbox.

Have you ever worked with an expert? How did that go? How did that help? I’d love to hear your experience in this journey!

REALITY SHOW: KIDLIT WRITER SUBMITS

Sometimes I fit short little writing projects into my writing day. For example, I just submitted a very short article (300 words) on Toddler Safety to a publisher who was asking for submissions.

How did I hear about this potential place to submit?

Several sources…

I have a new toddler book scheduled for release on August 24, 2021. It’s BEDTIME WITH MOMMY, an adorable board book that shows animal mommies all over the world tucking their little ones to bed with hymns, hugs, and bedtime prayers. (Click here to pre-order your copies of BEDTIME WITH MOMMY today!) So when I had a scheduled meeting with the marketing folks from my publisher, they recommended I submit Mommy/toddler articles to Focus on the Family’s call-for-submissions page. One reason is they give authors a byline and I can add my new book title along with my name if they publish my submission.

So this was already on my radar when my author/editor friend (you know who you are!) put a call-out on Facebook last week for a submission to Focus with Toddler Safety tips. Same place as the marketing folks suggested.

So naturally, I felt this was a win-win!

So for about 24 hours I walked around jotting down Toddler Safety tips and brainstorming for the most unique and unusual Toddler Safety tips I could think of that we have done in our home for our own kids as well as now with grandchildren. And then I typed them up and e-mailed them in. Now my fingers and my toes are crossed that they’ll accept and publish my tips.

So since I’m giving you a peek into my corner of the KidLit world, I thought you’d like to know about this great opportunity for writers. And it pays, too!

CLICK HERE to see Focus’s Call for Submissions page. And be sure to check back on it frequently as they are constantly updating their needs.

I’ve actually written for Focus for years and years. At times I’ve been part of their stable of writers who write regularly for their parenting publications. Now I mostly just write for their children’s magazine. Do you have any places you like to submit to that might be a great opportunity for others to check out? If so and you’d like to share that in the comments, we’d love to know!

Image by Jess Foami from Pixabay

Reality Show: KidLit Writer Types Mentor Text

Yep. Here in my corner of the KidLit world, I’m typing. (But of course, I’m not typing on this ancient typewriter but on my laptop, instead. But I do remember the day!)

What am I typing? you may ask.

My mentor text. Little poems and ditties in the Babybug magazines I borrowed and then photocopied.

But why am I typing these if I already photocopied these?

So glad you asked!

You see, I always like to schedule in some important time to type portions of my mentor text. When I’m working on writing a new picture book, I always like to have a mentor picture book or two…and I type these out word for word.

Sometimes I’m working on a chapter book or an easy reader. I type portions of these, too, on my laptop. Sometimes a whole chapter or two.

Why? Oh why do I go to all that trouble?

For a variety of reasons!

The number one reason is to train my brain. You see, when we want to learn how to ride a bike, we get on and ride. And our brain is trained on how to do it. Likewise when we want to learn how to WRITE a certain genre, if we type out portions of our mentor text, it trains our brain to work along the same paths.

Another reason I like to type these out is to see visually what an actual submission will look like on a typed manuscript page.

For example, there is a poem in Babybug that covers 4 pages of beautiful and fun artwork.

But when I type it out, it only covers two lines of text.

This teaches me what to expect with what I’m actually going to produce to submit.

Another reason I like to type things out is that then I can print out individual sections of my mentor text and glue these into my journal as I’m creating the first draft. These are handy point of references as I’m working on creating.

And another reason I like to type out my mentor text is because now I have this on my laptop. So if I’m working on my manuscript and my journal isn’t nearby and my photocopies aren’t nearby, I can just click on these files and presto! What I need is at my fingertips.

How about you? Do you type out your mentor texts? And if so, what are some of the benefits you’ve found?

REALITY SHOW: KidLit Writer Journals

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As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I am creating a journal for my newest WIP (work in progress) which is to write little poems and stories to submit to Babybug magazine.

The first thing I did was to get out my scrapbooking supplies and cover a blank wide-ruled composition notebook that I buy in batches for $1 from Walmart or Staples when they’re on sale. I keep a stack of 10 or so empty ones on my office shelves at all times for this very purpose.

The next thing I do is create a table of contents and number all the pages inside.

There isn’t much yet to show you about the inside of this journal because I’m just getting started, but I’ve written numerous blog posts on how I keep my writing journals and what I put inside them. Just search “journals” in the search bar here inside my blog to find some of those posts. Or CLICK HERE to read the beginning of a series of blog posts where I really explain the process I go through for various types of journals I create. This link takes you to the first post I made and then you just follow the links for the next posts to continue reading about journals.

Do you create writer’s journals, too? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

KidLit Writer Gathers

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As a KidLit writer, I love to gather. I gather books from the library. I gather photos for my blog posts and marketing and social media. I gather friends (like you!) among my writing peers.

And when I’m preparing for a new WIP (Work in Progress) I love to gather all the materials I need to get started on my project.

Recently, I gathered my tools for preparing to write for submitting to Babybug magazine. CLICK HERE to read my post about submitting to Babybug.

I took a photo of what I gathered so you can see what kind of tools I like to have on hand for a project such as this one.

I love to create a brand new writing journal for most of my writing projects. (More about this soon!) So I grabbed a blank composition notebook from the stack I keep on my shelves. I decorated it with scrapbooking paper and cute stickers. In this journal I’ll keep my notes and brainstorming and ideas and actual first drafts of the manuscripts I write.I grabbed my handy dandy pocket pouch of writing and editing tools. Inside are pens and highlighters and scissors and tape and white-out to help me during the process of writing my first drafts.I grabbed a cute file folder from my stash of cute file folders (I have a weakness for cute file folders!) and picked this adorable red and white polka dot one because it reminds me of a ladybug which kind of relates to Babybug…lol. I’ve already started filling it with samples of Babybug magazines that I’m photocopying for my mentor texts. (I checked with my libraries and you’re allowed to photocopy anything they own for research purposes as long as I don’t share them.)I grabbed my how-to-write poetry book since most of my submissions will be in rhyme.I chose a music CD to listen to while I’m working on my writing process. Choosing one single music CD to listen to when I sit down to work on one specific project helps my brain avoid writer’s block and it opens up my brain to work better on that particular project. I always choose an instrumental because I can’t think very well if there are words in the music. This time I chose Emile Pandolfe piano music of favorite Disney movie and childhood songs such as Baby Mine from Dumbo since this is a writing project for babies and toddlers.I chose one of my cute totebags that I got from a writer’s event (Okay, I have a weakness for cute totebags, too!) I put everything in my totebag so I’m ready to go!

So now that I’m done gathering, I’m ready to start digging in! What do you do to prepare for a new WIP?

REALITY SHOW: KIDLIT WRITER GETS BOOKS FROM LIBRARY

Recently I maxed out both my husband’s library card and my library card as I sat at home and requested books to be picked up at my local library from my county’s library system. All the books arrived in about a week’s time (I’m so thankful the library is open again!), so we picked them up, used them for my purposes, and then returned them.

Then I promptly maxed out both our library cards again as I requested another batch of similar books. Every book I ordered in was a book on Mother Goose.

What did I do with all these Mother Goose books, you may ask? For starters, I was preparing a proposal for another Mother Goose spin-off picture book. (My first one is A PIRATE’S MOTHER GOOSE which was published by Albert Whitman with adorable art by the delightfully talented Colin Jack. CLICK HERE to learn more about A PIRATE’S MOTHER GOOSE.)

So I read through bunches of these library books and found comparable titles I could list in the proposal I was crafting. (And yes, I submitted the proposal to my agent…whew!)

Then I did some photo shoots with the books I liked best. Like the one above, grouping some favorites with my own picture book. I just used my phone. Nothing fancy. These photo groups can be used for a variety of purposes such as posting here on my blog, or creating a pin on Pinterest to help market my books.

I also took individual shots of lots of my favorite Mother Goose books because I like to “give back” to fellow KidLit authors and post 5-star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon and also on Instagram, to name a few.

And then I actually purchased at least one of my absolute favorites! To read with my grandkids, of course. I plan on purchasing more of my favorites, too, for sharing in the Little Free Library we’re planning on building for our front yard. (Thanks to my hubby for an awesome Christmas gift!)

So today, I’m already planning on the next batch of books I’m going to order in from my local library. This time I want comparable titles for a series of bedtime baby books I’m working on, the first one being BEDTIME WITH MOMMY, which has a book birthday of August 24, 2021.

So that’s what’s been going on recently in my corner of the KidLit world. If you’ve been using your local library for something, I’d love to hear about it, too. Don’t you just love your local library? (And librarians?!!!)