Nancy I. Sanders's Blog, page 50

Write a NF Book in Just 3 Weeks

As I’ve mentioned before, now that I’ve spent these past several months writing and editing and submitting a nonfiction picture book/early reader for Kaeden Books, I’m getting ready to do the whole process again…all in 3 weeks!

It can get a little bit crazy moving forward at this fast of a pace, but I’ve found that it helps my brain to focus and pull everything I’ve learned recently all together when I do it at this pace. I hope this does all this and more for you, too, as you follow along.

Plus, it’s good exercise to get under your belt. Why? Because sometimes agents and editors request a total rewrite of a picture book or nonfiction manuscript in a very short time. Other times, they give out a one to three week deadline and you’ve got to race, race, race to the finish line to get it done in time.

But those are fun times of racing because there’s a nice big fat check dangling like a carrot in front of a bunny to entice you forward. Or there’s the promise of a brand new book getting published if you can meet the editorial need.

So if you want to join in the race we’re going to take off on, there are a few preparations you need to make right away. Here’s what you can do:

1. Make the commitment to follow through and write a brand new nonfiction manuscript in just 3 weeks. Clear your schedule to do this and pursue this goal.

2. Get motivated to meet your goal. Really. If you work better with a group, enlist your writing friends to join. If you work better with a prize, give yourself a special prize if you make it to the finish line. Get things set in place right now so that you’ll be motivated for three full weeks to keep going until you meet your goal.

3. Gather potential mentor texts. For a refresher on this, CLICK HERE. You can use the same mentor texts you used for this last manuscript you wrote and submitted to Kaeden Books. If you’re not sure or you want to choose a new one, just CLICK HERE to see a list of Kaeden Books’ nonfiction titles to choose from.

4. Choose your broad topic that you’d like to write about. For example, you could choose to write about seeds, planets, careers, butterflies, seasons, a holiday, community, animal homes, etc. Pick one that interests you, even if you’ve never written about it before.

5. Gather potential research books. Go ahead and order 10 or 20 or even more potential titles from your library for you to use for your research. If you truly plan to write this puppy in just three weeks, you’ll move much faster if you already have a ton of research books right there in your hands. For a book at this level, nonfiction picture books will be solid resources for you to use, so order in as many as you can.

Later this week I’ll be posting a 3-week calendar for us to follow. And then next Monday we’re going to start on our brand new adventure!!

Filed under: Beginning Readers, Nonfiction, Picture Books

Writing Opportunity: Submission Check-off List

Are you all ready to submit your manuscript to Kaeden Books?

Let’s take a look at this check-off list to double check you have all your ducks in a row!

SUBMISSION CHECK-OFF LIST

For starters, I always like to reread the Submission Guidelines right before I submit my manuscript to make sure I’m not forgetting anything.

_____COVER LETTER

First Post on Cover Letter

Second Post on Cover Letter

Third Post on Cover Letter



Fourth and Final Post on Cover Letter

MANUSCRIPT

_____Be sure that you save a copy of your manuscript with all research footnotes intact.

_____Then save a copy with all footnotes removed. This will be the copy you submit to Kaeden Books.

_____Format the first page of your manuscript correctly

_____Format the header with your name, title, and page number

_____Format your manuscript to be formatted just like your mentor text

_____Include a surprise ending to your story

_____Table of Contents

_____[Sidebars]

_____Glossary

_____Index

_____Word List

_____Word Count

Discussion Questions

_____Part 1

_____Part 2

_____Part 3

SASE

_____Be sure to include your SASE

Now put everything in a large manila envelope, write the address on the cover, and it’s ready to go. Yay!!!!!

If you actually factually followed all the way through and submitted your manuscript to Kaeden Books, let us know so we can share your joy!

And if not, don’t feel bad! This was a great opportunity to learn the ins and outs and ups and downs of the process of writing a nonfiction manuscript and submitting it to an educational publisher.

But guess what?! As I promised, we’re going to repeat this whole process once again and in just three weeks I’ll walk you through all these steps to submit a nonfiction manuscript to Kaeden Books!

So get ready and be on the lookout for the upcoming post where we’ll get started on our next adventure right here on my blog.

Filed under: Beginning Readers, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Tips and Strategies, Writing Tips

Writing Opportunity: Cover Letter

Hi writing friends!!! Let’s finish up our cover letters today!!!!

I’ve had a number of folks start following me in this new year. If that’s you, welcome on board! And to recap it for all of us, here are the posts where you can find all the info you need to start to write your cover letter:

First Post on Cover Letter

Second Post on Cover Letter

Third Post on Cover Letter

Now, here in the Fourth Post on our Cover Letter, I’m going to tell you about my extra fun, super-duper strategy that I like to include on my cover letters because it gets RESULTS! I can’t tell you the number of contracts I’ve landed because of adding this to my cover letter. (Okay, the two that come to mind include my four-book set, KINGDOM KIDZ Noah, King Solomon, Zachaeus, & Martha and Mary. My book, A Kid’s Guide to African American History also came about because of this…)

It’s an extra part that goes something like this:

If for some reason you are unable to accept My Title at this time, would you be interested in receiving a potential manuscript on any of the following topics:

* Topic 1

* Topic 2

* Topic 3

I actually added this as my third paragraph in my cover letter to my submission to Kaeden Books.

Sometimes I add this as an entirely separate page in my query or proposal or manuscript that I submit. If I do that I call it my Resume Extension. (To learn how to create a Resume Extension instead of just adding a paragraph to your cover letter AND to also learn HOW and WHY I add this to my submissions, CLICK HERE to read all about it.)

So here’s what to do:

Pull out any notes that you made when you first explored Kaeden Books’ site about what types of topics they’ve already covered in their published books.

Look over them and brainstorm ideas for potential topics that they have not yet published but might fit into their product line. You don’t need to go into great depth here. And don’t stress out about this too much. It might help to block off an hour where you can just sit down and relax while you look through their product line again and let your brain start working to generate ideas.

Just pick 3-5 topics that might interest you such as oceans, holidays, animal homes, pets, bats, or spiders.

Pick high-profile topics that you can easily order in lots of research books from your library to get the info you need to write about.

Also pick topics that children study in school at this age. (For a list of these, look at the table of contents in teacher books on Amazon such as my book, Cut and Paste Mini-Books: Science.)

Then list those topics as part of your third paragraph. I put mine in bullets to stand out better.

One final thing and we’ll be done with our cover letter. (Thanks, Claire, for asking about this!) If you have art suggestions or photograph suggestions, the cover letter is the place to include this. There are options for this:

A: Add a sentence or two to the end of your second paragraph

B: Add a separate little paragraph after the second paragraph

C: Add an entire separate page if this takes up a lot of room.

D: You can even add a sample or two if you have them as separate pages

Here’s the scoop on your cover letter. I know a lot of editors say they only want to see a one-page cover letter. But if you stop and think about it, most of these editors are in the fiction market. Here with nonfiction or in the educational market, if you have something important to say such as the resume extension or photograph ideas, don’t ever feel limited to a one page cover letter. Just be as concise as possible.

There! I’m going to give you a couple of days to finish up your cover letter.

Then I’ll put together a checklist for you to go over to make sure you have everything you need. I’ll post that next week and you’ll be ready to mail in your submission!

I hope you’re as excited as I am!

Filed under: Beginning Readers, Cover Letters, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Writing Tips

Teleclass Today!

Join me at the Working Writers Club TODAY in a live teleclass I’ll be teaching.

At this time of year our thoughts turn to goals, and ways to focus, and strategies to make the new year our best year yet as a writer.

In this workshop over the telephone, we’ll be exploring what works for YOU and how YOU can manage your time more efficiently to reach your goals as a writer and experience success!

CLICK HERE to learn more about the details, the cost, and how to register for this event.

And if you can’t join me LIVE, the recorded audio will be available after the class is over.

For a list of even more audio recordings of teleclasses I’ve done and other topics I’ve covered, CLICK HERE and sign up to learn key strategies on how to take the next step as a children’s writer.

Filed under: Writer Workshops, Writing Skills, Writing Tips

Welcome to My World!

Today is a hip hip hooray sort of day! I just got news from my publishers that my newest books, One Sentence Storybooks: Bible Favorites are now released and available for purchase!

To start off this exciting news with a fun note, they are featuring an interview with me on Tyndale’s website. Stop by and say “hi!” And share these with your friends and family, too! All you have to do is click on the sharing buttons here on my post and on Tyndale’s blog as well. (A special super duper THANK you to all who help spread the exciting news.)

These little gems have arrived just in time for parents and grandparents to purchase for Valentine surprises or Easter baskets. Plus Sunday School teachers and school teachers can use these to help their precious little kiddos learn how to read.

And they make great baby shower gifts! Considering that 3 of my nieces are pregnant and also my daughter-in-law’s sister-in-law (okay…take a minute to figure out that one)…I can hardly wait to give these out at baby showers this spring!!!!!

Can you tell I’m excited, dear writing friends? I wrote these books ages and ages and even years ago, so to have them coming out now with Tyndale and Focus on the Family, it’s a dream come true. I’m thanking God for the journey. And also for the adventures ahead.

And I want to encourage YOU for those precious manuscripts you’ve already written. God has a plan for YOU as His scribe and it’s for a future and a hope!

Filed under: Beginning Readers, Bible Stories, Interviews, My Books

Book Review: I Can Learn the Bible

I Can Learn the Bible

The Joshua Code for Kids: 52 Scriptures Ever Kid Should Know

by Holly Hawkins Shivers

Illustrated by Becka Moor

Summary

The Bible is filled with amazing Scriptures kids can learn from and this awesome book pulls out the top 52. We’re talking build-your-faith-on-the-rock Scriptures. Know-Jesus-loves-you-like-crazy Scriptures. Key-to-salvation Scriptures. There are 52 verses so kids can memorize one each week. Each Scripture is accompanied by a read-aloud devotion families can share together and a short, meaningful prayer to end with.

What I Like

Over my life, there have been several books I have purchased by the caseload and given to everyone I know. I did that with the One Year Bible for years until our church finally started featuring it as the Book of the Month every December so we could all read through the Bible together at the same time each year.

I Can Learn the Bible is one of these books. The Scriptures are so IMPORTANT that they’ve chosen. Scriptures such as Ephesians 2:8-9: “I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believe. You did not save yourselves. It was a gift from God. You cannot brag that you are saved by the work you have done.” And the devotions are so well-written! Not only does the author speak directly to the child, but she does it in such a meaningful, clear, tender and sweet way that the Bible comes alive and Jesus becomes very very real. I want to read this with my future grandkids when they’re here to visit at mealtime. I want to give this book to everyone I know. I’m going to recommend it to my home church to sell as a resource in our family resources room. It will especially make a wonderful gift to new parents at a baby shower. This is one of the best books I’ve come across in a long long time.

-Thanks, BookLook Bloggers for another wonderful free book in exchange for my honest review!

Filed under: Book Review, Uncategorized

Writing Opportunity: Cover Letter

Here’s how I wrote the second paragraph of my cover letter for submitting my nonfiction manuscript to Kaeden Books:

Second Paragraph

Sentence #1:

As author of XX, I recently read in the Institute of Children’s Literature e-news that you have a particular need for unique non-fiction manuscripts.

Any time I find a call-out from a publisher for a particular need, I ALWAYS mention it in the cover letter of my submission. This lets them know that I’m not submitting blindly but am specifically targeting their particular needs. This is a great way to rise quickly to the top of a slush pile of manuscripts.

This was also the sentence I mentioned a little blurb about my publishing credentials. Don’t worry if you don’t have many things published yet or don’t even have anything published yet. Some publishers prefer working with first time authors. Others have other preferences. In the end, they’ll look at your manuscript itself and judge it for its own merit. But if you really want to start getting published credits, do like what I do and start writing for the no-pay/low-pay markets. That will build your publishing credits quickly so next time you WILL have something to put in this spot.

So if you don’t want to mention any of your published credits (or lack) just skip the first part and write this as your first sentence in the second paragraph (Or mention the place you first heard about this if it’s different than the ICL e-news):

I recently read in the Institute of Children’s Literature e-news that you have a particular need for unique non-fiction manuscripts.

Sentence #2

Here’s my second sentence in this paragraph:

My Title meets a felt need for nonfiction for students in kindergarten.

The purpose of this sentence is to remind Kaeden that this is nonfiction and it’s targeted to students in kindergarten.

And here’s where the CHOOSE YOUR OWN COVER LETTER game comes in. You can choose any of these alternatives to plug into the second sentence of your paragraph instead:

My Title is a strong addition for nonfiction for students in kindergarten.

My Title is perfect for nonfiction in the kindergarten classroom.

Kindergarten teachers will find My Title to be a great nonfiction resource for their students.

Sentence #3

Here’s my third sentence in this paragraph:

Similar in reading level and text complexity to your title, The Bird Feeder, my manuscript is 16 pages in length, has 48 words, and includes insets with detailed information that supports potential photographs.

You can copy this sentence, plugging in your own mentor text from Kaeden Books and your own book’s stats. (Also…just a note…I got the word “insets” from one of the back pages of one of their nonfiction titles. That’s how Kaeden refers to their sidebars.) Or you can rewrite this in your own words.

Sentence #4

Here’s my fourth and final sentence in this paragraph:

The discussion questions at the end are geared to the Common Core State Standards.

You can copy that sentence or choose one of these alternatives to plug into your own paragraph:

At the end of my manuscript, I included discussion questions supporting the Common Core.

Discussion questions for the teacher to use at the end of the story are geared to support the CCSS.

That’s it! The second paragraph of your cover letter is finished.

Third Paragraph:

For the third paragraph, I write something that’s my super-duper strategy for landing contracts. I’ve landed more contracts with that paragraph than I can remember. I’ll save this exciting part for a future post.

Fourth Paragraph:

For now, here’s my fourth and final paragraph:

I am looking forward to hearing from you regarding the potential acceptance of My Title. My resume is enclosed. This is a simultaneous submission.

Sincerely,

Nancy I. Sanders

If you don’t have a resume to include, skip that sentence. Go ahead and copy this or use your own words.

The reason I wrote “This is a simultaneous submission” is because they state they take a long time to respond. I want to give myself an option since they also state in their submission guidelines that simultaneous submissions are absolutely fine.

So go ahead and type out all this. Your cover letter is almost done! In an upcoming post I’ll share my extra fun, super-duper strategy that I like to include on my cover letters because it gets RESULTS!

Filed under: Beginning Readers, Cover Letters, Nonfiction

Writing Opportunity: The Cover Letter

Have you ever read those fun books called CHOOSE YOU OWN ADVENTURE? They were some of our kids’ favorites.

Today we’re going to play a fun game. Let’s call it CHOOSE YOUR OWN COVER LETTER!

I’ll share with you (word for word in some sentences) how I wrote my cover letter. Then I’ll give you options that you can choose to plug into your own cover letter. Hopefully this will take some of the stress out of writing this so you can actually submit your manuscript to Kaeden Books!

Cover Letter: Paragraph 1

First Sentence

I always like to start out the first sentence of my cover letter with something about my manuscript. Sometimes I quote a catchy sentence or two from my manuscript. Other times I give a little summary. Here’s what I said in the first sentence of my cover letter to Kaeden Books:

Students learn about XX in kindergarten, including YY.

XX was a general topic my manuscript covers. YY is the specific subject I present. For example, here’s what it might have said if my manuscript was about astronauts:

Students learn about careers in kindergarten, including careers of astronauts.



If you’d like to choose this approach for your opening sentence, you can copy my first sentence and plug in your own topics or reword it in your own words to get the same effect.

Second Sentence

Then I gave a little summary of my story for the second sentence of this paragraph. Plus I tried to use words that will appeal to an editor. Here’s the second sentence I wrote in my cover letter:

In this engaging nonfiction manuscript, My Title, students find an XX, YY, and ZZ…along with a surprise at the end!

If you’d like to choose this approach for your second sentence, you can copy it and plug in your own details.

Or, you can choose some of these alternatives:

#1

Instead of “engaging” nonfiction manuscript, you can choose one of these words to describe your manuscript:

delightful

appealing

#2

Let’s look at some of the words Kaeden Books like to use. CLICK HERE to see the list of their nonfiction titles. Then click on the button for VIEW DESCRIPTION for some of the titles. Here are some of the words Kaeden uses to describe their own books:

perfect match of text to illustration

this delightful look at…

delightful illustrations support text that introduces…

introduce words that name the XX, YY, and ZZ

Great for…

A closer look at…

Step-by-step directions for the reader to follow to…

Using simple, repetitive text, this book is perfect for…

Sure to appeal to young…

Join the fun as readers…

So go ahead and use some of the same wording Kaeden uses to describe their products to describe your own manuscript in the second sentence of this paragraph. This is what I do when I tailor my cover letter to target a specific publisher. I look in their catalogs and try to match their own product line as closely as possible in a fresh new way!

And if your manuscript has a surprise at the end, be sure to mention that too, since Kaeden Books states in their submission guidelines that they’re particularly looking for submissions with a surprise ending.

There…that’s all it takes to write the first two sentences in your first paragraph of your cover letter!

In our next post we’ll continue this CHOOSE YOUR OWN COVER LETTER game for writing the next paragraph!

Filed under: Beginning Readers, Cover Letters, Nonfiction

Writing Opportunity: The Cover Letter

I’ve led critique groups for years, taught at writer’s conferences in different states (including the SCBWI Nationals in Los Angeles!), and edited numerous children’s manuscripts.

And each time the term “cover letter” or “query letter” comes up, I see writers freeze in their footsteps. Some panic. Some quit and never actually submit their manuscript after all this hard work. I mean, I even feel my blood pressure rise.

Why is it we get so scared of writing a one-page letter? Perhaps it’s because we’ve sat in far too many conferences or read far too many books that say your cover letter must be PERFECT or it will ruin your chances of an acceptance and all your hard work will go quickly down the drain.

I’m here to reassure you that it’s not really like that. On the contrary, most editors I work with rely on the actual manuscript itself rather than the cover letter. In fact, I’ve heard editors say they don’t even look at the cover letter! They just read the manuscript itself to judge it on its own merit.

So I want to encourage you. You can do this! You can write a cover letter and actually submit it with your manuscript to Kaeden Books! I’ll walk you through the process, step-by-step. In fact, let’s play a little game and have fun with it. Why not?! In my next post, I’ll show you how.

For now, though, to refresh your memory about cover letters (and query letters) you can read this excerpt 13.1 from pages 188-189 in my book, Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Children’s Books, Get Them Published, and Build a Successful Writing Career.

Queries and Cover Letters

Queries and cover letters are very similar. The basic difference between the two is that a query is a letter sent by itself. A cover letter is a similar letter but it���s sent along with a proposal or the completed manuscript.

Thanks to the age of e-mail, queries can be a lot less formal than in the past. If you���re sending an e-mail query, simply address the letter to the editor by her first name. Include a short description of your idea or ideas and how each will potentially fit into your target publisher���s product line. If you are sending the same ideas to different publishers, be sure to state, ���This is a simultaneous query.��� Conclude your query with your full name, address, phone number, e-mail, website, and blog if you have any that are writing-related. One click on your web URL and the editor can get an instant overview of your writing credentials.

Avoid sending file attachments at this point since many editors won���t open them due to potential viruses unless they specifically request attached files in their guidelines.

If an editor does not accept e-mail queries or cover letters, type it more formally. Use white typing paper only. No cutesy stuff unless you have a professionally-designed letterhead.

Center your name, address, phone number, e-mail, website, and blog at the top. Use Times New Roman size 12 font, single-spaced throughout. It is the standard in the industry.

Skip down a space and align all remaining text on the left just like a standard business letter. First type the date.

Skip a space. Then include the name of the editor and the publisher���s address. (If you don���t have an editor���s name just type ���Editor.���)

Skip a space. Address the editor by his first name such as ���Dear Bill.���

Skip a space. Start the letter and separate each paragraph by a space. Don���t indent paragraphs.

When the letter is done, skip a space. Type ���Sincerely,��� and skip four spaces, then type your formal name.

Sign it by hand in the space above your name with a black pen.

Query and cover letters are very important. They���re the first thing an editor sees and if one catches her eye, she���ll pass it around the editorial team. Length varies���many of my e-mail queries are just one paragraph long yet a cover letter for a series can be two or three pages. Try to fit your query or cover letter onto one page if possible, but it is okay to go longer if your proposal or manuscript is requested, or if you���re pitching a series. No matter the length, I like to include four points in my query or cover letters:

��� a description of my idea or manuscript

��� a reference to my writing credentials

��� how my idea or manuscript fits into the publisher���s product line

��� details about the projected or completed manuscript such as: age of target audience, projected word or page count, and marketability

This is the general info about how to write a cover letter…any cover letter. In my next post we’ll play a fun game on how to write a specific cover letter targeted to Kaeden Books!

Filed under: Beginning Readers, Nonfiction, Picture Books

Writing Opportunity: Submission Prep and SASE

Moving down the list of the SUBMISSION PROCEDURE for the Author Guidelines for Kaeden Books, it’s time to get our SASE postcard ready for item #3. (We’ll come back to item #2 “the cover letter” in a future post here on my blog.)

For a post card, you can just grab a large index card or other postcard you want to use.

If you have a postcard of the cover of one of your published books, that’s always a nice plus to use as an SASE (Self-Addressed/Stamped Envelope or as in our case Postcard). I have a couple of post cards from published books…some are fiction and some are nonfiction. I picked a post card to use of my nonfiction picture book, D is for Drinking Gourd since my manuscript submission is nonfiction.

Along with the sentence they tell us to write on our postcard, I also wrote the actual title of my manuscript. That’s because I plan to submit at least 2 more nonfiction manuscripts to Kaeden Books in the month ahead (and I hope you do too as I’ll be sharing how to do this in upcoming posts) as well as a chapter book, so I don’t want to get my postcards mixed up.

I’m going to paper clip my post card to my manuscript as soon as I get the cover letter written. (Don’t staple your manuscript! That’s a no-no in the publishing world. It’s too much hassle to rip the staple out if editors prefer leafing through the pages. Either leave everything loose or use a paper clip if you want to keep the pages together.)

Okay…now let’s work on the cover letter…coming up in the next post!

Filed under: Uncategorized