Author Archives: Alexis

Authors Doing Homework for Students? Answering Interview Questions

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Girl Doing HomeworkLast week, a high school student got in touch via email. Her teacher is requiring that students do a “Personal Project” that is meaningful to them. This particular student is interested in becoming an author illustrator. (Awww! How cool! She chose me to give insights and advice!) And she wanted me to answer seven questions.

That’s when I put the brakes on. I looked at the greeting again. It read, “Hello,”

The student didn’t address me specifically. Nothing in the email indicated that she knew anything about my books. Most of her questions were ones I had addressed in countless interviews, a Google click away. Ah! So was this a buckshot query to countless authors and illustrators? Or was this meant to be a survey of many authors, and she wasn’t explicit about this?

I am 100% behind encouraging and supporting students who are exploring writing as a career. I have spent hours responding to requests for email interviews. And I suppose I could’ve just cut-and-pasted from older interviews and filled in the blanks under each of her questions. But wait! Who’s the student here? Isn’t doing research her job? I’d be the one doing the homework!

I love that teachers are requiring students to have an interview component in their projects. These personal contacts can be enriching and memorable. But here are some tips (which, by the way, I passed along to the student who made that inquiry last week) to having happy and responsive authors:

  • Read books about the industry first. Get the keywords and big concepts, then frame your questions.
  • Personalize the greeting in the email.
  • Show evidence that you are familiar with the author and his or her work.
  • State whether this is a survey of many authors or an interview with one author.
  • State when your project is due.
  • Ask only those questions that you can’t find through research either on the author specifically or about the industry in general.
  • Thank the author for any contributions they make.
  • BONUS: Offer to give the author a copy of your final project.

Do any of you out there have other ways that you handle interview requests? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Telling Stories About Yourself

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Coyote Storyteller by RIchard Shields

Coyote Storyteller by Richard Shields

Humans are wired for stories. So if you really want audiences to connect with you, weave stories about yourself into your presentations.

Have you ever read Reader’s Digest? I used to flip to the columns “Life in These United States,” “Humor in Uniform” and “Laughter the Best Medicine.” I loved these 100-150-word jolts of stories. I looked forward to their punch lines.

Aesop had it right: short bursts of stories with beginnings, middles and ends. Stories from which listeners could derive meaning and identify with. Fables showing characters’ vulnerabilities and strengths.

Recently, I attended the SCBWI Summer Conference. After awhile, sessions began to blend together. There was so much rich helpful information! So many quotable quotes spilling from keynoters’ lips! But one of the most memorable keynote presentations for me was by Matt de la Peña. Why? He anchored his talk with stories – – about his family, himself, his vulnerabilities. He shared a story which led up to his leaning against a post, waiting for his first big crush to emerge from the fast food place across from his high school, expecting her to run up to him to thank him for the heartfelt poem he had penned for her, but was crushed when, instead, she went another way to avoid him. I pictured each moment of that scene. And he brought the story up to the present day. A story with a beginning, middle and end.

Whether you are speaking to an adult audience or to kids, remember to weave in a story or two about yourself – ones that listeners can connect with. Dig for funny or poignant nuggets from . . .

 

  • Growing up years
  • Disappointments / heartbreaks
  • Celebrations (disastrous or otherwise)
  • Unexpected kindnesses from others
  • Family vacations (or lack thereof)
  • School (conflicts or triumphs)

    If you’re not sure how to structure your personal stories, take a look at the compilation, Reader’s Digest Life in These United States: True Stories and Humorous Glimpses from America’s Most Popular Magazine, or stories in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series created by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. 

    But most of all, tell stories from your heart. You’ll connect with listeners as surely as you have connected with readers through your books.

Slap Happy Name Tags

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This is the best name tag placement. Others can read it easily when you shake hands.

This is the best name tag placement. Others can read it easily when you shake hands.

You’re probably scratching your head saying, “Really? A whole post on where to slap a name tag? Has she lost her mind?” But while getting ready for the upcoming SCBWI Summer conference this week, I thought about one of my pet peeves – hard-to-read name tags.  The stick-on kind and the hanging kind.

Admit it. You know what I’m talking about. Someone bounds up to say hi.  You know her face but can’t call up her name. You are embarrassed to search her chest for the tag that can help you. It’s there, but out of eye range, over her heart in the fold of her sweater partially covered by her scarf. Or it’s hanging from a lanyard somewhere just north of her belly-button. And when you do find it, you discover that it has flipped over, showing a nice display of all the business cards that your friend (What IS her name???) has collected from other friends. (How long can I wait for someone to come close and call this nameless friend by her true name so that I’m not a total fool for asking?)

Now I have a couple of choices: I can pretend to straighten the name tag, sneak a peek while I’m at it and compliment her on her unique collection of business cards. Or I can restick her adhesive rectangle and take a gander as I do. But wouldn’t it be much, much better if all authors and illustrators were dedicated to being more Name Tag Aware and fix them themselves?

So, if you want to be known, (and isn’t it worth it to be known when you find yourself unexpectedly in a circle of editors and agents?) here are a couple of tips:

For the lanyard type name badges: Tie the rope up a bit higher so that your tag is within eye range. Anchor it so that it doesn’t spin.

For the stick-on type name tags: place the tag on your RIGHT side. This way, others can read your name with an unobtrusive glance as you shake hands. (Most people slap it over their heart on the left. But then others have to do eyeball dances to read them when tags are — way. over. there.

If you’re reading this before you come to the conference – or even while you are there – just humor me and make it easy for me to read who you are!

 Here’s a bonus tip from author Joan Bransfield Graham.

 

“I have a drawer full of nametags from various events, and I recycle them as needed. I use the one pictured on the left if I'm not given a nametag and need one. The one on the right is from an SCBWI conference. I print small pictures of my book covers and add them with a loop of tape on the back; then I can take them off and put them wherever I want. Including that visual helps people connect a face with a book.”

“I have a drawer full of nametags from various events, and I recycle them as needed. I use the one pictured on the left if I’m not given a nametag and need one. The one on the right is from an SCBWI conference. I print small pictures of my book covers and add them with a loop of tape on the back; then I can take them off and put them wherever I want. Including that visual helps people connect a face with a book.”

 

Keep Your Antennae Up!

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notebook-pencilNext week, the SCBWI Summer Conference will be underway in Los Angeles. Published authors and illustrators will be giving keynotes, workshops and intensives over the course of four days. It’s the perfect lab for you to study their presentation techniques and see what you might borrow to put in your own presentation toolbox.

Many of us keep a notebook in hand to record quotable quotes or inspirations. But consider devoting a special part of your notebook to record what’s working (or not) in a presenter’s delivery.

Here are some things to look for:

  • Opening: What were the first words out of the presenter’s mouth? Was the opening memorable? (Many speakers take 2 or more minutes of “throat clearing” before launching into their presentation, losing precious time!)
  • Voice: Was it clear? Understandable? At a pace and range (high/low) that was easy to listen to? (My ears can’t listen fast enough to some rapid-fire speakers!! And some voices are pitched so high, only dogs can hear them.)
  • Gestures: Were they appropriate and not distracting? (Ever been in a room with a speaker who’s a pocket change rattler?)
  • Visuals: Were they easy to read? Did they amplify the talk or were they extraneous? (Slide after slide composed of tiny text is coma-inducing.)
  • Demeanor: Did the speaker relate to the audience through humor or personal stories? (We’re wired for stories. And we love speakers who “get” us.)
  • Content: Was it practical? Inspirational? Meaty? (Will you remember what this person said 5 minutes afterwards? 10 minutes? A day later?)
  • Closing: Was it solid or did it drift off at the end? (And I should add, “on time.”)

When all is said and done, what was the biggest take-away this presenter had for you?

What did you learn (either positive or negative) that might be applicable to your own presentations?

At the SCBWI Summer Conference, there will be 14 Keynotes, 2 Editor/Agent Panels, 83 Workshops and Golden Kite Luncheon Speakers. If you keep your antennae up, you’ll come home with a toolbox bursting with fabulous presentation ideas.

 Share some insights with us here when you return!

How I Got Back Into the School Visit Game

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Guest Post by Joanne Rocklin

  “While I’d been gone . . . kids had been born who’d actually never seen an old-fashioned slide projector! I was riddled with anxiety.”

 Cover_Orangestreet_Joanne_RocklinI hadn’t published for a few years, but if you love writing and it’s one of the few things you do well, eventually you go back to it. The good news is, I did sell three novels. The bad news is, I had to completely revamp my school presentations to include my new work.

While I’d been gone, school visits, it seemed to me, had morphed into productions involving a great deal of new technical wizardry. Kids had been born who’d actually never seen an old-fashioned slide projector! I was riddled with anxiety. So I spent one happy afternoon reading old posts on the SchoolVisitExperts.com site (an activity I highly recommend) and I began to feel much more confident.  Certain posts and topics were especially important to me:

Tips on Crowd Control

For some reason I’d forgotten that I’d spent a large part of my life as a school teacher, clinical psychologist and parent. Reading old posts, I was reminded that kids themselves haven’t changed. Crowd control is just a matter of knowing the right tricks –humor, a well-placed pause, signals, and some clever, pointed questions to chatty kids help a lot.

Ideas for Great Beginnings

I went straight to the “Great Beginnings” post in the archives–it’s terrific. It was a reminder to Mitzie_Zoe_Puppets_Oaklandme that openings set the mood and the stage. The beginning of the presentation should be engaging, and most importantly, show that you yourself are glad to be there. Some authors begin with a song, some with humor, some with visuals, or costumes, some with intriguing questions. What this post made me realize was that I already had a great beginning – why was I throwing the baby out with the bath water? Or in this case, the silly cat puppet who had problems with his own writer’s block, a puppet that kids have always loved, no matter what their ages.

Lessons on “Shaping the Presentation”

Cover_ZOOK_HC_Joanne_RocklinHere was the post written just for me, and all other authors who are invited to visit schools but need to be reminded why. Why do we do school visits?  Because we are authors! We have lots to say about our books, about our day, about our desks, our pets, our childhoods and about those secrets we’re really excited to share. And here’s the phrase I needed to read: “. . .if you’re not a wizard at PowerPoint”…(Yes! Yes! That’s me!) and then the article goes on to enumerate all the other ways to make my presentation exciting without fancy-schmancy technology: use props, interact with the kids, think of the presentation itself as a story with a great beginning, an interesting middle, and a definite ending. I could do that!

Then a funny thing happened on the way to my school visits. I outlined everything I wanted to do and say. I streamlined my old school presentation and shaped it all like a story. I yak about how my pets have helped improved my writing, interspersed with student participation and the use of props and my trusty cat puppet. 

Relieved of the burden of “having” to use the new technology, I decided to trot over to the Apple store to learn how to fool around with the new Keynote software. Just, well, just because. Just because it didn’t matter as much anymore. And, just for fun. And it was! I fell in love. I am now an official Geek, the proud possessor of a presentation with a certain amount of bells and whistles and music and, yes, piped-in cat yowls.  I may have overdone it, but as I said, it was fun.  And hopefully, if I’m having fun, so will the kids.

Thanks, Alexis!

Disclaimer: Let me assure you that Alexis O’Neill did not pay me to say wonderful things about this site. I did offer to mail her a brisket pot roast but she refused; that’s how much integrity she has.  Or maybe she’s a vegetarian…

Joanne_Rocklin_aug_2010-330JOANNE ROCKLIN is the author of middle grade novels and early readers. Her novel The Five Lives Of Our Cat Zook won the 2013 SCBWI Golden Kite for Fiction, and her novel, One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street won numerous awards including the FOCAL Award from the Los Angeles Public Library and the California Library Association Beatty Award. Joanne has a doctorate in psychology and is a former elementary school teacher. For several years she taught a popular class in writing children’s books at UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. She gives presentations to schools, libraries, bookstores and other organizations. http://www.joannerocklin.com/

 

A Better Offer?

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So here’s the deal. You get a call from some group to speak at their event. You say yes. There might be 30 people there, the host says. We’re so excited you can come. You pen it on your calendar and forget about it. The date is a long way off.

And then you get another call, maybe a month or less before the Booked Event. Speaking at the New Event is such a great opportunity! But wait. It’s on the same day as the Booked Event. Rats. The New Event will give you a bigger audience, or more money, or better exposure. What should you do?

The simple answer? Honor your first commitment.  

Most organizations will begin promoting their event months ahead of time on websites and in print materials. People will have signed up for the event with the promise that you will be there. If you pull out, it can have a significant impact on that organization financially as well as reputation-wise. People may not trust future line-ups if they feel that speakers may pull out at the last minute. And your own reputation will take a hit, too. 

Okay –  so what’s the more complicated answer? Talk with your host. 

If the New Event is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (and not just a better offer), you might talk with your First Host to see if rescheduling would pose a problem. Or you might suggest a replacement speaker (one that you are in contact with). But the bottom line? The decision should be the host’s.

Here’s something I’ve learned through the years. When someone calls me and I say, “Sorry, but I’m already booked for that date,” it does not diminish my reputation. It sends the message, “Call me earlier next time.” And it tells the late-caller that I honor my commitments. This inspires trust. 

Last year, a fabulous organization asked me to speak at a fundraising luncheon. I would be the only children’s book author in a line-up of three authors. Over 250 book-buying women with children and grandchildren would be there. I had to decline. I already had a smaller commitment for that date. “But do keep me in mind for next year,” I said. They did. I’ll be speaking for them in 2014. And that’s just one story of many. 

Of course, there are other events in life that may conflict with your Booked Event – illness, the birth of a baby (your own, that is) – but bailing on your commitment  for a better offer is really not honorable.

9 Ways to Get Teachers to Love Your Author Visit

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What qualities do teachers look for in a visiting author? I decided to go to the source! I asked public school teacher and children’s author, Rebecca Langston-George, for advice. Rebecca is a past president of the Kern County Reading Association, host of the Young Authors’ Fair, which is, in my opinion, one of the best-run author fairs in the country. She has seen many authors and illustrators through the years and thus is in a perfect position to offer insights into what works and what doesn’t. Enjoy this guest post! — Alexis

 

For the past fourteen years I’ve been involved in Kern Reading Association, including the annual Young Authors’ Fair. YAF, as we call it, brings several children’s authors into local Kern County schools in California each year. I’ve met many fabulous children’s authors and have had the opportunity to view many school assemblies. Here are nine elements that I look for in an author presentation:

Enthusiasm: Wholehearted enthusiasm is important – and contagious; if the author is excited the audience will be excited. The author should be positive and show that he or she is happy to be there, and likes being around kids and teachers.

Relevant Presentation.  Have your content tie into the writing curriculum.  This helps justify to the principal the expense of bringing in an author and teaches kids writing is a process. It can be as simple as talking about your writing process. How do you go from an outline or some notes to a first draft? How do you get other writers to give you feedback? How do you edit based on that feedback? How does your final product differ from the early draft?  Teachers like for students to see that it takes time, practice and revision to write. 

Great Visuals: if you show up with a slide show featuring pictures of you 20 years ago and based on books that are now out of print, it looks like you couldn’t be bothered to update your presentation.  If you do a PowerPoint or other media presentation, your visuals should be large enough to be clearly seen in the back of the room. I hate when an author shows something on screen that no one can read and then comments “I know this is kind of small, but let’s see if we can all sing along . . .”  This shows that you know you have a problem with your presentation and you are too lazy to fix it. Imagine if teachers taught that way–showing math problems on the board that the kids couldn’t read.  No teacher can get away with that.  Why should an author think he or she can?

Controlled Q & A Segments: I’m okay with an author not having kids ask questions during an assembly, but doing a Q & A takes some skill. This is the segment where I often see the audience falter and the author looking frazzled.  It’s often hard for the author to hear the kids’ questions, and their questions are often repetitive or off-track or comments more than questions. Veteran authors will often ask teachers to get questions ahead of time, and then the author chooses which to answer. I’ve also seen authors who have some common FAQ that they just answer themselves: “I’ll bet you’re wondering where I get my ideas.  Raise your hand if you ever wondered where an author gets her ideas.”  And then he or she answers. 

Good Crowd Control: Being able to effectively and positively control an audience is big.  I love to see authors who teach kids a signal or use positive reinforcement.  Authors who make comments like, “teachers please control your students,” don’t get invitations to return. I’ve actually seen authors snap their fingers at teachers and point to children they want quieted. Not only is this very rude, but some children have issues that the author doesn’t know about.

Fairness. I want to see the author interact with the entire audience.  I regularly see authors who favor only one side of the room or only the front of the room, directing eye contact there, picking students there and never interacting with the other part of the audience. That brings up a lot of “That’s not fair” responses from kids. 

Audience Participation.  Too many people rely on lecture alone and fail to make kids part of the activity. But the participation needs to be appropriate.  Nothing will get you on the “never gets invited back” list quicker than whipping kids into a frenzy.  I’ve seen authors encourage one half of the room to yell something and then challenge the other side to yell it louder until everyone is out of control. Then the author wonders why the teachers can’t control the audience when the author wants it quiet for his or her presentation. 

Positive Off-Stage Presence. Have a great attitude even when you’re not on stage.  Everyone appreciates an author who can put on a great presentation, but sometimes the author’s attitude off stage determines whether or not the author gets invited back. The author who gave the best presentation I’ve ever seen and sold the most books at my school ever and was beloved by all the students will never be asked to return. He was surly and rude to all the staff, even going as far as refusing to speak to the coordinator during his visit. He made unkind comments about the quality of the luncheon we arranged and acted annoyed when asked to sign his books.  

Ability to Roll with the Unexpected. An author’s flexibility and graciousness are greatly appreciated. Teachers regularly have kids puke in class, have lockdowns, endure power outages, have technology issues, have surprise fire drills when someone pulls the handle for fun. Something unexpected may happen during your visit. It may be something your school host has no control over. If you can smile, be flexible and try to make the most of it you will be admired and respected. 

Rebecca Langston-George is a middle school language arts teacher, SCBWI Central-Coastal California volunteer, and children’s writer. She has two non-fiction children’s books forthcoming with Capstone Press: Fabulous Flappers: Dolled Up Styles of the 1920’s and 30’s will be out in January 2014 and English Rules! The Savvy Girl’s Guide to Language, Writing and More is scheduled for publication in September 2014. 

4th of July School Visit Lessons from Dad

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4th of July parade in Wakefield, Massachusetts. My dad, Ernest Francis "Tip" O'Neill, with his best friend, John Mahoney, sports his "flag" socks as they cheer a marching band.

It dawned on me the other day that so much of what I learned about doing school visits, I learned from my dad – on the 4th of July. And this was years before I even thought about becoming a children’s book writer.

I grew up in Wakefield, Massachusetts on a dead-end street with ten houses. At the upper end, through the little woods, was my elementary school. At the lower end, across the street, was a park called Moulton Playground. In the park was the West Side Social Club, the group that organized a 4th of July parade every year, and the park was where the bands, cheerleaders, majorettes, marchers, politicians, Revolutionary Patriots, and floats mustered before heading out on the parade route. My dad was a member of that club. And 4th of July was his favorite holiday.

So here’s what I learned from Dad:

Be prepared. We lugged picnic benches and beach chairs down to the bottom of our street early in the morning to save our spots for watching the parade. Today, I always arrive early at the schools I visit to scope out the layout and rearrange any furniture that needs moving.

Embrace crowds.Every year our backyard was packed with friends, neighbors, relatives and strays. Everyone was welcome. Today, my mantra is, the more the merrier in an audience. Something magical happens when an event is shared by many.

A sampling of the many of our friends who gathered in front of Mr. McIntosh's house to catch the parade.

 

Give people something to do. Whether the task was to bring food, champion the grill, keep the little kids busy, replenish plates, or clean up, everyone played a role in the success of the day. Today, I involve all audience members, whether in a group task or as individual volunteers, in my school visit assemblies, so that they all have a hand in the success of the event.

Do something a little surprising. Dad worked as a shipper in a clothing factory. He always bought a few (illegal) fireworks from the truck drivers coming up from the South. With these “surprises,” dusk on the 4th brought a bit of sparkle and flash. Today, the “sparkle and flash” I add to assemblies is a bit of music and group singing, which surprises audiences who expect a talking head.

Dad, Donna and Alexis

It’s impossible to fail. Dad planned a great day with all those friends, neighbors, relatives and strays. Everyone expected to have a good time when they came to our house. No matter the small glitches, nothing distracted from this. He knew that when you are among friends, you cannot fail. They want you to succeed. Today, I know that when I step in front of a room of kids and teachers, they are my friends. They like my books. They want me to succeed. And because of this, I know that I cannot fail.

Thanks, Dad.

And Happy 4th of July!

Proposing Sessions at Conferences

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I love going to conferences.Reading. Library. Social Studies. As an author, it’s the best way to meet dedicated teachers, librarians and decision-makers.

Sometimes, invitations are sent my way. For example, last week, I presented workshops at a summer literacy workshop for K-12 educators sponsored by the California Reading and Literature Project at California Lutheran University. My two sessions included teachers, principals, and even an assistant superintendent. These are my people! Influencers. Kid-lovers. And I had a chance to show them, using examples from my books, strategies for research and revision that I’ve learned from years of being a children’s author.

But you don’t have to wait for invitations. Be proactive. Make a list of national organizations that serve a population that would benefit from your book. Also search for contact information for their local affiliates (i.e for the International Reading Association, state affiliate is the California Reading Association and my county affiliate is the Ventura County Reading Association). Find out when they hold their conferences and submit a proposal. But don’t just focus on the reading and library conferences. Seek out organizations that relate to the content hooks in your book – math, science, history.

About proposals. When you submit a proposal independently to conference organizers, consider putting together a team. I used to evaluate proposals for a national conference for teachers. My boss leaned toward ones that had more than one presenter. Why? Because it meant more bodies at the conference, more income for the organization. So consider inviting a local university person, librarian or bookseller to moderate a panel of authors on a topic related to the conference’s theme.

If you’re having difficulty breaking in, study past conference programs and contact the author presenters to see how they landed a session. Ask them for advice. Ask for advice, too, from local teachers or librarians.  What slant would appeal to them most? Authors sharing research techniques? Writing techniques? Revision techniques? Do a little digging and you’ll come up with some nuggets.

 NOTE: See related post on 01-01-13, Focus Your Gig-Getting Energies in the New Year   

(My thanks to Mary Cronk Farrell, author of Journey to the Top of the World: How One Woman Found the Courage and Commitment to Climb Mount Everest, for the inspiration for this post!) 

 

Janet Wong Shares “5 Things I’ve Learned About Doing School Visits”

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1. Make an effort to keep expenses low. Recently I had the choice of driving, flying, or taking a train to a university conference where I was a speaker. Knowing that the conference was on a tight budget, I chose to drive, which saved at least $250 for the university. They reimbursed me in the loveliest way: with a carload of gardenias to take back home. (These were procured by a librarian’s husband, who works in the nursery business; schools, use your community connections!)

 2. Engage the specialists. I love it when the art teacher happens to be crazy about “junk art” and uses THE DUMPSTER DIVER, or the P.E. teacher does yoga and is happy to read the poems in TWIST: Yoga Poems. If you have books that might appeal to certain specialists, let them know!

 3. Involve the public library. I’m happy when I can help solidify great relationships between schools and their local libraries. I remember one school visit where about a hundred kids followed me from their school to the local library for a continuation of a writing workshop. 

 4. Reach out to teachers, librarians, and parent coordinators at places you visited in the past. A significant number of my school visits are “repeat business”–usually 5 or 6 years after my first visit, once the kids I met during my first visit have graduated. Many of those repeat visits came about because I sent a “hello email” reconnecting and letting my school contacts know about my new books. 

 5. Let yourself improvise, experiment, and have fun. While I admire authors who have a super-smooth presentation, some of my best moments have been the result of improvising, letting myself riff on a topic and come up with a new observation or example. If I can keep my presentations fresh for myself, they’ll be fresher for my student-audiences, too.

 

 

Janet Wong  is the author of more than two dozen books for children and teens. She has been honored with the Claremont Stone Center Recognition of Merit, the IRA Celebrate Literacy Award, and her appointment to the NCTE Commission on Literature, the NCTE poetry award committee, and the IRA Notable Books for a Global Society committee. A frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and conferences, Wong has performed at the White House and has been featured on CNN, Fine Living’s Radical Sabbatical, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.