Q: I’m looking for someone who could represent my workshop programs to schools and libraries?
You may want to check www.visitingauthors.com and www.balkinbuddies.com, which are sites for companies that handle booking author appearances in schools and libraries. You can also try contacting your local chapter of the SCBWI. A number of the regional groups have referral services to recommend their members for school visits. 3:4/05
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Q: I have a middleschool novel being published and readers have commented that it would be good for a movie or afterschool special. How would I go about pursuing that? Who would I approach? Also, my contract says I would only have partial rights for any movie rights, and that my publisher would share them, so do I need to wait for the publisher to be approached? Or can I take an active role?
According to SCBWI Executive Editor Lin Oliver who is head of her own production company, “It’s really film and TV and direct to DVD rights we’re talking about. Studios and producers look at new books and book reviews, and if they’re interested, they would contact the publisher. However, there’s no harm in an author taking an active role and submitting it first, or before there’s interest. The publisher may have an ancillary rights person who works in film, so check on that. It’s always a little more professional if a submission comes through the publisher or an agent.
The book should be submitted by an agent or it will not be read by a network or studio, unless the author signs papers first. Some book agents submit directly, others co-agent with agencies who specialize in theatrical or motion picture deals. If a production company is interested, they option the property for a period of time (usually a year, with option for another) and try to set it up at a studio. If a studio or a network is interested, they might option it directly or put it together with a qualified producer. The option money is usually somewhere around 10% of the ultimate purchase price.
You shouldn’t write a screenplay unless you know how. It’s a whole craft unto itself. If you are planning to submit directly, research production companies (there’s a book called The Creative Directory that lists all companies) and look at the credits of films you’ve liked or thinks are similar and get the name of the company. Then call and find out who the Director of Development is. But be warned that things go much better when submitted by the publisher or a qualified agent.” 7:8/05
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Q: I am a chess instructor who has self-published and sold two chess primers at the elementary school level. Now I have completed a third chess book and I wish to market them as a set. Can you furnish me with reliable mailing list brokers who would have lists in the following areas: Lists For Elementary School: Teachers, Principals, Librarians and Gifted Specialists — And Chess Related Lists For: Chess Clubs, Chess Organizations, Chess Equipment Suppliers and Chess Newspaper Columnists?
For the education lists, I’d check with Market Data Retrieval at www.schooldata.com, or with Quality Education at www.qeddata.com. As for chess contacts in the press, I checked with several media list brokers, but they don’t have separate chess contact listings. You might want to check with the Chess Journalists of America (CJA) to see what they’d recommend. Their website is: http://correspondencechess.com/cja.
Regarding your other chess list questions, I spoke with Traci Lee who handles lists for the U.S. Chess Federation, and she said they do rent lists of their members, which includes individuals and chess club contacts. For rental information, you can contact their list broker, Trinity Direct at 973-283-3600.The contact at Trinity is Gina Christenson, and she should be able to discuss cost and the specifics of selecting contacts. You can also check the U.S. Chess Federation website, www.uschess.org, for chess-related media links. 11:12/03
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Q: I often see book excerpts in magazines. How do these happen? Are there ways I can solicit this kind of coverage for my books?
A long excerpt from a book is generally the result of the magazine contracting with the publisher and paying for rights to reprint a portion of the book. If the magazine buys first serial rights, it can run the excerpt in advance of the book’s publication. Second serial rights are for excerpts printed after the book is published. Another way for a magazine or newspaper to gain rights for use of part of a book is if the publisher or author decides to grant those rights without charge for publicity purposes.
One approach to publicizing non-fiction books is to identify information that magazines and newspapers may want to reprint and to allow editors the option to use that material as long as they give proper credit to the book, author and publisher. An idea for read-aloud storybooks is to send them to producers of children’s radio programs who can dramatize the book on the air. Be sure to check with your publisher or your agent before giving permission for broadcast or reprint use of your book to check that you own the right to do so. 11:12/92
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Q: Is it effective to promote topical books to associations? What can these organizations do with children’s books?
A topical book can be effectively marketed to associations that have a special interest in the subject. This is particularly true of non-fiction titles, but can work for fiction too if your book information is factually based.
Start by contacting the publicity department of organizations you’ve used as sources in writing your book. Ask about services they provide for their members and for outsiders needing information on the subject.
Find out whether they publish bibliographies of recommended books; have a hotline or information service that refers callers to source material; give awards for topical books; host an annual conference that showcases related products; or sell mailing lists you can buy for direct mail purposes. Consider sending complimentary copies of the book to the president or other key members of the organization. They may be willing to endorse or refer others to the book. If you can claim special expertise in explaining how to present the information to children, ask whether you could be considered as a guest speaker at regional or national conferences.
You’re likely to find that some organizations are more receptive than others, but if your book relates closely to what they do, it is likely that the contact will prove worthwhile. In addition to organizations you may have discovered in researching your book, you can check your local library for the Encyclopedia of Associations. 4:5/93
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Q: How and where do you submit a script or illustrations for a cartoon or animation to Disney, Hanna Barbera and others?
According to Kevin O’Donnell at RainForest Entertainment, “Television should be your last stop. Most ideas that make it — and many more don’t — have been proven first in another medium.” Try publishing a book, creating a comic strip, or developing a toy.
Once you have a proven concept or character, you can try to convince a studio to develop it further. Approach a talent agency, or the smaller, independent studios. Studios such as DIC, Saban Enterprises, and Film Roman tend to be more open to submissions of outside properties than major studios such as Disney and Hanna Barbera.
Then keep pushing and persisting until you get an answer! 6:7/93
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Q: I have developed a special presentation to promote my book on Wild Bill Hickok. How can I promote this program to schools?
I suggest you contact schools in cities or regions that feature prominently in your book, or relate in some way to Bill Hickok’s life. You may also want to check Chase’s Annual Events, a book that lists regional events, including those celebrating cowboys and the Old West. Write to schools in those communities and ask if you can get involved in local events.
To help explain your presentation, you can develop a separate promotional brochure with a western theme that explains how you can “bring the Old West to the classroom”. Discussion topics might be, “Fact and Fiction about the Old West”, “Who were the real heroes?”, and “Searching for Clues about the Old West”. 8:9/93
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Q: How can one go about marketing a book/tape (music) combination? I have sold several books, but I am at a loss as to how to market a project in which the songs are the more important component.
Check with your previous publishers first to see if they do book/cassette packages, since you already have a track record there. If not, the large children’s publishers, including Random House, Scholastic, Bantam Audio at Bantam Doubleday Dell, and Caedmon, which is an imprint of Harper Audio at Harper Collins, produce book/tape combinations. Janet Schnol, Publishers Weekly’s children’s audio reviewer, also suggests trying Rabbit Ears Productions, which specializes in children’s audio, and the many small independent audio houses that have their own labels. She advises authors to research companies thoroughly to find a house whose style fits the book/cassette package they are trying to produce.
“This is a competitive market,” Ms. Schnol says. “Authors should be prepared to be aggressive in explaining how they can help the publisher market their book and cassette. For example, tell them if you perform or have contacts in the music press.
“Children’s audio packages only get limited shelf space in book and music stores, and there are problems displaying book and tape packages even in stores that do carry them,” she explains. Suggest your own ideas for special outlets that might buy your product, such as children’s clothing stores and catalogs. Propose ways of building consumer awareness about your music by providing sample copies of the tape –to children’s radio stations, to day care centers and nursery schools, even to pediatric dentists offices, or whatever places you feel may help attract the attention of parents and children. If you perform your own music, look for opportunities to sing and do storytelling at festivals and fairs. 2:3/94
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Q: I have a book I think the U.S. Government Printing Office would be interested in (an already published book). How do I go about marketing it to them?
The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is a printer and distributor of government publications which come from a variety of government agencies, so it would not be appropriate to approach GPO directly with ideas or manuscripts.
To try to pursue writing projects for government agencies, you could check Commerce Business Daily, the magazine that lists government contract possibilities. You can also try contacting specific agencies you’d have an interest in writing for with ideas that relate to current policy issues. Keep in mind that these agencies generally publish non-fiction books and pamphlets in response to pre-determined needs rather than pursuing outside proposals. Some examples are, an environmental coloring book, or a comic book about “Saying no to drugs”.
Samples of some government publications can be obtained by mail. For information on free and low-cost publications, you can write for a free copy of The General Services Administration’s Consumer Information Catalog, c/o Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81002. For information on books sold by the U.S. Government Printing Office, write for: The U.S. Government Books Catalog, P.O. Box 37000, Washington, D.C. 20013. 6:7/94
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Q: I think my books are appropriate for the homeschool market and I’d like to find a way to get my books into the hands of parents who are homeschooling their children. Can you tell me how to find them?
There are direct mail lists, conferences, specialized magazines and associations for homeschoolers. It is a market that has been actively pursued by publishers of religious children’s books because many people homeschool their children for religious reasons. There is, however, potential for many types of books to be sold into this market and it is probably an area that authors and illustrators will find worth exploring.
Keep in mind that many products are selected with family values issues and specific religious and philosophic views in mind. An excellent source for learning more about homeschooling and finding targeted organizations, publications, catalogs, etc. is a directory published by Bluestocking Press, entitled Selling to the Other Educational Markets. It is reasonably priced at $39.95 and can be ordered by calling 916-621-1123.
These five key magazines can provide you with an overview of trends and philosophies in the field:
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Q: I feel awkward about marketing and publicizing my own work. Do you think this is appropriate?
I think it is appropriate, but I have spoken to many authors and illustrators who feel the same way you do. I know of one author who formed her own direct mail company to sell her books to consumers. This enabled her to sell books directly to special interest groups and to keep her backlist titles active by periodic promotions to consumer mailing lists. Others have hired part-time assistants to make calls on their behalf. Others use pseudonyms when marketing their work.
I don’t think press contacts, or other business people, mind who makes the call as long as the material is pertinent and presented well. The key is to find an approach that you are comfortable with and to make it work. 12/94: 1/95
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Q: When do books benefit from niche marketing? How much time should be spent exploring this area?
Niche marketing can be an effective way for authors and illustrators to impact the sales of their books. While it is not advisable to slant a book just to fit a niche, it is smart to consider what non-traditional avenues can be pursued beyond the book trade, book clubs, and gift outlets. These can be retail outlets, such as gourmet shops for a cookbook, garden shops and nurseries for books on plants and insects, and hospital gift stores for books about a child’s hospital stay. They can also be organizations, such as The Association for the Care of Children’s Health, or Planned Parenthood, which might buy and redistribute special interest titles. Two excellent examples of niche marketing are from campaigns done for Boyds Mills Press books.
The first was for a book entitled Grandaddy’s Highway, which was about a girl traveling cross-country with her grandfather in a tractor-trailer. The truck shown in the illustrations was a “Yellow Freight” truck, so Boyds Mills approached the trucking company and negotiated the purchase of a quantity of books. The company also had some success selling the book into truck stops and publicizing it in truckers’ magazines, such as Trucker’s Connection, RPM Magazine, and Over the Road.
The second campaign was done by Author Cris Peterson for her book, Extra Cheese, Please!, a Boyds Mills bestselling title. To promote her book, Cris, who is also a dairy farmer, made sure to get copies of the book to fifty agricultural journals across the country. She also researched contacts through the Dairy Association of Wisconsin and the Agriculture Department to get on a speaking circuit and to get her book into special programs. One program that has purchased large quantities of her book, is “AG in the Classroom,” which helps teach children where their food comes from.
Authors and illustrators who have books that could benefit from a niche marketing campaign should either provide their publishers with contact suggestions, or pursue areas the publisher won’t cover. It’s often not clear at first which segment of a niche market will prove profitable for a book, so it’s worth experimenting before doing a large-scale mailing, or telephone campaign. The benefit to exploring a market niche is that a book that succeeds will have much less competition from other children’s titles and can get special attention. 8:9/95
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Q: Each month in the “People” section of the Bulletin I see that members have won awards I’ve never heard of, or been included on various lists. Does this happen without them doing anything, or do I or my publisher need to submit my book for consideration for these awards and lists? If so, how do I find out about the awards and their requirements?
The most comprehensive listing of children’s book awards I’ve seen is in a book put out by the Children’s Book Council (CBC), entitled Children’s Book Awards and Prizes. This book has four sections covering: 1) U.S. Awards Selected by Adults, 2) U.S. Awards Selected by Children, 3) English-Language Foreign Awards (ie. UK, Canada, Australia), and 4) International Awards.
Authors and illustrators will probably want to use this book more as a reference to learn about awards and prizes given for children’s books than as a listing of contacts for submitting books. According to Children’s Book Council President Paula Quint, “Most children’s book awards are chosen by a committee of adults knowledgeable about books in the field or by children selecting their favorites. The majority of awards do not provide a mechanism for authors and illustrators to nominate titles for consideration. Publishers are generally aware of, and responsive to, awards for which there are special submission processes. Authors and illustrators can certainly take the initiative in reminding their publishers of awards that require specific submissions if they feel their books are appropriate candidates.”
Children’s authors interested in learning more about awards and lists may want to ask their publisher to buy the CBC’s award book, purchase a copy on their own, or split the cost among members of a writer’s group.
According to Ms. Quint, “Authors and illustrators with special interest books can research associations that do special bibliographic projects and ask their publishers to submit their books. Or, when guidelines permit, they can submit books directly. As with awards, many bibliographies are prepared by professionals who see books in the regular course of their work. Others, such as those prepared the National Science Teachers Association and the National Council for the Social Studies, have a specific procedure for publishers, not individuals, to submit titles for consideration.”
There are, however, more specialized lists (such as the Shakespeare Databank and the Pediatric Projects Inc. list) that can be explored for topical books. Paula Quint recommends checking your local library for The Encyclopedia of Associations, a three-volume set of directories that lists organizations and their publications. Another source for book-related awards is Literary Market Place (Bowker). 12/95:1/96
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Q: I write stories in rhymed verse and have had trouble finding apublisher. Can you suggest other outlets for this type of writing?
If some of your verse is inspirational, I’d suggest approachingpublishers of religious/inspirational books. As another option, I’drecommend exploring opportunities in the greeting card business, whererhymed and unrhymed verse (both secular and inspirational) is commonlyused.
According to Marty Roelandt, an independent art director who providescreative services and art direction to the paper and gift industries,”There are a lot of similarities between the children’s book andgreeting card industries.” One of the success factors in both businessesdepends on the ability of an editor (in publishing) or art director (forgreeting cards) to be able to integrate an author’s words and anillustrator’s pictures to convey a unified message. Text needs to beshort and to the point. Art needs to be compelling enough to attractattention in a store crowded with product.
“Traditionally, verse is what sells cards,” explains Roelandt. “Authorsshould start by learning about the different companies and the lines ofcards they produce. Visit card stores. Check Writer’s Market. Read thegift trade magazines, such as Giftware News and Gifts and DecorativeAccessories. Know that most text is purchased as work-for-hire, ratherthan on a royalty basis. Content is occasion-oriented (Birthday,Mother’s Day, New Baby). Text is written to specification and describedin terms of “divisions of sentiment” (ie. for Valentines Day — “wife tohusband,” “son to mother,” “friend”). Larger card companies alsodistinguish between “levels of warmth” (“intimate/warm,””distant/cool”). The writer needs to be able to synthesize a feeling andhit the target with just a few words,” says Roelandt. “Once you’re readyto start talking with companies, write and ask for their writer’sguidelines and be prepared to send samples of verse you’ve written.”
Illustrators can check Artist’s Market and request artist’s guidelines.They should also send samples, though Roelandt advises against sendingoriginal art. “Send a limited quantity of good quality reproductionsthat are appropriate for the market and that show you can illustrate forthe lines the company puts out. Also consider providing art for otherproduct lines, such as gift bags, ornaments, or collectibles. Contactsome of the alternative card companies that have art-driven lines thatuse simple, or no text.”
Authors and illustrators wanting to succeed in this market may want toshow that they can provide a broad range of text and art, or a singlespecial style. There’s a growing need for freelancers in this field.There are also many alternative card companies and an expanding numberof “caption categories.” Diet, divorce, and pet loss are some of the newcategories of cards you may be seeing at your local store. “In the lastten years, there’s also been a lot of change in the look and tone ofgreeting cards,” says Roelandt. “Text is more varied. It can beconversational, personal, or irreverent. There are also moreillustrative art styles and contemporary formats being used.” The lastword is that, regardless of whether the look and tone of a card istraditional or not, the text and art should tell a story thatencapsulates a feeling, or a moment in time. 5:6/99
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Q: Where can I obtain U.S. school curricula for children, so I know what topics are being covered at certain age levels?
According to the U.S. Department of Education, they don’t have a master list of the state-by-state curricula available. Information has to be obtained from each state’s education department. To make that task a little easier, I did locate a site www.ccsso.org/seamenu.html that provides links to each state’s department of education. 3:4/01
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Q: My first book will be out soon, and it will be marketed exclusively to schools and libraries. Is there any point in doing book signings, since the public won’t be able to buy it?
My suggestion is to focus on school and library visits. The school visits in particular can generate extra income for the author from honoraria and for author and publisher from repeat purchases of their books. Bookstore signings are tough anyway, unless the author is well known and can get a lot of traffic into the store. The exception would be trying to work with stores in your area (if any) that do a lot of business selling to schools or running book fairs. Check around and, if you find some with strong business in that area, find out if you can pre-sign books, or appear at some of the events they have planned. 1-2:02
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Q: I have a Native American recipe book from tribes in the USA. To market to foreign countries would the book have to be translated into foreign languages?
You can market a book to foreign countries by selling foreign rights to publishers in those countries. They would handle the translation of the text, if they buy the book. 9-10:02
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Q: I plan to do a “story time” at a children’s hospital and am excited about doing this from the standpoint of helping the children and interacting with them. I plan to give each child an autographed poster of our book as well as bookmarks, etc. I would also like to sell some autographed copies of books. What would be the “proper” way to handle this so as not to appear too “commercial”?
I’d ask the coordinator at the hospital what their policy is about selling books or products and what they feel would be appropriate if you do arrange a book sale. They may want you to handle sales discreetly (taking advance orders, for example), in case some children can’t afford to purchase the book. 9-10:02
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Q: Can you provide information on the marketing and development of children’s coloring books? I am very interested in helping children continue the enjoyment of learning through coloring.
I spoke with Randy Kessler, National Accounts Manager for Dalmatian Press, a company that specializes in producing coloring and activity books. Many of their products are based on licensed characters, but the company welcomes proposals from illustrators who have characters they think could work well in other formats, or who want to propose new ideas for individual books or licenses. Terms are negotiable and the company has bought art as an outright purchase, paid for some on an hourly fee, and has arranged for others on a royalty basis. He says that they should be queried much the same as a traditional publisher with art samples and a concept description. The company is also interested in ideas for other materials that can be packaged with the coloring or activity book, such as crayons, paints, stickers and glitter. While most of their publishing has been with mass market licenses; such as Scooby Doo, Powerpuff Girls, M&M;’s and Mr. Potato Head; they also did well with the coloring book for Rainbow Fish.
While the books don’t have much text, they do have a concept or theme to keep the child engaged in the activity. Most are for preschoolers, and topics can be seasonal (ie. the beach), tied to a holiday or destination (ie. Halloween, the zoo), or centered on popular subjects (cats, dogs, dinosaurs, baby animals). There are some books for older children (ie. SpongeBob SquarePants, the Adventures of Jackie Chan), but even those tend to sell to a pretty young age group. The idea is to develop something that has widespread appeal because these are intended to sell in the mass market. Sales outlets include Toys ‘R Us and specialty toy stores; Barnes & Noble, Borders and independent bookstores; Wal-Mart; Target; craft stores; Scholastic Book Fairs; grocery stores and consumer catalogs. Quantities can range from 5,000 units to hundreds of thousands for a popular line.
If you’re interested in pursuing this further, Randy Kessler says, “It’s a little different than querying a traditional publisher. Since the cover is what sells a coloring or activity book, you should submit a cover design and then a description of what the rest of the book would look like. Explain what other materials could be packaged with the book and what the story line would be. Expect that it will take 12-18 months to produce the book, depending on the complexity of the materials required.” Some characters can be difficult to do in this format, particularly if they have very specific style guidelines on how they need to be portrayed (think Charlie Brown and his yellow — or sometimes orange — and black zigzagged shirt), or more recently, Calliou. Kessler points out that it’s more fun when the image offers more portions to color. At the same time, the picture needs to be simple enough for young children to color without getting frustrated. For more information, contact the editorial office at Dalmatian Press at 615-370-9922. 11-12:02
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Q: Q: I appreciated your column on author talks and have been working with it for my recent talks. The suggestions on hand control especially made me aware of my gestures….
You asked for other ideas. One of my favorite techniques at schools is to “hire a kid” before the talk, usually not one from the audience. An older student can help handle equipment, show props, and do other interesting tasks beyond turning lights off and on. They can even show me a better way to present something. I find that the students are eager to help and I think it’s a good experience for them.
“Ask a kid.” I was uncertain about using a certain prop for one of my talks, since it might seem too childish for the audience, yet it served a purpose. So I asked the sixth-grader assisting me to tell me frankly what she thought. She said the prop was fine and pointed out that it could be seen easily from the back of the room, which was what I needed.
I’d also like to see your thoughts on feedback and debriefing. Many of us use, or have used, evaluation sheets for the teachers to fill in. In addition, for my next talk I want to add a brief section with different material. I will tell the librarian in charge what I’m trying to accomplish and ask her to listen for that section and give me her opinion, since a general evaluation at the end may not focus on that part of the talk.
There’s the matter of style and goals also. Some presenters are high-key and keep the students laughing and active. My books are about science, so I like to come across as someone who is just fascinated by her subject matter – that is, it’s not about me. It’s seldom we get to see someone else doing a talk, and I’d like your comments on style and approach.
Thanks for your comments. I think getting help from an older student at the school is an excellent idea because it establishes an additional link between you and the school. In addition to the ways mentioned, the student might also be able to work with the younger kids to help prepare them for the visit.
In terms of feedback, I think it is very helpful to get responses from your audiences because it conveys your desire to do good job for the sponsoring organizations. You may also want to offer to answer any additional questions people have via email, if the program coordinator is willing to collect them and forward them on to you.
The style question is tougher because the program’s success is subjective and reflects both the style and performance of the presenter and how the program came across to each audience member. It’s easy to get caught up in the desire to be the most “entertaining performer,” and we’re in an industry with a lot of very talented and creative people, who have a wide range of skills and comfort levels as speakers. Even if you don’t get to hear a lot of other authors do presentations, you can pick up cues whenever you see or hear a good communicator on tv and radio, or in your own community. Watch their body language and listen to their inflections to see how they enhance their message and connect with their audience. See if they make the same impression on others as they do on you. At the same time, have confidence that you have important information to convey and that you have been successfully communicating through your books. As a speaker, being knowledgeable and excited about your topic is more than half the battle. Consider the rest as a challenge and intriguing opportunity to grow. 7:8/06
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Q: Q: I’m an author of a series that focuses on experiences in a museum. An art educator and I are offering museum educators a proposal for a literature and art workshop appropriate for students, teachers, or adults. The program would take about 6 hours if done in one day, or could be done as 2 sessions. How can I figure out what to charge?
According to Jeanette Larson, former Youth Services Manager at Austin Public Library and currently a library consultant, “The decision on what to charge is very subjective. I usually suggest the presenter consider the ‘value’ of their day. For example, what is your hourly salary as an employee? Take that figure add about 50% for the value of benefits and then double it to get the ‘cost’ for the day as a freelance presenter. That compensates you for having to take a vacation day to do the workshop. Of course, if you’re self-employed it will take a bit more figuring (divide what you make for the year by 2080 hours to get an hourly rate for your work or use a figure for what you would make if you did work for a company).
“There may also be other factors–is the workshop something you need to create especially for this organization? Can it be repeated?
“I usually offer a small discount if I will be repeating a workshop several times for the same organization. At the library, we generally budgeted about $50-75 per hour for a presenter but not more than $75 per hour even if there were multiple presenters. If the person was coming from out of town, we would add a bit for travel expenses. In some cases, we provided the art supplies and, in other cases, we reimbursed for supplies.
“Pricing is generally less for student and children’s programs (I think 6 hours is long even if divided into two days) and more for educator workshops because these are more complex and need to focus on curriculum objectives.
“If the museums will be charging for participation and registering the kids, then you could charge a flat rate, plus an amount per child to cover supplies. If the museum is bearing the entire cost of the program then a flat fee is probably preferable for their budgeting purposes. Other considerations are the size of the group (fewer kids increases the per- student cost), amount of set up and preparation time. You may also want to adjust the pricing if there will be a sale of your books that would add to your income.
“My gut reaction in this case, would be to ask for $500-750 per workshop for up to 20 kids per workshop. You can start a bit higher, if there’s travel involved. My philosophy is that you can always negotiate down but you can’t move higher than your first offer. I also generally recommend that people set a price that gets them the amount of work they can handle. If you are getting too many commitments, then raise the price some. If you are not getting enough, go down a little and try to get several programs in the same area to minimize travel.
You could also consider doing an intensive program for a museum but then offer to do a 1 or 1.5 hour workshop at public libraries. The fee for a public library would be about $100-$150 for this kind of program and would need to be very hands-on.” 9:10/06
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Q: Q: I was wondering about the legalities of publishing a fictional novel I wrote. It is based on true events about a man charged with child molestation who is found dead a few days later. Police ruled it a suicide. I am very close to the family. I left it taking place in the same state but don’t mention the town. I changed the characters names, hospital names, road names. I left the police department name and the child protection center name the same. It shows how the family wasn’t getting along and some accuse particular members of being involved or maybe covering things up. I wondered if this would leave me open to legalities if people could pinpoint the story or who I am talking about. I haven’t signed with a publisher yet, but one has accepted the novel and would like to publish it.
According to Jodi B. Reamer, a lawyer and agent at Writers House, LLC, “Generally, the author does have to be careful in portraying real people in the event the person can prove that the author defamed him or showed him in a bad light. In this case though, the main character is dead in real life and, by law, you can’t defame the dead. Additionally, this story is part of the public domain because it was reported in the news and a person involved in the story and reported on in the news becomes a public figure in the eyes of the law and has less of a right to privacy. Moreover, the writer has the right to fictionalize the event and turn it into a creative endeavor–look at all the Law and Order “ripped from the headlines” shows.
“That said, there are still some big concerns here, specifically with the author’s plan to write about the living family members of the murder victim. With the author claiming or insinuating that these family members may have been involved in the murder, those family members may have a defamation claim if this depiction is too close to the truth and readers can figure out to whom the author is referring. In addition, though there is less of a right to privacy for public figures, this does not give writers carte blanche, it merely makes the burden of proof on the person claiming to be defamed much higher. So a defamation suit is still possible.
“Based on all of the above, my advice to the author is to ensure there has been a complete transformation of every character and every element in the story so that it cannot be shown that it is a depiction of actual, live people. I don’t feel, based on the details the author has shared with us, that enough of a transformation has been done.
“By the way, if this were going to be a non-fiction piece, it could be considered fair use because it’s being used for news and educational value. But you don’t have that right when you’re fictionalizing and using the material for commercial purposes. And you still have to be careful when you’re accusing someone of murder if that hasn’t been
proven in a court of law.”11:12/06
10:11/06
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You may want to check the United States Center for the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People http://www.assitej-usa.org for a list of theaters in the U.S. Since you’ve already had success with some youth theater groups in your area, you may want to start trying to expand regionally. The theaters you’re working with may also have relationships with theaters in other areas, so they might be able to make personal recommendations to others who might want to mount your show.
10:11/07
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Q: FEATURE TOPIC: Recommendations for authors and illustrators of books about Africa
Consider submitting for the Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA), http://www.africaaccessreview.org/caba.cfm. The awards are sponsored by Africa Access, which is a non-profit educational association. Awards are given in the categories of Best Book for Young Children and Best Book for Older Readers. Publishers generally make the nomination, but authors and illustrators can as well as long as their book is distributed in the U.S. and Canada.
There’s also an excellent review journal on the topic, entitled Sankofa: A Journal of African Children’s and Young Adult Literature, http://jewel.morgan.edu/~english/sankofa, which is published annually and reaches teachers, librarians, researchers, writers, illustrators, editors and publishers.
5:6/08
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For media, you might want to try Hard Beat News, www.hardbeatnews.com, which is a Caribbean news service and Everybody’s Magazine, http://www.everybodysmag.com, a magazine targeted to Caribbean-Americans. Organizations like the Institute of Caribbean Studies, www.icsdc.org in Washington, D.C. and the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association, http://wiadca.com, in Brooklyn could also be helpful.
It would also be good to contact bookstores that have particular interest in this area such as Headstart Books & Crafts, www.headstartbooks.com; Jamaicaway Books & Gifts,
www.jamaicawaybooks.com; and the Color Book Gallery, www.colorbookgallery.com.
5:6/08
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It’s good to be thinking about this early. In terms of questions to ask the publisher, I’d suggest asking about special marketing it does in this area. There are conferences, media outlets and book festivals, such as the Latino Book & Family Festival http://www.latinobookfestival.com/home, that can be pursued. There’s the website, Colorin’ Colorado, and the review journal, Criticas, that cover children’s books in this category, which you may want to familiarize yourself with as a start. 5:6/08
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