Peggy Archer
Children's Author

Darcy Pattison has declared this week, Random Acts of Publicity Week 2010. The idea is to choose an author or book (or more than one) that you especially like and promote it. I love this idea!

One of the books that I chose was "Fair Cow," by Leslie Helakoski. I met Leslie at O'Hare airport on the way to the SCBWI conference in LA last month. That's when I first read "Fair Cow." I loved it! Leslie is both the author and illustrator.

Petunia Pig is determined to help Effie get ready for the state fair competition. "...we have to get you in shape," she says. She 'fixes' Effie's hair, her hooves, her tail, and her walk. "Don't forget to smile," Petunia tells her. In the end, Effie just can't resist being herself. This is such a fun book!

One of the things that I got out of participating this week for myself was that I wrote my first book review and posted it on Amazon and on GoodReads.com.

I hope you enjoy "Fair Cow" as much as I did.  Read More 

Attending a conference for children’s writers and illustrators has more perks than you might imagine. It’s about talking to people who you know and also to those you don’t know. Here are some of the extra perks that I got when I attended the SCBWI conference in LA that didn’t come from the conference itself.

--was able to put faces to names from the listservs I belong to for children's writers
--re-connected with old friends
--met new friends
--met new and re-connected with other SCBWI members from Indiana
--met the manager of the children’s department of the largest independent bookstore who knew my books without my showing them to her
--met some great people from Japan and Australia and other countries
--shared the flight out to LA with another author/conference attendee who I’d just met, and shared websites to look at and books to read, and made a new friend
--shared a room with two of the best roommates at the conference
--met lots of dog-loving, book-loving people
--met a librarian who also does reviews for SLJ
--met Verla Kay of the Verla Kay message board for children’s writers, and got an informal personal guide to working my way around the message board from her
--met Alice Pope of the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market book, and now the head of the SCBWI Team Blog
--sat next to an editor who gave me his card after looking at my picture book
--talked with Lin Oliver and Steve Mooser, founders of SCBWI
--got to tour the SCBWI offices
--shared some birthday cake for another author
--got tips on networking and school visits from other authors
--got to see the ocean, the beach, the big city buildings, and the mountains all in one view
--got a head shot, video shoot, and a website consultation
--got more websites to look at
--got tips on holding conferences and events
--got tips on promoting my book from other authors
--was able to purchase books personally autographed by the author or illustrator
--was able to sell and autograph my books along with other PAL published authors on Friday evening
--got a special gift for someone special
--sat in a whirlpool tub and talked about writing
--attended the Heart and Soul celebration with the best costumes ever
--shared illustrations for our books with another author at the airport
--had some great meals that I didn’t have to cook
--met a man from Hawaii at the airport whose wife is a teacher
--enjoyed meeting a woman from Texas and her granddaughter at the hotel when my flight was delayed another day, and shared e-mail information
--met a young lady who was traveling to Ireland on her birthday
--laughed a lot and had fun
--was totally inspired by everyone that I met and saw there

The next time you are trying to decide whether to attend a conference for children's authors and illustrators, keep in mind the perks that are waiting for you along with the information that you'll get from the conference itself.  Read More 

The Keynote speakers at the SCBWI conference in LA offered lots of information and inspiration for both new and seasoned writers and illustrators for children. I'd like to share a a few words of wisdom that I took with me from their presentations.

Jon Sczieska—Read the best and the worst; learn technique and details; leave room for the illustrator; your mission: be a story-teller.

M.T. Anderson (Tobin Anderson)—“Books take us away from home so that we can see home.” Language is key.

Editor Panel—they read cover letters; they want to know about you along with your writing.

Loren Long, Illustrator—MOOD and EMOTION are key or central, in characters and scenes.

Gordon Korman—“When we are writing for kids we are writing for ourselves.” Get a sense of what a kid thinks is cool; we are kids ouselves, only a little older.

Agents Panel—YA (young adult) is hot, but MG (middle grade) is coming back, including series, and especially MG directed toward boys.

Marion Dane Bauer—we read and write to reach an emotional resolution; our story begins in our own hearts; it’s about struggle; it begins in our neurosis.

E.B. Lewis—“Simplicity makes a book look wonderful.” It’s hard work to make that happen; do your research.

Gail Carson Levine—regarding predictability: we want to enjoy again what we’ve read before; regarding using suspense builders: ‘worries’ are a good way to end a chapter.

Panel on Narrative Nonfiction—go first to primary sources, then check your facts with secondary sources; all NF needs layers, emotion.

Carolyn Mackler—put your characters into situations; there is always an ebb and a flow.

Gennifer Choldenko—use the whole spectrum of feelings; every character is distinct; every detail must work; find the emotional core, feel your way through a story; write for the kid who needs your book.

Rachel Vail—write stories with both humor and heart; have a strong voice; through the laughter we can touch someone; write with compassion.

Paul Fleischman—on organization: the more planning, the less re-write is needed; document your research; read straight through and highlight what you want to go back to; every word and scene should be there for a reason.

Panel of Publishers—Stretch as much as you can; create a good story with good content and good writing; write for what you think is cool and entertain yourself; “If everyone writes for trends, the vampires win”

Ashley Bryant—“Poetry needs performance; there are voices that rise and fall”; poetry has rhythm that will carry or swell; try to bring the words alive, creating music out of words.

There's nothing like being there in person. But I hope you take something away from this post that inspires you.  Read More 

It's two and a half weeks later and I'm still typing my notes from the SCBWI conference in LA! Typing them is a great way to review what I've learned. And a reminder of what I still have to follow up on!

I thought that this week I'd share some great links that I picked up at the conference to information on social media for authors. Here goes!

"The Happy Accident: using social media to help create happy accidents" by Greg Pinkus. Go to www.thehappyaccident.net and read tips on facebook and blogging. Then go to http://www.thehappyaccident.net/scbwi-la/ for more links about social media.

"The Writers' Guide to Twitter" by Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Go to http://www.inkygirl.com/a-writers-guide-to-twitter/ to read the basics of twitter and how it can help writers.

For everything you need to know about doing school visits, check out Alexis o'Neill's site at www.SchoolVisitExperts.com.

Get guidelines for doing Virtual Author visits on Bruce Hale's site at http://www.brucehale.com/virtual.htm.

Then check out book trailers for children's books at http://kidlitbooktrailers.ning.com/ and scroll down to some links.

Happy surfing!  Read More 

I returned from the SCBWI National conference in LA last week and am beginning to get my mind back. What a conference! With over 1,100 attendees, it was a wonderful meeting of other children's writers, editors, booksellers, librarians and others in children's publishing. It was also an update on the business of children's books, inspirational, and as always, a place to learn and improve your craft. I especially enjoyed meeting new people, seeing old friends, and sharing ideas and friendship with other Regional Advisors and Assistant Regional Advisors.

Read on-going highlights posted during the conference on the SCBWI Team Blog, led by Alice Pope at: http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/

One of the highlights of the week was attending the Golden Kite Awards Luncheon on Sunday. The acceptance speeches were humbling and inspiring.

It began with Paul Fleishman presenting the award for humor, named for his father, children's author Sid Fleishman, who passed away early this year. The recipient was Alan Zadoff for his book, "Food, Girls and Other Things I Can't Have." Qualities that merit the award besides humor are depth, substance, and heart.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear Ashley Bryan speak, you will never again read poetry the same way. He ended his acceptance of the award for non-fiction by reciting a poem by Eloise Greenfield.

Accepting the award for picture book text, Marion Dane Bauer talked about the poetic language of a picture book. After which John Parra spoke about the illustration half of the book when he received the award for picture book illustration.

Julia Durango, our neighbor from the wonderful SCBWI group in Illinois, received the award for fiction and gave a heart-warming speech during which she said that she puts secret messages to her sons into her books.

Although honor recipients were not presented at the conference, it's worth noting here that our own Indiana SCBWI author, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, received the Golden Kite Honor award for fiction for her wonderful picture book, Bella and Bean.

Christopher Cheng, from the Australia chapter of SCBWI, was named SCBWI Member of the Year, and it couldn't have gone to a more deserving person.

Golden Kite Recipients:
Fiction: Julia Durango for "Sea of the Dead," S&S
Non-Fiction: Ashley Bryan for "Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life's Song," Atheneum
Picture Book Text: Marion Dane Bauer for "The Longest Night," Holiday House
Picture Book Illustration: John Parra for "Gracias Thanks," Lee & Low Books
Link to award recipients: http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/Golden-Kite-Award-Recipients

Congratulations to all!

More conference notes to come!  Read More 

It's been a hot summer here in northwest Indiana, but the weather was perfect for sitting outside under the shelter at the Indiana Writers' Consortium picnic two Saturdays ago.

There was a Children's Corner for the kids, with activities planned by Janine Harrison, Karen Kulinski, and myself, ending with a game of Find That Dog!

For the adults there were games of Literary Bingo, a scavenger hunt, and a white elephant auction. I was intrigued by the package with the clue "Poetry in Motion," and was the highest bidder, netting me a pedometer! Other packages revealed an autographed picture book, markers, pens, notepads, a jar of inspiration, more books, and other things writers appreciate.

It's always a great time when writers get together.

I'll be on my way to LA tomorrow morning to attend the national SCBWI conference for children's writers and illustrators. I can't wait! It will be my first time to LA as well as my first SCBWI conference in LA. I will report about it here next week!

My 'boot' is off and I'm walking with two feet again! I've been trying to balance getting things squared away here at home before I leave, and keeping up with blogs and writing. Hence the combined blog posts for this week and last. Next week's blog post will likely be at the end of the week.

Have a wonderful end of July, and I'll see you here in August!  Read More 

There's corn in Indiana as you can see on the left, and also below! I hope you enjoy my corny riddles for writers (answers at the end--copyright Peggy Archer 2010).

1--What was the author's favorite baby toy?
2--Why did the author sit under the light bulb?
3--Where do vampires go to write?
4--Why did the poet give his book away?
5--What kind of books do carpenters write?
6--What did the mailperson put on when the temperature got cold?
7--How does a musician write a bestseller?
8--How did the bird tell everyone about his book?
9--Why did the journalist sit outside his cubicle to write?
10--How may writers does it take to change a lightbulb? (from a screenwriting email list)

In my pink striped pajamas
I’m a poet with a pen.
In my pin_ striped pajamas
I’m on line 2,010!
In my pi_ _ striped pajamas
I keep writing, but I thi_ _
That I’d better get a pencil
‘cause I’m running out of_ _ _!

Quote & advice for writers: "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."
--Corn-fucius (aka Confucius)

answers:

1--Writers blocks
2--He was waiting for a bright idea.
3--Pencil-vania
4--It was free verse.
5--Board books
6--a Cover letter
7--He writes noteworthy fiction.
8--He tweeted.
9--He was thinking outside of the box.
10--Only one, but it needs a spectacular twist at the end.

I'm running out of 'ink'!
 Read More 

It's hot. Everywhere! Is anyone getting anything done?!

The Fourth of July holiday made me think about the word 'United' as in 'United States' or 'United under God.' And as my mind trailed off, I thought of how children's writers and illustrators unite and connect with each other. What we have in common brings us together. Our love of good books. Our connectivity with children. One of the best places for children's writers or illustrators to be united is through SCBWI,the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. It's a place to find each other. That perfect critique group, the author who says just the right thing to motivate or send us in the right direction, or that editor who is looking for just the story we've written.

Children's writers are very generous people. They share information, marketing tips and updates, opportunities for children's writers. They want the rest of us to succeed, too!

Maybe on this holiday we might stop and think about what our own part is here. So in honor of Independence Day, let's each share one bit of helpful information with another children's writer or illustrator this week. It's sure to come back to us many times over.  Read More 

I've finally added some photos here from my recent author events. Thanks to everyone who made my visits so enjoyable! The Book Launch Party for NAME THAT DOG! was great fun-- thanks to everyone who came to help celebrate my new book.

A special thank-you to YA author, Janet Fox, for interviewing me on her blogspot. You can find the interview at http://bit.ly/9h0zPI. While you're there, check out Janet's website at www.janetfox.com.

Writers of all genres are invited to the 2nd anual Indiana Writers Consortium picnic on July 17th, from noon to 4:00pm at the Community Park Lions Shelter in Munster, IN. Come and meet other local writers. Enjoy the games, and bid on items at the silent auction. Bring a dessert or side dish, and enjoy lunch and soft drinks which will be provided. For more information go to www.indianawritersconsortium.org. I hope to see you there!  Read More 

If you love to read, and ever have the opportunity to go to Book Expo America, don't miss it! I've gone when it was held at McCormick Place in Chicago. The thought of being in such a huge building, surrounded by publishers and booksellers, is mind boggling in itself. THEN you realize there are free books! AND you can stand in line to have your 'free' books autographed by the authors. Be sure to take something along to carry your treasures home.

This year BookExpo was in New York. Children's authors Cory Doctorow, Mitali Perkins, and Richard Peck spoke at the BEA Children's Authors Breakfast presented by the Children's Book Council (CBC). If you missed BEA and the author breakfast, you can still hear these great children's authors speak. Go to http://www.bookexpocast.com/, scroll down the page to the 2010 BEA children's Author Breakfast, and click on the podcast. It's worth the visit there. Of the three, I've heard Richard Peck in person and he is a wonderful speaker. All three are very inspiring and encouraging here.

I can't wait for BEA to come back to Chicago again!  Read More