Work-for-hire deadlines

This juvenile barred owl was sitting on my next-door neighbor's deck.

In the writing world, it's common knowledge that work-for-hire books have tight deadlines. If you're considering this kind of work, you might want to know exactly what that means. Here are my deadlines for Lerner:

For two books in a 4-book series:
Length = 1600-1800 words

January 3 - received guidelines, compensation information, and deadlines
January 17 - sent outline to editor
January 23 - received editor's comments about outlines
April 2 - due date for book 2 (the harder one)
April 16 -  due date for book 1
May 23 - received edits for book 2 and the text for the frontrunner* in the series
May 24 - received edits for book 1
May 31 - sent revisions for book 2 to editor (they typically give author's a week for revisions)
June 7 - sent revisions for book 1 to editor
June 13 - received photo wish list for book 1
June 23 - received photo wish list for book 2
July 1 - I uploaded most of the photos (I had to wait on a few) 
July 30 - received book layouts for review
January 2019 - publication date 

When they're begging for food, juveniles have unusual calls.

*The first edited text in a series is referred to as the "frontrunner."

As you can see, these books kept me busy the first half of the year. If I had to do it over again, I'd ask more questions at the start to confirm that what I was thinking matched what they were looking for. The photo portion of the project was a lot of fun and there were no deadlines. I delivered the photos via a steady stream of Dropbox uploads. Since I had planned a vacation in early April, I lost a week of work time, so that added to my stress level, but I made all my deadlines. Even though the deadline for book 2 was shorter, I worked on and handed in book 1 first. Logically, it made sense to do it this way.

The nice thing about the process is that a published book is produced in a relatively short period of time.

The owl has spotted me hiding behind my neighbor's garage. It's ready to fly.

I wondered why the deadlines were so short? Do editors allocate less man-hours to save money? Is the demand for this book so strong that they have an urgent need for it? Have they found that giving writers an extra week or two doesn't affect the quality of the book? Got me.  

    

A blue-and-yellow macaw at the Southwick Zoo

Earlier this month, I attended Encore in the Student Union at Rhode Island College. My writing friends had raved about this one-day event, but I had never gone. Instead, I chose longer retreats and conferences, like Falling Leaves and the 21st Century Nonfiction Conference.

a rare white Bengal tiger

At Encore, I sat at one table throughout the event and listened to five author-presenters. They were all great speakers with a wealth of knowledge to share. I scribbled character traits on Post-it notes, completed writing exercises, listened to revision techniques, and delved into numerous ways to add emotion to a manuscript.

Turkey

Two-toed sloth

The buffet was also excellent. Overall, I found that Encore was an affordable way to connect with other writers and to advance my writing skills. 

One thing I did this summer that has boosted my productivity and organization skills was to switch from a freebie Hallmark calendar to a planner that spans one and a half years. Now, I have plenty of room to jot down multiple tasks. I have found that when I write it down, it gets done. It was well worth the few dollars I paid for it. At the end of every day, I look at my list and smile at all the things I've accomplished. It has also reduced those writing ruts--the kind that used to swallow me up and leave me wondering why I bother.

Last week, I took a day off and went to the Southwick Zoo. It's fascinating to watch the animals. 

chimp

I stopped by the tiger and lion cages numerous times because they were sleeping. Finally, the Bengal tiger woke up.

A grad student told me this young male and his dad were play fighting

A parakeet landed on my hand!

      

Butterflies!

The first day of spring is a fitting time to post some butterfly photographs taken at Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.

owl butterfly

glasswing

I do Google image searches when I'm hunting for the name of a plant or animal. I type in everything I can think of to describe it, then leaf through the photographs that the search engine finds. If I still can't find a photograph of the plant or animal I'm hunting for, I approach the problem in a different way.

White tree nymph butterfly after emerging from a chrysalis.

Today, I read about butterfly identification, then I ran an image search on "white and sulphur butterflies." That's how I found the name of the elusive white tree nymph butterfly (above and below).
 

white tree nymph (or rice paper or paper kite) and Julia (after my youngest)

Zebra longwing

My article in MUSE should be out soon. It's in April's "poison" issue. 

Indian Council Caves, Barkhamsted, Connecticut

Luna moth larva

In August, while hiking to the Indian Council Caves in Barkhamsted, my brother found this plump green caterpillar. I did a little bit of research and discovered it was a luna moth larva. The hike was up and down, which wasn't so bad, but hot and humid conditions made it seem enduring.

It was one mighty big larva.

Hornets were buzzing around this huge nest.

This past week, I reviewed three edited articles. Two are expected to be published in MUSE in January. The other one, for Highlights, has a target publication date of May 2016. I'm really happy with both of them. The edits were small, but they've enhanced the text.

It seemed like everything we encountered was immense.

Recently, I restructured a middle grade manuscript and turned chapters 1 and 2 into chapters 4 and 5. The end result was that my manuscript, that was ready to send out, had become far from ready--the first chapters were gone. So, I've been real busy writing the front end (chapters 1 and 2). My goal was to have at least five pages ready for a retreat I'm going to in November. I wound up chopping chapter 1 in half and was delighted that I once again had two chapters! They still need some work, but the story is there.

juvenile red-tailed hawk

When you're conjuring up a world of your own, or if you've been in an environment, it is much easier and faster to write a scene. Often times, I write about places I've never been. I watch and listen to videos. I read about the location. I step into that world in my mind. These things take time. Add to that the time it takes to review the finished work and the time it takes to have the scientist review the work and I wonder how I can accomplish anything.

If all goes according to the plans, one story of mine will be published in mid-September under a Creative Commons License. I plan to extend the reach of that important material by having it reprinted, if possible. In October, my ChemMatters article will, hopefully, see the light of publication.

Downy or hairy woodpecker feathers?

Last week, I heard a series of loud, sharp bird cries that sounded like an alarm call. When I looked outside, I ran for the camera. This huge hawk was perched on the post. I opened the screen to get an unobscured photograph. When the cat stuck her head out the window, the raptor flew away. I found the feathers on the deck. While I was trying to figure out which bird left their polka-dotted parts, I discovered this nifty website to identify feathers.  

Rifugio Locatelli, the Dolomites, Italy

Llamas grazed near Rifugio Lavaredo.

I'm taking a step back in time and posting about another great, but challenging international hike.  I wish I'd brought hiking poles for this one. We started our hike at Rifugio Auronzo, which is accessible by bus.  It didn't take long to reach Rifugio Lavaredo, but our stop there was brief. As we trudged down a steep incline, I knew we'd eventually be going back uphill, and what an uphill it was.  By the time we reached Rifugio Pian di Cengia, we were starving. I ordered a colorful dumpling platter with spinach-green, cheddar-yellow, and beet-red dumplings. They were fabulous.

Rifugio Pian di Cengi is a Tyrolean hut that serves Austrian food.

A sign outside Rifugio Pian di Cengi shows mountain flowers.

It was freezing cold when we left, but I was still in shorts.  As we made our way to the next hut, snow flurries fell from the dark and cloudy sky.  It was an easy hike to Rifugio Locatelli, which is nestled at the foothills of the Tre Cime rock formation, three immense boulders. By the time we got there, the flurries had become fat flakes, clinging to shoulders and boulders.

The Tre Cime towers over Rifugio Locatelli.

We spent the night in the dorm room, which was the only available lodging.  At that point, it was too dark to keep hiking.  I knew the pill vials on the chair next to my bunk were not a good sign.  Sure enough, I got a bed next to Mr Virus-and-Bacteria.  All night I heard his hacking.  You'd think with a raspy, crackling cough that you might need extra sleep.  Oh no, not this go-getter.  He set his alarm clock unreasonably early.  The following morning we hiked out and passed some really interesting World War I bunkers.

Miniature horses were grazing on the mountainside.

The beauty of this place is that you can access these mountains by hiking them or by taking  numerous lifts to the top.  Here in Connecticut, we hike to a view.  In the Dolomites, there is a new vista around every curve and atop every hill.  While I was there, I carried a Cicerone hiking guidebook (multi-day) in my pack.  They are great books with short walks and long walks in many different locations.   

World War I bunker

In other news, I've updated the "Writing" and "Awards and reviews" sections of this website with some reprinted clips and some recent happy news.



   

21st Century Children's Nonfiction Conference

What a lovely morning!

When I first started writing, my native language was COBOL.  I know that because recently I revised an article that I had written nearly a decade ago.  It was a really nice article, but lordy, it needed work.  Back in those early days of writing, I was a logical, orderly thinker because of my experience designing, coding and testing computer programs.  Given my thought process in those days, if I had known I was such a train wreck, I know I would not have pursued this challenging, competitive field.     

A male mallard duck waddled by the pond

At the 21st Century Children's Nonfiction Conference, I heard over and over that back matter matters.  I first heard it from Jason Wells of ABRAMS.  Then I heard it at a lecture by bookstore owner, Jackie Kellachan and Amie Wright, New York City librarian.   I heard it again, when author, Stephen Swinburne spoke.  So, after returning, I spent a great deal of time plumping up the back matter in three picture book manuscripts.  

Ducks were sitting along the edge of the pond.  A turtle, the size of dinner plate, scurried in the water before I could snap a picture.

Saturday morning while I was at the conference, I made my way to the Student Union.  As I walked across the bridge between the ponds, the sun was out and the songbirds were singing in the brush.  Oh, how I wanted to go for a walk, but taking a walk was going to cost me.  It would cut social time and would likely fatigue my freshly sprained ankle.  I looked at the building, then at the ponds, then at the building again.  Thinking.  Pondering.  Deciding.  Was it worth the risk?

Sunday morning, I spotted this great blue heron on my way to the Student Union.

          

Hazen Park, Avon

black bear track!

This coming weekend I'm driving to the 21st Century Children's Nonfiction Conference at SUNY, New Paltz.  Last year, I had a great time and I was glad I went.  I expect this year to be even better.  The conference has quite a collection of sessions on new media which sound intriguing.  I am also eager to see the 3-D printing demo.  It fits right in with my background and interest in cutting-edge technology and science.

quail

A couple weeks ago, we hiked to the Heublein Tower via Hazen Park in Avon, CT.   The trail started out at a gradual incline and got very steep near the top.  It was quite exciting when Walt discovered the fresh bear print in the mud.  Bears are often spotted in Avon.  I would have loved to have spent more time looking for other prints, but I was busy as the host of a whine and mosquito tasting.

Elizabeth Park, Hartford/West Hartford

great blue heron

I wrote a short editorial about climate change that was published on May 27th.  It led to a weeklong  email exchange with my "fans."  Lol.   I really appreciated that not once did the subject of politics or Al Gore enter the conversation.   Those that I exchanged emails with were highly educated in physics, chemistry and meteorology.  Although they were skilled in their fields, no one was a climate scientist.  Another "fan" sent me Jehovah Witness pamphlets and a note. Yep, quite the week.

male mallard duck

Ninety-seven percent (actually 97.1%) of climate scientists believe burning fossil fuels is causing climate change. They believe we need to cut our carbon emissions to stop the climate from warning.  The sooner we take action, the better.
IF THEY'RE WRONG:  We will have reduced carbon in the air and invested in wind and solar technologies.

roses

Those that believe the climate is changing from natural causes, think the warming won't continue.  They think the oceans will cool and CO2 will drop all by itself. 
IF THEY'RE WRONG:   
We will have lost valuable time to reverse spiraling CO2.

sparrow

On the outskirts of the city, we stopped at Elizabeth Park to see roses.  For the most part, the yellow ones were the only ones in bloom.  In less than ten minutes time, we spotted the great blue heron at the pond, perched like a statue.  It waited there for a long, long time.  I was thrilled to be so close. As I watched the heron, the mallards coasted by.  I could see fish in the water and thought for certain the heron would try and nab one, but it remained silent and still.

great blue heron

Upper Bolton Lake, Vernon

A nest!

Yesterday, I had a Twitter exchange that is a classic example of how the denier camp (those that deny that humans are responsible for climate change) works.  First, notice that my wording is altered ever so slightly.   Secondly, he calls me an alarmist after he's changed my wording.  Finally, he rips apart the scientists by calling their work bull.  This is so typical of what I have seen.  Another thing I've noticed is that no matter how many research papers you may produce, they will pick them all apart, but they don't produce a single shred of their own evidence. 

My Tweet:
Up the CO2. Down goes zinc & iron. Less healthy food MAY be on its way. #climate #climatechange http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/08/global-warming-food-nutrients-idUSKBN0DO1LL20140508 … …

Him
Claim: As CO2 levels rise, some crop nutrients will fall

The soft colors, arched neck and glassy lake looked like a painting to me. 

Me:    Don't change my wording
Me:    I wrote MAY fall not WILL.
Him:   This is just alarmist
Me:    No, it's the results of a research study on what happens to crops when CO2 levels are raised.
Him:   Cereals have never been a major source od dietary iron. That’s why you’re supposed to eat your spinach.
Me:    I love spinach and salmon too and I don't care much for cereal.
Him:   There is an alleged slight drop in some minerals! #OMG
Him:   It is BULL SHIT
Me:   You have a foul mouth.

Knock, knock Mr. Beaver.

Some friends of mine are so kind, they invited me to go kayaking with them.  The day they picked started out pretty rainy, so I wore my fleece pants and Walt's hat.  It turns out the hat was waterproof.  Yes!  Anyhow, despite the gloomy day, I had the best time exploring Upper Bolton Lake.  We discovered several nests and a beaver lodge.  I maneuvered right up to that lodge entrance and peeked inside.  I wish I had a flashlight. 
  

Bird houses were attached to a number of trees.

It was a lot of fun paddling hard to bust through a beaver dam.  I got stuck and had to back up and try again several times.  In the distance there was a rare Atlantic white cedar forest.  When I got out of the kayak, I was pretty soaked, but it sure was fun. (Photos courtesy of Steve T) 

Painted turtles

This writing world is a strange one.  Ten years ago, I wrote an article.  On Monday, an editor called and asked for revisions to that antique.  I have no idea what prompted him to dig in the dust to find something I'd given up on ever seeing in print.  That piece is a great example of how writing evolves over time with the help of good (and exceptionally patient) editors.    

We kept the cars away and called some little girls over to take a look.

It turned out to be a Northern water snake.

It was a splendid day for a picnic lunch on the rocks.

We even saw horses and

a black-capped chickadee.

These photographs were taken at Shenipsit Lake in Ellington, CT.  It was a great day for wildlife sightings of all kinds.  Since the snake was on the gravel road, we kept the cars from running over it.  When it slithered in the water, it stayed near shore, so we got a great look.  I must have startled it when I climbed on a boulder, because it swam away real fast.