Today’s post is a mish-mash. It contains a lot of disparate information but it’s all related to writing and publishing!
First, the tip of the day:
As an author-publisher allow yourself to fill in the gaps in the work you produce but don’t put yourself last.
What do I mean by this?
As I explained in my last post I filled in the anthology with an alliteration poem and shared the page of my work from the book. I felt the alliteration was needed and wrote a poem to fill in the gaps. No one else turned in alliteration but I felt this form needed to be included. All good.
But when I got my first proof copy, I noticed that the photograph I chose for my tanka poem was not sharply in focus. I pulled up the photo in my files and sure enough, I had not adjusted the pixels to enlarge the file for the quality printing of my own work.
It was an easy fix. But I got a chuckle out of it. I was so concerned about checking that everyone else’s photographs were adjusted for size (300 dpi) that I neglected my photograph. Not good.
So I advise, as a tip today, to not forget yourself. Do not give up quality on your own pieces for the sake of others in the book – intentionally or otherwise (such as my oversight).
It’s Earth Day
Today is Earth Day. It’s an important day for me. I wrote about why in my Medium.com post. You can read it (for free) with this friend link that I’m providing here:
Let me know how you honor our Earth in the comments.
IngramSpark
I received notice this afternoon that Picture Perfect Poetry has been successfully uploaded to IngramSpark. It looks great and I expect to enable distribution tonight or tomorrow at the latest! I hope schools, libraries, and bookstores will carry the book. Spread the word if you know an elementary or middle school librarian or, an indie bookstore owner.
It’s exciting to me that I was able to use IngramSpark. This distributor will reach my intended audience better than Amazon (where the book is also listed). It turned out to be somewhat easier than I expected, too. But that’s only because I’ve learned a lot throughout the publishing process of the Picture Perfect Poetry anthology.
Student Work
Going through my files late last week, I found a copy of a student-made brochure on the San Diego Zoo. I remember the student who made it in 2011 but their name does not appear on the paper. She’ll graduate from college this year.
The brochure was a unit we did in our third-grade writer’s circle. I miss working with students.
Seeing the brochure made me think about all the different ways to involve students in the environment.
Writing is one of them.
When I worked for a land trust in 2019 as their outreach and education program manager one of my last presentations was at a local eco-park for Wetland Days. I had 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students for a lesson on using the environment to as an inspiration to write.
We talked about haiku. Then, we went outside to see what inspired us in the eco-park. They seemed reluctant and somewhat recalcitrant, just as middle schoolers can be. There were 50 of them in a large room and we did all the activities together. Amazingly, they stayed on task.
When we returned to the room, they had to write a haiku. Some were proud of their work and shared it with me. Others just turned it in and I read it later. In the end, I shared a few of my haiku (I always write with the students) and a few of theirs.
Student work: 8th grade boy (2019) a haiku entitled, Autumn
bright, sunny, fall day
electric colors on the trees
warm autumn breeze
and one of mine entitled, “Algae Frosting”
green algae frosting
close to water’s edge
capping the surface
And another by an 8th-grade girl, “What Lies Beneath”
thick fog billowing
off of the changing tree tops
masking what’s beneath
It was one of the best experiences I had with older students. They were “into” it by the end. And one of their teachers (it was a field trip so their classroom teachers were with us during the session) hung back at the end.
When asked if he had a question, he said, “So are you a writer, a scientist, or both?”
I smiled at that question/remark.
My reply was, “Well, I guess I’m both.” And, so, I am.
Happy Earth Day!
The Apples in My Orchard 
Carol, Earth Day is important! Informing studetns about the importance is brings awareness to the classroom level. I like what you shared .
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Thanks so much! I really enjoy presenting to students. I missed it this year but hope to be able to present next year.
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