Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: An Exclusive Interview with editor and project creator Melissa Stewart

Here's the brand-new book trailer:

And here's the interview...

Lee: Hi Melissa, thanks for talking about this new nonfiction book you've conceptualized, edited, and championed!

Let's jump into the first question. Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-Winning Children's Book Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing seems all about breaking down the myths about nonfiction, and what it takes to write it well. Is that where the inspiration came from?

Melissa: Yes, many people seem to think that writing nonfiction is simple and straightforward—just do some research and then cobbling together a bunch of facts. But nothing could be further from the truth.

To craft high-quality prose, nonfiction writers have to dig deep. We have to be personally invested. We have to get in touch with our passions and our vulnerabilities and use them to fuel our work.

The topics we choose, the approaches we take, and the concepts and themes we explore are closely linked to who we are as people—our personalities, our beliefs, and our experiences in the world.

As far as we’re concerned, putting the information we collect through our own personal filters and making our own meaning is the secret to creating engaging nonfiction.

We wanted to bring this message to teachers and students—and also aspiring children’s book authors. It’s a critical part of our writing process that often goes unseen and unappreciated.

Lee: I'll just say now that I'm completely honored to be one of the contributing nonfiction writers! But 50 contributors is a lot of coordinating - and selecting! Tell us about the process of putting this all together.

Melissa: Thank you for contributing, Lee. Your essay is SO powerful!

The idea for the book traces back to a panel I did with authors Candace Fleming and Deborah Heiligman at the 2017 NCTE conference.

During our discussion, we dove deeply into what fuels our work and why we routinely dedicate years of our lives to a single manuscript.

As we compared our thoughts and experiences, we came to realize that each of our books has a piece of us at its heart. And that personal connection is what drives us to keep working despite the inevitable obstacles and setbacks.

Several other nonfiction authors were in the audience, and afterward, they praised our insights. That conversation helped us all understand our creative process in a new and exciting way.

I wanted to explore this idea further, so during the 2018-2019 school year, I invited 38 colleagues to write essays for my blog. After the first few appeared, teachers began asking if all the essays could be compiled in one place. That’s when I began thinking about a book.

Once a publisher accepted my proposal (and there were a lot of rejections), I thought carefully about creating a sense of balance.

I wanted to include contributions from roughly equal numbers of science writers, history writers, and biographers. I thought a lot about equity and inclusion, and about balancing picture books and long-form nonfiction. Before I knew it, I was so close to fifty contributors that I decided to go for that nice round number.

Plenty of people warned me that editing an anthology with 50 contributors was an act of insanity, but my colleagues never let me down. Despite their busy schedules, they met all their deadlines. The nonfiction community is a tight-knit, supportive group, and everyone was committed to making this a great book.

Lee: It seems there are multiple audiences for the book - teachers, students, adult writers of nonfiction... How do you see the book impacting each of those audiences? (And, if I've missed one, let me know!)

Melissa:I’d add librarians too. School librarians play an important role in helping students with the nonfiction writing process.

While the essays in Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep can be used by educators in many ways, from serving as mentor texts for writing personal narratives to enriching author studies, our fondest hope is that this book will transform the way nonfiction writing is taught in schools.

The best nonfiction writing happens when students (or adults) choose a topic they’re excited about and then spend time synthesizing their research and viewing the information through their own personal lens. But right now, most students jump straight from research to writing.

Because every instructional minute is precious, teachers may be reluctant for students to take more time at the beginning of the process. But it’s time well spent because it will reduce time spent revising later on.

For adult writers, we hope that reading the essays will be like sitting down to have a cup of coffee with a good friend. As each author opens up about their process, their craft, their truth, readers will develop the ability to identify their own truth and their own voice. They will feel empowered to craft the book that only they can write.

Lee: The book also includes "a wide range of tips, tools, teaching strategies, and activity ideas from editor Melissa Stewart to help students (1) choose a topic, (2) focus that topic by identifying a core idea, theme, or concept, and (3) analyze their research to find a personal connection. By adding a piece of themselves to their drafts, students will learn to craft rich, unique prose." Tell us more about those, and how they're integrated with the rest.

Melissa: The book is divided into three chapters—Choosing a Topic, Finding a Focus, and Making It Personal. These are the three steps nonfiction writers struggle with most as they conceptualize a piece.

Each chapter begins with an overview that introduces key ideas and provides tips and tools for navigating the author essays. Following 16 or 17 essays, each chapter concludes with an In the Classroom section. It provides strategies and writing activities that help student writers as well as adult writers apply the ideas in the essays to their own writing.

Lee: Proceeds from sales of the book will be split between SCBWI, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and We Need Diverse Books. That's amazing, and generous, and very cool. Can you tell us what's behind that decision?

Melissa: Financing a book like this was tricky. Educational publishers like NCTE Books don’t pay an advance, just royalties. But it’s not possible to split a royalty among fifty people.

Because I feel strongly that writers should always be compensated for their work, I paid each contributing author $200 out of my own pocket. After I’ve earned back that money through royalties, I’ll donate the rest of the proceeds to non-profit organizations that support all children’s book authors and the young readers we serve. For me, this book is a labor of love, and I want it to help as many people as possible.

Lee: Is there anything else about the book you'd like to share with the SCBWI audience?

Melissa: It’s worth mentioning that SCBWI played an important role in the creation of this book. The money I paid the contributing authors came from an unexpected special sale that occurred because one of my books was on display at the SCBWI booth at the Bologna Book Fair a few years ago. Without SCBWI, this anthology probably wouldn’t exist.

This organization has made my writing life richer in so many ways. I really can’t thank Lin Oliver, Sarah Baker, Tammy Brown, Kim Turrisi, and the whole SCBWI team enough.

Thanks, Melissa!

You can learn more about Melissa Stewart and her nonfiction books for kids at her website here and about Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-Winning Children's Book Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing here.

Illustrate and Write On,

Lee

Are You Finding the Passion In Your Nonfiction? Check Out "Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-Winning Children’s Book Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing"

SCBWI board member and author of over 100 nonfiction books for young readers Melissa Stewart has a vision to change how nonfiction is understood - by students, teachers, librarians, and yes, even we writers and illustrators!

As the recent cover copy of the book edited by Melissa and published by NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) describes it:

In Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-Winning Children’s Book Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing, some of today’s most celebrated writers for children share essays that describe a critical part of the informational writing process that is often left out of classroom instruction. To craft engaging nonfiction, professional writers choose topics that fascinate them and explore concepts and themes that reflect their passions, personalities, beliefs, and experiences in the world. By scrutinizing the information they collect to make their own personal meaning, they create distinctive books that delight as well as inform.

The book includes essays from many SCBWI members as well, featuring the perspectives of:

• Sarah Albee
• Chris Barton
• Donna Janell Bowman
• Mary Kay Carson
• Nancy Castaldo
• Jason Chin
• Lesa Cline-Ransome
• Seth Fishman
• Candace Fleming
• Kelly Milner Halls
• Deborah Heiligman
• Susan Hood
• Gail Jarrow
• Lita Judge
• Jess Keating
• Barbara Kerley
• Heather Lang
• Cynthia Levinson
• Michelle Markel
• Carla Killough McClafferty
• Heather Montgomery
• Patricia Newman
• Elizabeth Partridge
• Baptiste Paul
• Miranda Paul
• Teresa Robeson
• Mara Rockliff
• Barb Rosenstock
• Laura Purdie Salas
• Anita Sanchez
• April Pulley Sayre
• Steve Sheinkin
• Ray Anthony Shepard
• Anita Silvey
• Traci Sorell
• Tanya Lee Stone
• Jennifer Swanson
• Stephen R. Swinburne
• Don Tate
• Laurie Ann Thompson
• Pamela Turner
• Patricia Valdez
• Sandra Neil Wallace
• Laurie Wallmark
• Jennifer Ward
• Carole Boston Weatherford
• Lee Wind (full disclosure - the author of this post)
• Paula Yoo
• Karen Romano Young

A very cool part of the project is that "100 percent of the proceeds will be divided among the National Council of Teachers for English (NCTE), We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)"

And some behind the scenes information from Melissa:

“The idea for this book traces back to the 2017 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, when I was fortunate to participate in a panel titled ‘The Secret of Crafting Engaging Nonfiction’ with two of the most talented children’s nonfiction authors of our time—Candace Fleming and Deborah Heiligman.
“During our discussion, moderated by educator and children’s nonfiction enthusiast Alyson Beecher, we dove deeply into what fuels our work and why we routinely dedicate years of our lives to a single manuscript. As we compared our thoughts and experiences, we came to realize something critically important—each of our books has a piece of us at its heart. And that personal connection is what drives us to keep working despite the inevitable obstacles and setbacks.
“Several other nonfiction authors attended our presentation, and afterward they praised our insights. That conversation helped us all understand our creative process in a new and exciting way. And it eventually led to the essays in this anthology, which are our way of sharing an important—and often unrecognized and underappreciated—aspect of nonfiction writing with educators and students.”

More information about the book is available on Melissa's website here.

Nonfiction Authors Dig Deep - A New Blog Series Hosted by Melissa Stewart on "Celebrate Science"!

Inspired by this quote from Laura Purdie Salas,

“There’s a common, crushing misconception that fiction is creative writing drawn from the depths of a writer’s soul, while nonfiction is simply a recitation of facts that any basic robot could spit out.

The reality is very different. I think my personality, my beliefs, and my experiences are deeply embedded in the books I end up writing ” —Laura Purdie Salas

Melissa turns the spotlight on 33 other authors of nonfiction for kids in this ongoing series "Nonfiction Authors Dig Deep." It's packed insights into their process, tips, and inspiration, and is well-worth checking out!

As Melissa explains in this launch post,

“Again and again, what you’ll hear is that crafting nonfiction involves much more than just cobbling together a bunch of facts. The books we choose to write and the perspectives we choose to explore are often closely linked to who we are as people and our experiences in the world. Nonfiction writers—all writers—have to dig deep. If we don’t, our writing will fall flat, and no one will want to read it.

Our passion for a project, our author purpose, is what drives us to dedicate years of our lives to a single manuscript. It spurs us on despite the obstacles and setbacks, and of course, through the inevitable criticism and rejections.” —Melissa Stewart

Some highlights from the series so far:

Laurie Wallmark

“Writers are often told to write what they know. As far as I’m concerned, we should write what we’re passionate about. We can always research (and who doesn’t like research?) a topic, but if we’re not interested in it—boring!

Which brings me to why I write about women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). Doing so lets me combine two of my passions—STEM and equal opportunity for all.” —Laurie Wallmark

And Laurie Ann Thompson, who shared about the long process behind writing Emmanuel’s Dream,

“At one point, my well-meaning and incredibly supportive husband said something along the lines of, “Why are you [an able-bodied white woman from Wisconsin] writing this story anyway? Maybe it’s time to move on to something you know more about.” I had to wonder if maybe he was right. What did I have in common with Emmanuel? Why was I writing this story in the first place?

It turns out these were just the questions I needed to ask to come up with an approach that finally worked. You see, I’d had all the facts lined up in a satisfying order, but what was missing was… me. I’d been so focused on writing the facts that I’d carefully removed all of my own feelings about it. But isn’t authentic human emotion just another kind of truth? And isn’t it, perhaps, the most important kind of truth we can share with one another?

When I finally sat down and got clear about my “why” for telling that story, the “how” to best tell it revealed itself almost immediately. For me, it isn’t really a story about having a disability or even Emmanuel himself. It’s about being left out and overlooked, feeling frustrated by injustice and inequality, and wanting to make the world a better place.

Those are all things I felt deeply as a child, and things I can still relate to as an adult. The book reveals as much about me, I think, as it does about Emmanuel.” —Laurie Ann Thompson

And Steve Swinburne, who shares,

“I wrote Safe in a Storm (Scholastic, 2017) shortly after the 9/11 attack on the United States. I felt like we’d been struck by a storm that day. As I thought about what I could write after the initial shock and grief subsided, I began, as I often do, to view writing ideas through the lens of nature.

How do animals survive storms? For instance, how do a whale and her calf ride out an ocean squall?

And, yes, it took 15 years to find a publishing home for Safe in a Storm, but I never gave up. I kept on believing in this story about how animals find cozy places to keep them safe and warm, no matter how loud the storm rumbles or how dark the night gets. Bear cubs huddled together in a den, mom and baby owl nestled in a sturdy tree, and a bobcat family sheltering on a ledge, all while the winds and rain bluster and blow. I kept on believing in the protective, healing power of home and family.” —Steve Swinburn

It's a wonderful series. Check it out here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Melissa Stewart's Nonfiction resource on the four year journey to writing her picture book, "Can an Aardvark Bark?"

Created for teachers, but with lots of value for all of us who write picture books, Melissa Stewart's timeline of her creative process for "Can an Aardvark BARK? is packed with information,

videos,

and insights.

It's well worth exploring, and then considering the elements that might help you with your own creative process.

Can an Aardvark BARK? Maybe not, but Melissa's process can certainly inspire!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

"Feathers: Not Just For Flying" - The 2015 Crystal Kite Interview with Melissa Stewart and Sarah Brannen

In the New England division, the 2015 Crystal Kite Award goes to "Feathers: Not Just For Flying," by SCBWI New England members Melissa Stewart (author) and Sarah Brannen (illustrator.)

Author Melissa Stewart

Illustrator Sarah Brannen

Lee: Please tell us about your Crystal-Kite winning book!

Melissa: Thanks so much for interviewing us, Lee! Sarah and I are thrilled that Feathers won a Crystal Kite Award. 

"Feathers: Not Just for Flying" celebrates the amazing versatility of a simple, common natural object—the feather. We all know that birds depend on feathers to fly, but this book highlights sixteen unexpected uses, from providing protection from the sun and carrying nest materials to sliding across icy surfaces and producing a whistling love song. Making skillful use of trompe l’oiel, the vivid, realistic watercolors give readers the sense that they are viewing a lovingly compiled birder’s scrapbook. 

Sarah: Feathers: Not Just For Flying is about the different ways birds use their feathers. It’s laid out like a scrapbook, with illustrations showing how the bird uses the feathers, an actual-sized feather from that bird, and other objects illustrating the similes Melissa uses to describe how each bird uses its feathers. The illustrations are trompe-l’oeil, so that even the text looks as if it were written on slips of paper taped onto the pages.

Lee: Melissa, how did “Feathers: Not Just For Flying" come about for you, premise to evolution to manuscript?

Melissa: While I was doing research for another book, I stumbled across an article in Birder’s World (now BirdWatching magazine) with a fact that blew my mind—a bird’s eyelashes are made of tiny feathers. (You can see Sarah’s drawing of these bristle feathers in the backmatter of Feathers.) 

That fact made me curious. Really curious. I wondered if birds had other interesting, unusual, or unexpected ways of using their feathers, and I was dying to find out. But first I had to finish the book I was working on. So I photocopied the article and pinned it to the idea board in my office. A few months later, I was finally able to dig into the research. 

As I do for all my books, I turned to four main sources for information: 
     • the library (for books, magazines, and newspapers) 
     • databases (for scientific journal articles) 
     • the Internet (to locate experts, in this case ornithologists) 
     • my own nature journals, which I’ve been keeping for about 27 years 

It didn’t take long to realize that I’d struck gold. Based on my personal observations, interviews with scientists, and reports in scholarly books and scientific journals, there was plenty of information for a book. 

That was the easy part of the process. The hard part was finding a truly engaging way to present the information to young readers. I needed just the right structure. 

After more than three years of trial and error, I finally latched onto the idea of comparing the unusual ways birds use their feathers to objects in our everyday lives. That’s when the writing came to life, and I knew the manuscript was ready for my editor. 

Lee: Sarah, please share your process on taking Melissa’s words and making them a picture book! 

Sarah: Melissa and I are in the same critique group, and I had seen an early version of the manuscript long before I was asked to illustrate it. It was love at first sight in my case. I started picking up feathers for three years after I knew the book existed, just in case I got the chance to work on it! 

Once I was hired as the illustrator, I realized that the book was very challenging to illustrate. For each bird, there were two separate texts, which needed to read independently. I needed to show each bird doing the thing Melissa talked about. Feathers are beautiful, so I knew I wanted to show one or more actual feathers. Plus, because Melissa compares feathers to familiar objects, I wanted to show those things too. 

All this meant that for every bird there would be at least five different design elements. There were two birds on some spreads, so that meant ten different design elements. I had to think of some notion that would unify all the elements and not just look like scattered bits and pieces. 

My first idea was to show all these things as if they were laid out in a drawer, as part of a collection. The text would appear to have been cut out of magazines, newspapers, letters, or old sketchbooks. The illustrations would seem as though they were cut out of magazines or books, or were old photographs, fine art, or sketchbook pages. 

After I had done a dummy, it was decided to change the design to a scrapbook. A few things had to change but my basic idea stayed the same. For a long time, we thought we would show a child, who was collecting all these things, but in the end we dropped that idea. 

The art director didn’t show Melissa any sketches until the first dummy was finished. I was very nervous about her reaction, but luckily she loved it. Illustrating this book was a dream come true and I’m still overjoyed that I had the chance to work on it. 

Lee: For you both, how long have you been involved with SCBWI, and can you share what you feel you’ve gained by being a member?

Melissa: I became a member of the SCBWI in 2001. I had already published about 10 books, so what I was hoping to find was a community, a group of people who loved children’s literature as much as I did and who would support and encourage me on my journey as a writer. Did the SCBWI fill the bill? Absolutely. 

I joined several SCBWI critique groups and began to volunteer in my region. In 2005 and 2006, I co-directed the New England region’s annual conference. I also served as New England’s PAL Coordinator for a few years. And I have been a member of the SCBWI Board of Advisors since 2007. Through all these experiences, I have made countless friends. One of those friends is Sarah Brannen.

A librarian introduced Sarah and me about 10 years ago. I loved her artwork and convinced the other members of my critique group to let her join. Sarah was one of the first people to really believe in the manuscript that became Feathers. It’s astonishing that she ultimately became the book’s illustrator and that now our region has selected Feathers for the Crystal Kite. 

Sarah: I joined SCBWI in 2002, and attended my first conference in New England that spring. I learned so much at conferences for the first few years as I was learning to become a children’s book illustrator. SCBWI is also very helpful in connecting people to critique groups. I’m a member of a writing critique group, and the coordinator of an illustrators’ critique group, and both groups have been fantastic for sharing ideas and getting fresh opinions.

I also found the Market Surveys very helpful. Even though I have an agent, I still refer to them.

Lee: For you both again, Do you have any advice to share with other children’s book writers and illustrators?

Melissa: Join SCBWI, and volunteer in your region! No matter where you are in your writing and/or illustrating journey, the organization is an incredible resource. If you’re just starting out, the SCBWI will educate you and help you hone your craft. If you’re ready to start submitting, the SCBWI’s conferences and contests can provide invaluable access to agents, editors, and art directors. And after you’re published, the SCBWI offers a wide range of marketing and publicity opportunities. At every stage, you will meet people who become treasured friends. 

Sarah: The first and best advice I share is to join SCBWI! I get asked for advice all the time, and I have plenty to give: Write or draw every day. Join a critique group. Read lots and lots of recent books in your genre. Draw the kind of art you love to do. Write about things that matter.

Thanks, Melissa and Sarah!

I also connected with Margo Lemieux, Regional Advisor of SCBWI New England, to find out more about Melissa, Sarah and their region. Pulling in the voices of other RAs, Margo shared this:

NESCBWI is an active region with a very large annual conference, programming throughout the year, and 47 open active critique groups. Even with such an active area, both Melissa and Sarah stand out as members who have stepped up to the plate a number of times. Melissa was co-director of our great regional conference in 2005 and 2006. For several years, she also did hour-long interviews at the conference with award winning authors such as Cynthia Lord. She was the inaugural NESCBWI PAL coordinator and set the tone for the professionalism that has become the guide for our events. Sarah has acted as a mentor to up-and-coming illustrators and presented art workshops at the NESCBWI annual conference. We are so proud to have both in our region.

You can find out more about Melissa at her website here.

And discover more about Sarah at her website here.

Want to know more about SCBWI New England? Check out their regional website.

One more time, congratulations, Melissa and Sarah, on "Feathers: Not Just For Flying" winning the 2015 Crystal Kite Award!

Innovations In Book Marketing - A Guest Post by Melissa Stewart

As part of our occasional "Innovations In Book Marketing" series, I asked author Melissa Stewart to tell us about what she's created for her latest non fiction picture book...


When I visit schools, kids (and their teachers) often seem stunned by how much time it takes to create a book and how many people are involved in the process. My new picture book, No Monkeys, No Chocolate, is an extreme example.

It took 10 years, 56 revisions, and 2 fresh starts. Let’s face it. Sometimes dumping everything and starting from scratch is the only way to find the story you really want—and need—to tell.

When it came time to think about promoting No Monkeys, No Chocolate, I knew I’d do the standard stuff—Teachers Guide, Storytime Guide, Activity Sheets, reach out to bloggers, solicit radio and print interviews, etc. But I also wanted to do something special, something unique, something useful.

That’s when I remembered all those stunned kids. I can only reach out to so many of them at in-person visits or via Skype. How could I share the idea that revision is the heart of the writing process? How could I let kids know that creating a book takes hard work, dedication, and patience? Students shouldn’t balk at the idea of revising their writing assignments once or twice or even three times. Just like playing a sport or learning a musical instrument, writing takes practice.

To communicate that message, I decided to create an Online Interactive Timeline that tells the story behind the book. It’s a combination of clickable elements—videos, WIP manuscripts, an interview with my editor, sample sketches, and even “final” art that didn’t make it into the book.

I hope readers will find it useful.

A detail of the No Monkeys, No Chocolate timeline

Melissa's Timeline for the creation of No Monkeys, No Chocolate is not just useful - it's a remarkable tool that's well worth exploring fully - for both young readers and for adults that want more insight into the process of writing a non fiction picture book! 

Thanks, Melissa!  And I guess we should thank the Monkeys, too!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee