Thursday, September 24, 2009

sifting for gold

The lake is so quiet. Only the loons, crows and yellow birch leaves dropping on the deck break the silence. Even the chipmunks have stopped their chatter, busy building up their cold weather store. I paddled all the way to the Narrows, relishing the stillness.

My revision is creeping forward. No leaps and bounds, but some hard earned ah-has when I figure out how to show another aspect of Hildegard’s personality. Writing really is about showing up in the chair and persevering. I sift a lot of rubble before some gold dust appears!

I’m doing the footwork to publicize the book I collaborated on – Women of the Golden State, published by Apprentice Shop Books. I showed it to a Maine bookseller after I purchased a book. She had not heard of this America’s Notable Women Series. I felt good about introducing her to the series. Then she said in her experience, biography for kids didn’t sell! I wonder if that is true for other areas, and if so, what can be done about it? Something to chew on.

2 comments:

  1. Maybe biography for kids doesn't sell because booksellers don't promote them. Some of the young patrons at the library were I worked were passionate about biography.

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  2. There could be some truth in that, Linda. I think we owe kids the experience of learning from the lives of others. It's all in the promotion, though. There are fun ways to interest kids in biography, like character interpretation. Ask any 4th grader!

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