The Importance of Book Ownership

Alberta Author Book Fair 2010
As a child, I frequently rode my bike to the County of Strathcona Library and came home with a backpack of books. I remember the glorious luxury of having time to read a book a day. Another memory takes me to a toy store at the Sherwood Park Mall. I bought a book on birds that led to a lifelong interest in nature. It also helped me in my first paid writing job--a story I'll save for another day.

Book ownership is important, especially for children. Ownership reinforces the message that reading is a valuable pastime. Ownership motivates kids to read and read more frequently. What message do parents send if willing to purchase DVD movies but not books?

As children change and grow, returning to a cherished book is a nurturing experience. Books expose readers to new perspectives as well as offer entertainment. Unlike television and movies, books challenge the mind. Readers imagines scenes based on written words rather than acting as passive observers. If you are trying to encourage reading, expose the children in your life to all genres and styles of books.

"Parents who have books in the home increase the level of education their children will attain," reports Science 2.0 in its article Owning Books Makes Your Children Smarter.

The International Reading Association offers brochures to help parents, caregivers, and educators encourage reading. Topics include:

• Getting Your Child Ready to Read
• Supporting Your Beginning Reader
• What Kids Really Want to Read
• Reading, Writing, and Technology
• Getting Involved in Your Child’s Literacy Learning

In 2009, the Stony Plain Public Library kindly hosted its first "Buy a Book for Someone For Christmas" event. We are repeating the event in 2010, but renaming it the Alberta Author Book Fair. It is sponsored by the Writers Guild of Alberta and the Stony Plain Public Library. This is the public's chance to meet new authors and familiar favorites.

Authors will sell and sign titles for both adults and children. Signed books make gifts that are extra special!

Alberta Author Book Fair

Monday, November 29

6:00- 8:00 PM
Stony Plain Public Library
4613 52 Avenue

Participating Authors:

• Barbara Galler-Smith
• Dar Renner
• Eileen Bell
• Roxanne Felix
• Billie Milholland
• Erika Knudsen
• Joan Marie Galat
• Karen Spafford-Fitz
• Leanne Myggland-Carter
• Linda Goyette
• Lyle Weis
• Marty Chan
• Mike Boldt
• Molly Anne Warring
• Nicole Luiken
• On Spec Magazine
• Patricia Brine
• Pauline Holyoak
• Roberta Laurie
• Tyler Enfield

Recommended authors in other parts of Canada:

http://www.jacobberkowitz.com/
http://www.claireeamer.com/
Cora Lee
Etta Kaner

Skypediving-Using Skype for Author Presentations

When Whitecap Books published my first children's book in 2001, I looked forward to the opportunity to travel to libraries and schools to share its content and talk about how to become a good writer. My visits began in Alberta and eventually spread to other provinces. Every trip is exciting and I still enjoy face-to-face visits but excessive travel can become weary. Fortunately, a reluctance, difficulty, or inability to be away from home need no longer prevent authors from connecting with their audiences.

Enter Skype, an eBay company that uses voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) to send voice through the Internet. You can use this free service to make video calls to anyone else signed in and you can enhance the experience with instant messaging, file transfer, screen sharing, and other features. You can even download a program called TalkAndWrite (TAW) for Skype that allows up to 10 people on different computers to view, write, and work on a document at the same time.  

Skype is great for school visits, readings at bookstores or libraries, and attending book club meetings as a guest author. Before my first virtual visit, I practiced with Toronto, Ontario author Mahtab Narsimhan, who wrote The Third Eye and The Silver Anklet. We discovered a number of things.
 
Good lighting is important and three point lighting is recommended. This involves using a key light, fill light, and back light to ensure a more three-dimensional video. You can also use book lights to improve the experience of using Skype on a laptop.

Backgrounds must not be cluttered. You need to avoid moving too quickly or making wide, sweeping gestures. And perhaps the most difficult part to get used to is the need to look at the camera rather than at the people engaging with you on the screen. I found it helped to put a sticky note near my camera reading "look here!"
 
Skype is an especially ideal tool for connecting with young audiences. Children and teens already use instant messaging and are comfortable with it. Shy students may find it a more comfortable way to ask questions.

One Skype visit connected me with a school in Erie, Pennsylvania. It was fun to see the students sitting on a rug in front of their Smartboard. I talked about why I wrote my books and told a story from Dot to Dot in the Sky, Stories of the Moon. When they asked me questions, it felt as if we were in the same room.

The instant text feature makes it possible for classes to to type their questions to the author, offering another style of interactivity and the option to create a permanent record of what is asked and answered. You can download programs that record your virtual visit and this provides the opportunity to create podcasts and video that can be posted on Youtube and other sites to raise your profile.

The Writers Guild of Alberta invited me to demonstrate the technology at the 2010 annual general meeting and mini-conference held in Edmonton. In a session titled Skypediving I shared a video call with Judith Graves of Cold Lake, Alberta. She is the author of Under My Skin. Using a projector so the audience of more than 80 could participate, Judith showed us her book and kindly demonstrated some of the habits to avoid when using Skype.

Remember to:

- make sure you consider time zones when coordinating a Skype session
- try to book morning slots to avoid times when the Internet is extra busy
- place your props close at hand before you connect
- make sure those involved understand your connection may be 
  temporarily lost during the chat
- decide how you will handle lost connections in advance

Avoid:

- making gestures above your chin, wider than your shoulders, or below
  your mid-chest
- looking up at the ceiling when thinking what to say
- clothes that are all black, all white, or covered in large patterns or
  geometric shapes
- sparkly jewelry that reflects light
- untrimmed mustaches that prevent viewers from seeing full
  facial expressions

Books and technology do not have to compete. You can use Skype to celebrate the great
aspects of both. When people talk to an author, even remotely, they get to hear opinions and understand the book better. The interactivity triggers learning and insights on both ends, which is fun for the author and fun for the reader. And perhaps your audience's increasing familiarity with you will lead to a higher profile and greater book sales!

I hope you will invite me to visit your school, library, conference, or book club! Visit these sites to learn more about using Skype for author visits:

• Facetracking
• Lighting Basics
• Webcam Tips
• Skype an Author website
• Example of a Skype podcast

Earth Hour

Who knew sitting in the dark could be so fun? It was a delight to celebrate an hour of darkness during Earth Hour Saturday, March 27, 2010. The sun set around 8:00 pm in Stony Plain, Alberta, making the sky only a bit darker at 8:30 pm.

I walked my bichon around the block and observed numerous houses without lights. It would be nice to believe they were celebrating too, but I suppose many were just not home. Wishing the street lights would go out, I returned home and noticed that sitting in the semi-darkness encouraged conversation. It forced me to stop dashing around trying to accomplish things.

Many cities reported electricity savings as people turned off their lights. Apparently candle use surged instead! I think the next step should be to encourage people to actually embrace the darkness. Go outside and observe the change from daylight to twilight to darkness. Look at the different shades of the sky, close your eyes and feel the air cool against your skin.

When it's dark, look for planets and stars and satellites. Imagine the stories ancient cultures once told when they looked up at the illustrated canvas of the night sky.

Mark your calendars for next year! Dark skies are important for animals and plants as well as those who love to view constellations and night sky phenomena.

January 2010 saw me attend a writing conference that has long held my interest--the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI ) Conference in New York. It was a genuine delight to be surrounded by the more than one thousand children's authors and illustrators in attendance.

Participant's came from 45 States, as well as Canada, eager to learn about how to sell their work, connect with agents and editors, and create their best stories. I was lucky to know three other attendees and enjoyed spending time with Edmonton authors Debby Waldman and Mar'ce Merrel, as well as Ontario author, Marsha Skrypuch.

My schedule included very interesting sessions on writing picture books and non-fiction. The keynote speakers were inspiring, professional, and well-prepared. Anyone striving to learn about the business of getting published will benefit from this conference, held annually in New York. I look forward to applying the knowledge I gained and corresponding with the people I met.

New York City highlights included visiting the New York Public Library, which has a bookstore with an extensive selection of books on writing. The two lion statues that lay outside the library's front entrance are named Patience and Fortitude. I also visited the Brooklyn Public Library, which has a beautiful children's section with quotes from children's authors inscribed on the walls.

The 15.5 ton Willamette meteorite was a site to see at the American Museum of Natural History. The chronology of what's happened from the Big Bang to the present was also fascinating. Despite the city's bright lights, I was able to look up and see Orion, the Big Dipper, and the North Star. Other pleasant activities included walking on Broadway, watching a David Letterman Show taping, walking in Greenwich Village, and visiting Coney Island.

Visiting Ground Zero was a sobering experience. Across the street, St. Paul's Chapel displays the eight-month volunteer relief effort that took place after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Built in 1766, the church displays the pew of America's first president. George Washington, who worshipped here.