Writing Nonfiction for CRP: Lisa Amstutz Dishes the Inside Scoop ~ Christy Mihaly

Author Lisa Amstutz is an accomplished nonfiction writer who has written several picture books and more than 150 educational books. She recently put her science background to work to write Amazing Amphibians: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring Frogs, Toads, Salamanders, and More, published this January with Chicago Review Press (CRP). It's full of kid-friendly facts and activities, along with amazing photos and educator resources.

Many GROG readers are familiar with the traditional picture book process: Submit manuscript, wait, weather a storm of rejections, and if you're lucky and persistent, eventually find an editor who loves your story, then wait for an illustrator, and perhaps celebrate publication a few years later.

With longer nonfiction, the process usually begins with a proposal. Publishers vary, but I was interested in Lisa's experience with CRP, so I asked Lisa some questions. Okay, perhaps it's fair to say that I peppered her with questions. Which she graciously answered.

Lisa on a visit to Vermont: Looking for frogs?

Christy Mihaly: At 128 pages and 30,000 words, Amazing Amphibians is longer than many of your previous works, and it's your first with Chicago Review Press (CRP).

What do you want readers to know about this book?

Lisa Amstutz: First of all, amphibians really are amazing! Amazing Amphibians gives an overview of amphibian biology, behavior, and conservation. There are tons of color photos in the book, and each chapter has three hands-on activities related that will be useful for parents and educators.

CM: Amphibians may not be everyone's favorite creatures on Earth, but your enthusiasm for them shines through. How did you get the idea to write this book?

LA: I had seen some of the other books in the CRP "Young Naturalists" series. They seemed like they would be fun to work on and right up my alley as a science writer. After studying CRP’s catalog, I brainstormed ideas for topics that they hadn’t yet covered.

CM: I've heard other authors recommend looking for a gap in a series or pitching to fill a hole in a publisher's catalog. It's great to hear you say that it worked for you.

Why and how did you pitch amphibians to CRP? Was there any back and forth with the publisher to finalize the book outline and treatment?

LA: I actually pitched several ideas to CRP, and the editor at the time was most interested in seeing a proposal for this one. I then wrote up a full proposal and sample chapter and she took it to acquisitions. The final book more or less followed that original outline, but of course went through several rounds of editing before publication.

CM: So you pitched before drafting a complete proposal, which saved time, and then you knew they were interested in your topic before you put in the work. Great! 

Did you enjoy the process of writing this book? How long did it take? How did you stick to your schedule and get it all done?

LA: CRP has been wonderful to work with! The process took about two years from pitch to publication. Writing a book this long can be overwhelming, so I had to assign myself a daily word count, allowing plenty of time for self-editing and peer editing before submission.

CM: I'm sure that discipline was an indispensable part of your process. And yes, I know how important critiques can be! 

Amazing Amphibians includes intriguing activities for kids. How did you come up with them? Were there series guidelines? Did you try all the activities?

One of the 30 activities in Amazing Amphibians

LA: I brainstormed activities based on the topics at hand, and used Google and Pinterest to look for ideas I could adapt as well. I hired my kids to test out the activities for me, which was really helpful! 

CM: Ah, nepotism! I particularly noticed the many gorgeous photos in this book--I think there are about 60 of them. How did you conduct photo research and select photos? Did you contact photographers yourself? And is this the first book you've done where this was required?

Lisa and friend photograph a newt

LA: Yes, this was the first time I’ve had to acquire photos. I found them all online. Some were free on Flickr, Pixabay, or Wikimedia Commons. Others I purchased through stock photography sites like Shutterstock and iStock. For a few of them, I worked out a purchase from individual photographers. The publisher required very detailed documentation of each photo source and permissions, which was a little daunting until I figured out the system!

CM: Whew. This might be intimidating to writers who haven't done it, but I understand it's part of the process for many nonfiction books. 

How were the book's artwork and design developed?

LA: CRP handled all the graphic design. I did supply rough sketches for the activities to show what I had in mind.

Fun Facts and Graphics in Amazing Amphibians

CM: Did you hire an expert to review the text and/or illustrations? What kind of expert background does CRP require its authors to have?

LA: I had an amphibian expert review the manuscript. I’m not aware of specific requirements at CRP, but I think having relevant education or experience is a good selling point for nonfiction topics in general. My science background definitely made me feel more confident in having the background knowledge to tackle this topic. 

CM: Compared with working on an illustrated picture book, were there additional challenges and/or costs involved in putting Amazing Amphibians together? 

LA: I spent a good chunk of my advance on photo permissions. Some of the photos were a challenge to track down—it turns out there aren’t a lot of photos of endangered species available. Probably should have seen that one coming! I could have gotten by with spending a bit less, but wanted the photos to really pop. So I consider that an investment in the book’s success.

CM: Ah. Note to self: Write about commonly photographed species. 

So Lisa, what else should writers know before submitting to CRP? Any additional words of advice?

LA: As with any publisher, study their catalog and look for holes you could fill. Check out some of their recent books to get a sense of their style, especially if you’re targeting an existing series. Their submission guidelines are on the website, so read and follow those carefully. 

Best of luck!

CM: Thanks, Lisa, for your words of wisdom. 

And best wishes and health to all our readers.

Lisa Amstutz is the author of more than 150 children's books, including Applesauce Day, Finding a Dove for Gramps, and Amazing Amphibians. PLANTS FIGHT BACK (Dawn Publications) will be released in October 2020, and MAMMAL MANIA (Chicago Review Press) in 2021. Lisa specializes in topics related to science and agriculture. Her background includes a B.A. in Biology and an M.S. in Environmental Science. She lives on a small-scale farm in Ohio with her family. 

For more information about Lisa’s books as well as her critique and mentorship services, see www.LisaAmstutz.com.

And find Lisa here:

Twitter: @LJAmstutz

Instagram: @slow.simple.green

Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorLisaAmstutz

How to Write a Lesson Plan for Your Book by Tina Cho

So you've written a book and would like to market to teachers. How can you make something yourself? You could start off with a lesson plan to put on your blog/web site or use as a handout. 

Let's take a look at some approaches. Author Laura Sassi has extension activities on her blog for her book Goodnight, Ark. This is great because as a teacher I can peruse the ideas and find what would fit my class. Nancy I. Sanders makes a web site for each of her books with links to activities or develops lessons herself and puts them in her teacher store at Teachers Pay Teachers. She did all of these for her newest book, A Pirate's Mother Goose. Very handy!  R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder, has discussion questions for teachers to use on her site. Wonderful! Debbie Ohi has a plethora of swag and activities for each of her books on her web site. Really cool is that these are PRINT-READY! Teachers don't have much time. So having something ready to go is awesome! And Suzanne Slade has a very organized list of her books with teachers' guides, book trailers, and a button to order each book.

 

Are you getting ideas? For this post, I'm going to take you through steps for a traditional lesson plan. And all you other educators out there can chime in in the comments with your fabulous ideas!

1. Brainstorm. Here are some questions to think about. What is your book about? (the pitch) What themes does your book fit under? (seasons, science, history, friendship, bullying) What grades would this appeal to? What grades study this topic? Could this book be a mentor text for something?

2. Introduce. Think of a snazzy introduction a teacher could use to get students' attention. For the rest of this post, I'm going to share how I used Dr. Seuss' latest, What Pet Should I Get? as an example. I used just a simple question for my 1st graders. If you could pick any pet, what would you get?

3. Read. In the lesson plan, the teacher will read your book to students, unless it's for older kids.

4. Ask. Write a list of comprehension questions. If you want to get really technical, you could refer to the Common Core Standards to see what kind of questions to ask. Common questions are: Who is the main character? Where is the setting? What happened in the beginning, middle, end? What was the problem? Solution? What's the main idea?

5. Assess. Here's where you can get really creative. You can develop worksheets, crafts, activities, recipes, you name it! You could list several and have teachers choose. For Dr. Seuss' book, I made a rhyming game to be played like Old Maid. And I made a comprehension worksheet with 3 boxes for kids to write and draw what happened in the beginning, middle, and end. I made another worksheet for them to journal/write about what they think happens next in the story because this book ends inquisitively. To be helpful, list the objectives that students will perform in your plan. For example, students will invent a pet using craft and recyclable materials. 

The sky's the limit. Have fun being creative and reaching out to teachers. Once ONE teacher discovers you and your book resources, it will travel like wildfire through channels such as Pinterest. I know, because one of my educational activities is being shared on Pinterest almost every day now that it's Fall.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments. I'd love to help you.