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[These are links, books, products, apps, and other tools mentioned in my book Writing for the Educational Market. If you come across a bad link, please let me know. Also, if you know of an awesome resource that relates to a particular lesson that I might want to include, feel free to let me know that. Thanks!]
Introduction
Indiebound (to buy books from indie booksellers)
Lesson 1: The Trade Market vs. the Educational Market
2nd-grade reading level, but 8th-grade interest level
About a 4th-grade reading level, but audience was identified as 4th-9th grade
Example of a high-interest book for reluctant readers
My favorite Sally Walker book! (This is a trade title.)
An educational publisher title from Sally Walker
Association of Educational Publishers
National Council for Social Studies Notable Books
National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Books
Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database
Lesson 2: Finding Publishers and Catalogs
Writing for the Education Market blog
Listing on Evelyn B. Christensen’s blog
Nancy Sanders website
Nancy Sanders’ blog
Lesson 3: Open Up Those Catalogs
Lesson 4: Topics You Hope to Write About
Lesson 5: Writing for Different Age Ranges
Download Core Knowledge Sequence K-8 (free)
Lesson 6: The Introductory Packet
Lesson 7: The Cover Letter
Lesson 8: The Rest of the Introductory Packet
Lesson 9: Writing Clips or Samples
Lesson 10: Writing Samples from Scratch
Lesson 11: Proposals
Lesson 12: Get Feedback on Your Cover Letter
Lesson 13: Analyzing a Series
Careers in Film and Television
Oi—these are old videos from the very first online class I taught, so I share these with trepidation! But I do want you to have an option, so I will leave them live for now.
Series Analysis: Animals All Around
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmtZlCQKA_I
Series Analysis: Write Your Own
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGXRdkv-3NE
Series Analysis: Science Songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0RPftQLZZg
Series Analysis: ABC Books
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HnApQpvOII
Lesson 14: Series Guidelines
Lesson 15: Readability Statistics
Fry
Lesson 16: Working With an Editor
Lesson 17: Researching Your Book
Library of Congress Ask a Librarian
How Real Online Research Works (The original article is gone. But here’s a useful slide show by the same author!) (Thanks to Christine Layton for the curation help!)
Conducting Research, from Purdue University
Evaluating Online Resources, from UC-Berkeley
Lesson 18: Photo Research, Expert Consultants, Indices, and Permissions
Some free photo resources you might find useful
Lesson 19: Assessment Writing
Writing for the Education Market blog
Freelance Writing (this service takes a cut of paid jobs)
Lesson 20: Fiction for Hire
Lesson 21: Money and Contracts
$3,500
$900
$900
$1,650–and don’t get me started on cover design!
Let’s Make a Rainbow – $2,500 – will link once book is published
$2,800 – strictly leveled hi-lo
$2,400 – leveled reader
Playful Art – $1,700 – leveled reader – will link when published
$2,800 – leveled reader, fiction
SlimTimer is gone, and I now use Toggl.com, which is very similar
A little more about SlimTimer (The general principles are the same with Toggl)
Aimée Bissonette at Little Buffalo Law – Aimée is a successful children’s author and is not practicing law at the moment (2022)
Lesson 22: Schedules and Goals
Mentors for Rent – Lisa and I have dissolved Mentors for Rent. Lisa still does individual (fabulous!) critiques, and I still do some individual critiquing, too (only picture books). You can still visit this link to contact Lisa or to read the various blog posts we wrote over the years, though.
Additional Resources
Resources for Nonfiction Writers
Writer in Progress Facebook Group — This is a paid, private Facebook Group I run for my Patreon supporters. My Patreon Group is $5/month, and I talk about writing poetry, picture books, and work-for-hire writing.
Work for Hire Support Group Facebook Group
Writing, Illustrating, and Publishing Children’s Books: The Purple Crayon — website maintained by writer/editor Harold Underdown
Writer Evelyn Christensen’s list of educational publishers
Articles on writing nonfiction – Writer’s Digest articles about nonfiction (not children’s-writing specific)
Your library’s children’s librarian
Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators – or SCBWI, 8271 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. 323-782-1010
AR Book Finder – You can put in almost any book title and get the exact word count, the reading level, etc.
Laura’s blog for educators, mostly — My blog, mostly geared toward educators
Vistaprint – Inexpensive business cards, promo postcards, etc.
EasyBib – A wonderful free online bibliography service!
Excellent book for those wanting to build a true career
Affiliate marketing transparency statement: In a continuing effort to cobble together a livable income, I have some affiliate accounts. Every time you see an Amazon link, that’s an affiliate link. That means if you click on the link and shop from there, I earn a tiny percent from Amazon. It does not change your cost at all. If you are able to buy books from indie booksellers (either in your neighborhood or online through indiebound.org), that is the best thing to do, and I encourage that! But if you do shop for books (or anything else, for that matter) on Amazon, I am greatly appreciative if you use one of my links as a starting point.
Thank you so much for your support if you do choose to use my links to start your shopping expeditions at Amazon!