It was great to catch up with other children’s nonfiction writers at dinner on Friday and discuss the state of the nation, so to speak.
What did I learn?
– That nonfiction writers are very smart! Wow! What an amazingly literate and articulate group of people to sit around the table with.
– That the internet has dramatically changed the publishing market. What we write these days has to appeal to the trade market, and be clever or have a twist. The “straight-ahead” style isn’t selling because everyone thinks (possibly mistakenly) that they can get all of their information simply by checking the internet.
– That the market is increasingly tough, but there will always be a need for books, especially well-written and well-researched ones.
– All of us are regularly asked, “When are you going to write fiction?” Ouch! We adore nonfiction; that’s why we write it.
– We may be closer to journalists than to fiction writers.
– Many of us have degrees in subjects other than English. There were people with science degrees, history degrees, education degrees, business degrees and even a psychology degree (me!).
– Many of us came to writing as a second career.
– All of us have a sense of humour!
– We work very hard.
– We are dedicated to getting great information into the hands of kids.
– We love what we do!
To be continued… (following our next meeting).
Cheers!