Working On Waiting

            

            Our latest TeachingAuthors.com theme has been “What I’m Working On.”  So I’m up next. 

            I’ve turned in the manuscript for the new book I'm working on titled Buried Lives, and I’m waiting for the editor to edit the manuscript.  So this is one of those black holes of time.   All I can do is wait.  In the meantime I’ve been working on some new projects.  Some projects have been rejected (Oh, yes rejection is a reality for us all).  Others are still being considered by the powers that be.  And new ideas are taking shape in my mind. 

            At the same time all of the above move at glacial speed, I’m also doing what many authors do and make as much money as possible as a speaker.   In addition to being a TeachingAuthor, I’m also part of an incredible group of nonfiction authors called iNK Think Tank.  I'm also part of the group of nonfiction authors who write the Nonfiction Minute that is being used by thousands of teachers (the nonfiction minute is free and we authors do not make any money from these posts).


Read Huffington Post article about the Nonfiction Minute by Vicki Cobb

           I do however charge a fee for another branch of iNK.  I’m one of a smaller group of authors who do interactive videoconferences.  I absolutely love doing these videoconferences.  I’ve done programs for schools all over the country from 3^rd grade through 12^th grade.   Is it the same as a live author visit?  No, but it is the next best thing.  The reality is that funding for author visits has gotten scarcer every year.   Although using technology is sometimes a problem, all in all it works very well.  The students see and hear me, and I can see and hear them.  Programs for me and the other iNK Thinkers are requested through the Center for Interactive Learning and Field Trip Zoom.   

See my CILC programs here. 

See programs for iNK Think Tank authors here.

            Another type of programming I do is Professional Development workshops for teachers.  I have one coming up this week and I can’t wait.  An elementary school has invited me to do a three-hour workshop on close reading.  I’ve done these programs many times.  As an author who does a lot of research, I do close reading all the time.  So I share with teachers a no nonsense way to approaching text that will help students with comprehension.  I’ve also done workshops like this with teachers via videoconference.    

            So this week, I have a videoconference and a teacher workshop to do.  Maybe next week, my edited manuscript will arrive.  I can only hope.

Carla Killough McClafferty

Readers, to enter our drawing for a chance to win an autographed copy of Tuktuk: Tundra Tale (Arbordale Publishing), written by Robin Currie and illustrated by Phyllis V. Saroff click here for more information.