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HOW TO CREATE CHILDREN BOOKS Words. Pictures. Publish. Print

How to create children books Awasisak conference 2017

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HOW TO CREATE CHILDREN BOOKS

Words. Pictures. Publish. Print

FLOW OF INFORMATION

Getting started

Copyright or Creative Commons

How to publish

Examples and Inspiration for Words and Pictures

GETTING STARTED

READ MANY CHILDREN’S BOOKS

As you began thinking of ideas for your children’s book, it’s very helpful to read other’s work.

Check out fairly tales. The entertainment industry is currently experiencing a greatly revived interest in fairly tales and turning them modern.

Do you want to write fiction or non-fiction? Non-fiction or informational books require research or knowledge of the subject matter and can be good if you’re an expert about something like dinosaurs, meteors or machinery.

CONSIDER WHICH AGE GROUP INTERESTS YOU AS A WRITER Picture books are suitable for younger children, they tend to be full color, which makes them more expensive to print

Chapter books and non-fiction/information books are for older children. Starting with easy-readers through to teen novels, there is a great deal of scope here nut there is also likely to be a lot more writing and researching level.

Write for the school curriculum; check the headstart-12 program of studies

Don’t neglect the potential for a book for poems or short stories. If you write either, you’ll find children love both too.

DECIDE WHETHER YOUR BOOK IS MOSTLY WORDS, MOSTLY PICTURES, OR A BIT OF EACH.Include a lot of artwork that complements your writing.

Decide on the main components of your storyWrite down your ideas in a notebook. Some basics to bear in mind include: picture books, here require a lot of illustration, usually in full color.

Text is limited but needs to be both good and original-there is quite an art to limiting words and still putting across and excellent story.

CONSIDER INCORPORATING A MESSAGE FOR FICTION WORKSMany children’s books include a positive message, ranging from simple standards, like “share with other,” to more complex life lessons on topic like life lessons, caring for environment or respecting other cultures.

It isn’t necessary to include a straightforward message, so don’t force it-if you do, your lesson may come off as heavy-handed, which wont be appealing to kids.

BE CREATIVE

If writing fiction, this is your chance to write something silly, strange, nerdy, dreamy, and fantastical. What inspired you as a child? Go there, explore those ideas. This doesn't mean you should throw in something wacky for no good reason, though.

Tap into feeling that are sincere and actions that make sense for your character.

WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT.BE AWARE OF THE AGE OF YOUR READERS AS YOU WRITE.Don’t worry about how it sounds – you wont be showing it to others just yet. Concentrate on getting your story or book outline on paper, and worry about honing it later. Many a books has failed to eventuate thanks to wrong-ended perfectionism-let the red pen come out after the words are down on paper.

GAUGE INTEREST IN THE DRAFT

Your vocabulary, sentence structure and sentence length should be appropriate for the age group for whom you're writing. If you're unsure, talk with various children of the age group you're writing for, and share some of the words you're keen to use, to gain an idea of the extent of their comprehension. While it is good to push children's learning a little, there is a limit to having every second word require a dictionary.

PROVIDE A RESOLUTION OR REALISTIC OUTCOME AT THE END OF A FICTION BOOK.For non-fiction, always seek to provide a conclusion of some sort, to end the work neatly. It might be an observation of where the topic is likely to head in the future, or a summary of what main points can be taken from the book, or perhaps a whimsical reflection about what the reader might like to do/read/learn next. Whatever your approach, keep it short as a young reader is not likely to want to read anything more than about a half page long be the end of a non-fiction work.

Ending is the beginning of a new project.

CREATIVE COMMONS

ORCOPYRIGHT

Copyright As per copyright act “every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work” is protected by copyright, including students work as well as their thesis. Meaning that your permission is needed for an instructor to keep a copy and to share it with future students.

Note: The information obtained from or through this website is provided as guidelines for using works for educational purposes and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Contact [email protected] with any questions. The Copyright Officer is not a lawyer or legal expert in copyright law and is able to provide a professional and not a legal opinion. A professional opinion is offered for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.

*the above information was retrieved from: Simon Frazer University in Burnaby B.C.

[LIMITED] RIGHTS TO COPY

Copyright License Agreement Template

This Copyright License Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made effective as of [DATE] between [PROPERTY OWNER], of [ADDRESS], [CITY], [ZIP CODE] and [LICENSED PROPERTY USER], of [ADDRESS], [CITY], [ZIP CODE].

https://www.pandadoc.com/copyright-license-agreement-template/

[LIMITED] RIGHTS TO COPYThis Agreement shall be governed by the laws of [STATE]. This Agreement will commence on the [EFFECTIVE DATE] and continue until the [TERMINATION DATE] or until either party provides written notice of termination to the other party with a 30 days notice.

In this Agreement, the party granting the right to use the licensed property, [OWNER], will be referred to as the “Owner” and the party who is receiving the right to use the licensed property, [USER], will be referred to as the “User.”

1. Owner owns all proprietary rights in and to the copyrightable and/or copyrighted works described in this Agreement. The copyrighted works will collectively be referred to as “Work.”

2. Owner owns all rights in and to the Work and retains all rights to the Work, which are not transferred herein, and retains all common law copyrights and all federal copyrights which have been, or which may be, granted by the Library of Congress.

3. Owner desires to obtain, and Licensor has agreed to grant, a license authorizing the use of the Work by Licensee in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

The parties agree to abide by the terms as follows:

I. GRANT OF LICENSE. Owner owns [PROPERTY TO BE LICENSED] (“Property”). In accordance with this Agreement, Owner grants User a non-exclusive license to Use or Sell [HIGHLIGHT THE TERMS THAT APPLY] the Property. Owner retains title and ownership of the Property. User will own all rights to materials, products or other works (the Work) created by User in connection with this license. This grant of license applies only to the following described geographical area:

Tip: This is where you will want to describe the geographical area where the license applies.

II. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. User shall be the sole owner of the Work and all proprietary rights in and to the Work; however, such ownership shall not include ownership of the copyright in and to the Property or any other rights to the Property not specifically granted in this Agreement.

III. PAYMENT. User agrees to pay Owner a royalty which shall be calculated as follows:

[LIMITED] RIGHTS TO COPYThe royalty will be paid by [DATE ROYALTY PAID].

IV. MODIFICATIONS. Unless the prior written approval of Owner is obtained, User may not modify or change the Property in any manner. Licensee shall not use Licensed property for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms of the Agreement.

V. DEFAULTS ON AGREEMENT. If User fails to abide by the obligations of this Agreement, including the obligation to make a royalty payment when due, Owner shall have the option to cancel this Agreement by providing 30 days written notice to User. User shall have the option of taking corrective action to cure the default to prevent the termination of this Agreement if said corrective action is enacted prior to the end of the time period stated in the previous sentence. There must be no other defaults during such time period or Owner will have the option to cancel this Agreement, despite previous corrective action.

VI. WARRANTIES. Neither party makes any warranties with respect to the use, sale or other transfer of the Property by the other party or by any third party, and User accepts the product “AS IS.” In no event will Owner be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages, that are in any way related to the Property.

VII. TRANSFER OF RIGHTS. Neither party shall have the right to assign its interests in this Agreement to any other party, unless the prior written consent of the other party is obtained.

VIII. INDEMNIFICATION. Each party shall indemnify and hold the other harmless for any losses, claims, damages, awards, penalties, or injuries incurred by any third party, including reasonable attorney’s fees, which arise from any alleged breach of such indemnifying party’s representations and warranties made under this Agreement, provided that the indemnifying party is promptly notified of any such claims. The indemnifying party shall have the sole right to defend such claims at its own expense. The other party shall provide, at the indemnifying party’s expense, such assistance in investigating and defending such claims as the indemnifying party may reasonably request. This indemnity will survive the termination of this Agreement.

IX. AMENDMENT. This Agreement may be modified or amended, only if the amendment is made in writing and is signed by both parties.

CANADIAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE CIPO.GC.CA

• The copyright usually belongs to the creator

• An employer-may have copyright in works created by employees unless there is an agreement in place stating otherwise.

• When a person owns the copyright has control on how it is used to protect its value. If others want to use it they must buy or ask the persons permission.

• The original work is generally automatically protected by copyright the moment you create it.

• By registering your work, you receive a certificate issued by cipo.

• You don’t have to register your copyright, although it can be useful in a legal dispute.

• Your copyright exists until the owners life plus 50 yrs. Following their death.

• In the case of more than one author, the copyright will last for 50 years after the last author dies.

• The work is then in the public domain, and anyone may use it. This is for most works, although there are exceptions.

With regards to publishing students works, this can go two ways:

1) A contract can be made between the student and school, in which case the school would pay the student/s royalty.

2) A consent/waiver form to be signed by the student agreeing that their work to be published and if their should be any royalties that the monies be absorbed back into making more resources for the Indigenous language.

When writing, some author's/publisher’s have used the waiver/consent form with the authors of the stories and that this worked very well.

CONSENT/WAIVER

TRANSLATING PUBLISHED WORKS

All materials published is protected under copyright law

Written permission is needed from the publisher if a person wishes to reproduce and/or translate.

The following is a website where more information can be found.

https://permissions.randomhouse.com

HOW TO PUBLISH

SELF-PUBLISH

Some self-publishing companies provide higher quality services than others. Before choosing a company, look into the type of paper they use, and try to obtain samples of other books they have published.

When you self-publish a book, you still have a shot at getting it published by a traditional publishing house down the road. In fact, you'll have a simply of your finished book to send them with your pitch. If it looks beautiful, this can give you an edge over other submissions.

FIND A LITERARY AGENT.

Send agents a query letter and book synopsis. If agents are interested, they’ll reply with a request to see the manuscript. It may take weeks or months to receive a reply.

If your book is not picked up by an agent, you may send your query letter and synopsis directly to publishers that accept unsolicited manuscripts. Research companies that publish books like yours before contacting publishers.

If your book is picked up by an agent, he or she may ask you to make revisions to the manuscripts to make it more appealing to potential publishers. When its ready, the agent will send pitches to publishers that seem like the right fit. Again, the process can take months, and there's no guarantee our book will be published.

PUBLISH FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION ONLY.

Writing a children’s book is by itself a huge accomplishment. There’s no need to seek wide publication if you don’t want to. Sometimes its more personal to just share it with the people who matter. Consider printing the manuscript at the copy store and binding it to give to a few friends, or to children in your family. Many copy stores have services that allow you to print and bind full-color booklets that look very professional.

INDIGENOUS BOOKS

PUBLISHERS ALL SORTS OF BOOKS

Commercial

University

Educational curriculum content

Student Projects

Churches/Missions

Linguistics / dictionaries

Historical Societies

MEDICINE PAINT: THE ART OF AUGER DALE

Pic cover Author Name: Auger Dale

Year of publication/release: 2009

Publisher: Vancouver: Heritage House, [2009]

ND 249 A945 A4 2009

MWÂKWA TALKS TO THE LOON

Auger Dale

Surrey, B.C : Heritage House Pub., 2006.

J 398.27 AUG

AUGER DALE

Studied at Grant MacEwan College, Mount Royal College, Alberta College of Art and Design, and the University of Calgary.

Very well educated; awarded Alumni of the year, has a Bachelor in education, Master in education and a PhD. in education.

Books he has published; Mwakwa Talks to the Loon: A Cree book for Children, Medicine paint: The Art Of Dale Auger.

Died September 23, 2008.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/calgaryherald/obituary.aspx?pid=117978919

NOKUM IS MY TEACHER

Bouchard, Dave

Calgary: Northern Lights Books for Children, 2006.

DAVE BOUCHARD

Honorary Doctor In Laws Degree

Author, Educator, and Presenter

Over 50 books written and has numerous awards

In 2009, David Bouchard was named as a member of the ‘Order of Canada’ for his achievement and advocacy in literature for Canadian children

UNIVERSITY AS A PUBLISHER

UNIVERSITY AS A PUBLISHER

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

STUDENT PROJECTS

UNIVERSITY AS A PUBLISHER

Ratt, Solomon

Title: Nihithaw Acimowina

Woods Cree stories

Publisher: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: First Nations University of Canadam, University of Regina Press, [2014]

SOLOMON RATT

Solomon has been teaching Y-dialect of Cree at First Nations University of Canada since 1986.

Attended the University of Regina, graduating with two BAs and a Masters of Arts

Solomon has written around 10 books

UNIVERSITY AS A PUBLISHER

Voices from Hudson Bay

Cree stories from York Factory

Publisher: Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1996.

CHURCHES/MISSIONS

MacLean, John, 1851-1928

Title: James Evans, inventor of the syllabic system of the Cree language

Publisher: Toronto: Methodist Mission Rooms, 1890.

SCHOOL OF LINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGE STUDIES (PUBLISH YOUR OWN DICTIONNARIES)

Ellis, C. D. (Clarence Douglas), 1923-

Title: Spoken Cree

Level III: West coast of James Bay = Ê-ililîmonâniwahk

Publisher: Ottawa, Ontario: School of Linguistics and Language Studies, Carleton University, [2016]

OUR RAW MATERIALS: WORDS AND PICTURES

KINSHIP

Indigenous Published Author, Puppets

HOW TO PUBLISH INDIGENOUS BOOKS GATHERING

This presentation was created for the Awasisak Conference, July 20, 2017 and was also distributed as a handout for the how to publish indigenous children's books gathering on October 27, 2017.

For more information read the following document.

https://www.slideshare.net/ManishaKhetarpal/how-to-publish-indigenous-childrens-books-2017-v1

Contact Manisha Khetarpal, 780 585 3925, [email protected]