Work Smarter, Not Harder: When Research Pays Off Twice

By Nicki Jacobsmeyer

 

Writing a book is not for the faint of heart. The process takes time, grit, and courage. No matter the word count, the work is hard. Hopefully, you find it joyful too. Researching can be intense, especially for our non-fiction projects. I love researching, almost to the point that I allow it to be a distraction from writing. Anyone else with me?

 

Since we need to research to make our work accurate and authentic, sometimes the process takes longer than writing the story. I’ll compare the pile of research materials to my 500-word picture book manuscript and laugh. Were all the sweat and tears of exploring and digging worth it? ABSOLUTELY! But what if we could use all of those investigating hours to work twice as hard for us?

 

When I started working smarter, not harder with my research, I felt elated. In 2017, a critique partner shared an article about the Kentucky packhorse librarians during the Great Depression. The librarians and community instantly stole my heart and I could think of nothing else. I knew I wanted and had to write about this piece of history. Research began. I scoured books, articles, and online resources. I interviewed anyone and everyone I could from historical societies, libraries, descendants of packhorse librarians, etc. And then I finally wrote a non-fiction picture book. For the next seven years, I continued writing, going on submission, revising, and resubmitting with a variety of manuscripts for different age groups. 

Fast forward to the end of 2023, when I stumbled across an opportunity for the adult non-fiction market. Although we know the publishing industry is slow going, I had to jump on this proposal opportunity. As we’ve all experienced, doubt stuck its ugly nose in my business. Do you have enough research? Can you complete the proposal in time? Do you have the support from the community? All the research I’d done over the years for one project waited to be used for another. Once I convinced myself (thank you critique partners), and told doubt to take a hike, I went for it. My research paid off twice. Kentucky’s Packhorse Librarians (Images of America) published with Arcadia Publishing in March 2025. 

What about the original children’s book? I’m delighted to announce that the picture book I penned in 2017, Tales on Trails: The Packhorse Librarians of Appalachia, will make its debut a decade later in the summer of 2027 with Arcadia Children’s Books. 

Your research can work overtime for articles, poems, blog/newsletter posts, short stories, etc.

I’ve research from a poem and short story published in anthologies that were vital for two of my non-fiction middle grade books. Your possibilities are endless!

 

How do you make sure your research is ready for double duty? Here are some insights to help

your future self:

 

1. Bibliography: Make a bibliography along the way, even if you aren’t sure if you’ll use this reference in the final manuscript, or at all. Your story may change different directions during the project and you want all of your resources easily accessible. Your sanity is worth the extra time. You can condense the bibliography upon submission.

 

2. Citing: When drafting and revising, cite your sources within the manuscript. Even if your submission doesn’t ask for embedded citations, this format will be essential to have so you can pinpoint where your facts come from. You’ll be grateful when months or years down the road you need to double check information.

 

3. Recording & Permission: If possible, record all interviews, webinars, lectures, etc. ASK PERMISSION FIRST! I prefer to get a signed permission form for my records either in-person or electronically at the time of the recording. Once permission is granted, you can be in the moment during the interview knowing you can listen to the recording again. State the date, time, person, title, event, location, etc. at the beginning of the recording. Video and audio recordings allow you to observe their facial expressions, energy, and mannerisms. If audio is only available, take notes on these reactions to enrich your manuscript.

 

4. Photos: When researching in person, take more photos than you’ll need. Again, ask permission. Pictures will allow you to bring your story to life and capture details you can repeatedly refer back to when writing.

 

5. Marketing: Make a marketing/promotions/event sheet as you research. Document any and all places and contacts that might be good ideas to have a signing and/or sell your book. Even if the book hasn’t been sold yet, research like it has. 

 

When researching for a project, seek out ways you can apply it to another. Work smarter, not

harder. You got this!

 

What tips do you have? Please share in the comments.

 

About the Author: Nicki Jacobsmeyer writes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. She has two forthcoming non-fiction children’s books, TALES ON TRAILS and THE GHOSTLY TALES OF MAINE’S HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSES (Arcadia Children’s Books, Summer 2027 and 2026).

 

She is the author of The Ghostly Tales of St. Charles (Arcadia Children’s Books, July 2025),

Kentucky’s Packhorse Librarians (Arcadia, 2025), and others. Nicki is represented by Senior Agent Heather Cashman of Storm Literary. She is a Co-Host of the Way-Word Writers Podcast, a certified career coach, speaker, and business professional. Besides reading and writing she loves to travel, knit, the outdoors, sunsets, family barbecues, and watching a storm come in from her front porch.

Finding My Why

By Sarah Aronson 

At the end of every year, I go through my files to declutter and assess the collection of untapped ideas, false starts, and stories that didn’t find a home. In these entries, I see good ideas that made me curious. Stories that didn’t stand out. Even in the worst of the overworked and failed artifacts (the ones I call cadavers), I see my writing heart in search of connection.

 

I call these glimmers my why.

 

My why can stem from a memory, an interest, a purpose, or my obsessions. It is my personal connection and my stakes in the story. And if it isn’t there, it doesn’t matter how interesting the research is. The story rarely sings. This year, I also found two notes to myself (which inspired this essay): If you are stuck, Sarah, go back to your why. If you can’t give of yourself, you may not have found it.

 

Sometimes, when I stumble on an idea for a picture book biography, the why is obvious. That makes it easy to mine. When I decided to write Just Like Rube Goldberg, I had a lot of connections to draw on. As a kid, I tried to build the breakfast machine from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. (Note: use plastic!)

 

I played Mousetrap all the time. My dad shared his comics. As I began to do the research, I discovered another strong why: I noticed how people are distracted by their phones—and how much inspiration we miss when we can’t disconnect. It was just like Rube said: we can’t let machines make us lazy. We need to play! We need to use our brains! The story came out fast.

 

Abzuglutely: Buttling Bellowing Bella Abzug began with a similar lifelong connection. Bella was my childhood hero. As I wrote, I found my why in her commitment to speaking her truth. And helping all kinds of people. And the challenges of being a trailblazer. I felt those challenges. And her mission.

 

But other times, the why is a little less obvious. Or it changes with time and the experiences I’m having in the moment. When that happens, I have to keep learning. And digging. And reading. And reimagining. Over and over again, I must ask myself what my story and I share.

 

I like to take this work to the journal for a bit of side writing. I ask a lot of questions like: 

 

What do you love most about your story?

What is easy to write? What does this person stand for?

What do I have to say about this person?

How long have I known about this person, place, or event?

Do we share any ideas? If we were eating dinner together, what would we discuss?

What do the themes in this story mean to me?

Are your guiding beliefs on the page?

As you sit down to write, what do you want?

What do you fear? What are you hiding?

What don’t you want to share? (Then share it!) What is the most important scene in the book?

How do you feel when you read it?

What is happening in the world that makes the story more urgent?

Why is this my story to tell? Is my heart in this story? Or is my ego talking?

What inspired you to take it on? What is the conversation you wish to have with readers?

 

When I asked other writers how they find their why, I got flooded with responses. Everyone talked about curiosity and learning—and their love of doing research! They also talked about the desire to expand their interests and expose kids to forgotten people and stories and worlds. Friends, this is essential. We live in a time where some people want to change history—a world where they fear history and facts.

 

They also told me about their personal connections to their subjects.

 

Librarian and writer Melanie Meadors found her why through connecting to ancient texts. While writing Fantastic Flora, Ann McCallum Staats challenged herself to make a boring topic interesting for both her and the reader. Larisa Theule found connection to human ingenuity while writing Concrete. Elizabeth Tracy started writing Mystery Driver after listening to a story on the radio. But she found her why when she began to incorporate her love of STEM and physics.

 

Jennifer Swanson believes that the why is the connection that makes the book hers to write. For example, she wrote Up Periscope about US Navy hidden figure, Raye Montague, in part because Jen loves STEM! But her story was grounded in a shared experience. They both attended the US Naval Academy. 

 

Because the why becomes not just a theme, but a purpose and guiding light, it informs every decision we make in the process, from POV to page turns to the details that make the cut. The why gives us a voice, and often, an authentic point of view or vibe. When we are connected to a story, we can craft with intention how to increase anticipation (even when the reader knows what’s going to happen). We can confidently choose the details that belong in the front matter and the back.

 

All these elements invite readers to connect to the story. It forces readers to care. And when readers care, our books do something magical: they start conversations and even bigger connections, growth, and change. Isn’t that why we write?

 

In 2023, I got a challenge from a fifth-grade reader. He asked, “Why do so many books for kids feel like they were written for our teachers . . . and not really for us? Why do they all taste like medicine?”

 

Writers, nonfiction should never read like medicine. Nonfiction is exciting. It is interesting. It is story. When we know the why, our books don’t need to preach, because they are too busy helping our readers take action and make decisions for their futures.

 

Are you ready to stretch?

 

Think back to the moment you found your idea. Whether you were taking a walk, or reading a book, or listening to the news, or eavesdropping on some strangers: What was going on in the world? What made you decide to begin the research process? What were your obsessions? Do they show up in the narrative? If not, why not?

 

Write down what you love most about your story. What delights you? Or maybe what makes you want to rant? Is there something that scares you? Or something that excites you? What inspired you to take this chance and stretch further than you ever thought you could? Writing a nonfiction book is a wildly ambitious endeavor. So, find that connection. Know why this story is yours. Share your obsessions. And your heart. And the why that inspired you to work so very hard.

 

It’s worth every struggle.

 

Your readers are waiting.

 

Sarah Aronson began writing for kids and teens when someone in an exercise class dared her to try. Since then, she has earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and published a variety of books for kids and teens from Head Case, to Beyond Lucky, The Wish List series, as well as Just Like Rube Goldberg, illustrated by Robert Neubecker, Brand New Bubbe, illustrated by Ariel Landy, and Abzuglutely!: Battling, Bellowing Bella Abzug, illustrated by Andrea D’Aquino.

 

When Sarah is not writing or reading (or making great soup or riding her bike along Lake Michigan), she is talking to readers about creativity, writing, social action, and of course, sparkle power! She loves working with other writers one on one or in one of her classes at the amazing Highlights Foundation. Warning: When she gets really excited, she makes funny faces and talks with her hands. Don’t be shocked if she talks about the power of play.

 

In March 2024, Sarah was awarded the Prairie Writer Award for contributions to literature and literacy. In 2025, she joined the Board of Directors of the Jane Addams Peace Association. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.

The IT factor in Picture Books

By Joyce P. Uglow

It is well known that nonfiction picture books play a big role in supporting students’ development of scientific literacies and cultivates critical reading skills. NF PBs possess the IT Factor! Case in point, “Nonfiction Picturebook Reading in Early and Elementary Education: A PRISMA-P Systematic Review” in ILA’s December 9, 2025 Reading Research Quarterly, points out the importance of NF PBs. Diana Muela-Bermejo and Rosa Tabernero-Sala stated that children who have limited exposure to NF PB tend to exhibit lower reading comprehension skills. Furthermore, it has been said that nonfiction awakens curiosity, fosters a desire to learn, and inspires a sense of wonder. NCTE’s position statement on the role of NF for K-12 students states nonfiction is a “deeply enriching aesthetic experience.”  

The IT Factor in NF PB awakens curiosity and fosters a desire to learn. 

Just in Case: Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Vault by Megan Clendenan, illustrated by Brittany Cicchese, published by Charlesbridge on October 14, 2025, received the 2026 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award® for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.

I love the engaging organization, rich language, and intrigue in Just in Case! This book is a wonderful example of how an author’s curiosity about a relatively unknown topic prompted further research. Megan Clendenan heard about the seed vault, went on to discover more, and found the right words, the IT Factor, to awaken curiosity on the topic for kids. Books like this inspire kids and foster a desire to learn more on their own. In addition to the gorgeous illustrations, I noticed how the ingenious fact box headings drew my attention to the not-to-be-missed information. Equally brilliant is the use of the engaging title in a refrain. 

The IT Factor in NF PB inspires a sense of wonder. 

There is real magic in Julie Winterbottom and Susan Reagan’s Magic in a Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick Taught the World About Water Pollution, published by Rocky Pond Books on March 25, 2025. It earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly! 

Julie’s fabulous first line delivers the IT factor right out of the gate. “When Ruth was five years old, she fell in love with pond scum.” What? Pond scum?! I was hooked immediately, engaged from the first to the last line. In Julie Winterbottom’s words on uGROnews Creative Point of View about Magic in a Drop of Water, she said, “I think it helped that I chose a subject that I felt very passionate about so that I could keep going when the research and writing was challenging.” 

 

The IT factor in NF PBs… not everything makes it into the book.  

As nonfiction writers do, I unearthed a plethora of facts during my research for STUCK! The Story of La Brea Tar Pits, published by Bushel and Peck Books, illustrated by Valerya Milovanova. I decided it best to focus and stick with a predator–prey fray to tell the origin story of La Brea. The handful of those featured extinct species allowed me to include info about the Ice Age ecosystem and lead kids to dig deeper into the topic. I left other tidbits to uncover in book talks, educational resources, and school visits. (BTW… Adults and kids are intrigued and utterly surprised that no dinosaurs got stuck at La Brea.)

 

Here is my 2026 IT Factor challenge for you and me:

• Focus on a first line that hooks the reader.
• Choose surprising research tidbits that spark imagination and inspire readers to ask questions. 
• Plant curiosity.
• Use intriguing text features.
• Follow up with amazing back matter. 
• Let your passion for the topic seep into the narrative.
• Enjoy finding the IT Factor for your next books!

 

 

About the Author: Joyce P. Uglow writes poetry and lyrical picture books about nature, science, and our planet. She is the NSTA / CBC 2026 Outstanding Science Trade Books award-winning author of STUCK! The Story of La Brea Tar Pits (2025 Bushel & Peck Books). Joyce currently serves as the Co-Regional Advisor for SCBWI Wisconsin and a Mighty Kidlit mentor. She loves family gatherings, gardening, and exploring National Parks, the world’s mountains, rocks and water with her husband, Larry. Visit Joyce’s website to learn more.