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.

RECYCLE YOUR RESEARCH

By Bonni Goldberg

One of the best pieces of writing advice I’ve read (so long ago that I can’t remember who wrote it) that applies to non-fiction kidlit writers is don’t squander your research on just one project.

It resonates with me as part of a family that makes it a mission to use every part of a Thanksgiving turkey (turkey sandwiches; soup from the bones, cartilage, and marrow; giblets incorporated into the gravy; the skimmed fat to roast potatoes; and crackling).

We all know that writing a nonfiction picture book takes a great deal of research. Imagine a word count or page count comparison between the research notes and a finished picture book. Most readers would be shocked. Whereas we non-fiction writers would simply nod.

For some of us, research is the best part of the writing process. Others of us set timers for our research sessions to avoid rabbit holes.

Either way, research takes a lot of time. Your time is valuable. So is your research. And not just for your current book project. Besides, why would you keep the cool, unused information you found to yourself?

Before bundling your notes away in a drawer or the cloud, consider publishing some of it in a different format. Here are ten options.

Writing Formats

1. Activity Sheets
Create activity sheets related to your book that further enrich, entertain, or educate a young reader’s experience and make them available on your website. As an example, DONA GRACIA SAVED WORLDS includes the fact that Gracia and her family spoke Ladino. I made an activity sheet introducing young readers to a few Ladino phrases. The activity is also valuable for Jewish educators.

2. Articles
Use your research to write an article for a children’s magazine. Write about an aspect of the topic of your book that you had to leave out or an additional aspect of something in your book that children would also find fascinating.

3. Poetry
Write a poem to submit to a children’s magazine. Let the poem speak to a theme, lesson, or take away from your book. Or write a poem about something you followed down a research rabbit hole.

4. Another Book
Write a book for a different audience that incorporates an aspect of your topic or includes the same topic and focuses on a different theme. I’m working on a middle grade historical fiction that includes Gracia. In the novel, she isn’t the main character. Also, the novel’s themes differ from the picture book.

5. Blog Posts
Did you have an unusual experience while pursuing your research? Write a post about it on your own blog or as a guest blogger on a site related to the topic. I know a writer whose research included discovering some lesser-known historical sites in Ireland. He wrote about them for a travel blog.

6. Activity Book
Compile a group of similar activities, or a mix of different ones, centered on an aspect of your topic: recipes, jokes, experiments, action steps for social change, etc. A funny camel appears in an information fiction project of mine. I’ve collected a lot of camel themed jokes and puns that may find their way into a camel themed activity book.

Alternative Formats

Don’t forget formats other than writing.

7. Podcast
Did you interview some interesting people? If you have their permission, create a short podcast interview series.

8. Thematic Calendar
Each month of your calendar could highlight a seasonal habit of the animal you wrote about. Depending on the topic of your book, you could feature monthly recipes, environmental actions, etc.

9. A Poster
This is the best medium to emphasize a statement or to help young readers remember steps, an affirmation, or important facts. A theme from Doña GRACIA SAVED WORLDS that could make an engaging poster is, every person is like a whole world.

10. A Card Deck
There is no set number of cards in a deck. A card deck would be fun for a book like Tara Lazar’s ABSURD WORDS. In round one each player could pick one word from the deck to use in a sentence and in subsequent rounds two words, three words, and so on until only one player is successful.

Your turn: Pick one format above. Give yourself an hour to develop it using research from your last or latest research.

These are just some ways you can further utilize your research. Please share creative ways you’ve done it or other options you’ve considered.

About The Author

Bonni Goldberg is author of the children’s picture book, Doña Gracia Saved Worlds, illustrated by Alida Massari. Bonni is an award-winning poet and writer and the author of The Write Balance: How to Embrace Percolation, Revision & Going Public, the companion book to the best-seller Room to Write: Daily Invitations to a Writer’s Life. You can find more about her at www.bonnigoldberg.com and check out all the Gracia related activities.