I Started a Spreadsheet. It Got a Little Out of Hand.

By Tia Hinz, M.Ed. M.A

Okay, technically, I started several spreadsheets.

And notebooks.

And lists.

So. Many. Lists.

For the last four years, I have helped coordinate a literacy program at my preschool called Homegrown Author. The idea behind the program is simple: connect children with local Minnesota authors and illustrators and give kids the opportunity to meet the real people behind the books they read.

Over those four years, I have spent an absolutely ridiculous amount of time finding authors.

Searching websites. Following recommendations. Falling into internet rabbit holes and finding one author who led me to another author who led me to an illustrator who led me somewhere completely different.

And naturally, I kept lists.

The problem?

They were everywhere.

I had authors written down in random notebooks. I had at least three different Google Sheets I started but never finished. I had names saved in different places and information missing from basically all of them.

But for years, it didn't really matter.

I was the only person using them.

I knew what my chaotic little system meant.

Until I realized I might not always be the person running the program.

What Happens to Something You've Built When You Leave?

As I started exploring the possibility of transitioning out of teaching, one thing I became genuinely worried about was Homegrown Author.

I don't think most people realized just how much time and effort I had put into building the program behind the scenes.

Finding authors. Researching books. Tracking down contact information. Reaching out. Scheduling visits. Finding books that fit our children. Building relationships with authors and finding new people year after year.

There was a lot of knowledge living inside my head.

And scattered throughout my Google Drive.

And apparently several notebooks.

If I left, I didn't want all of that to disappear with me.

I wanted whoever came next to have somewhere to start.

So I decided I was finally going to do the thing I had avoided for four years:

Put everything in one place.

The One Spreadsheet to Rule Them All

My original goal wasn't particularly ambitious.

I would go through all my unfinished lists and compile a list of every Minnesota children's author and illustrator I have found over the years I'd been working on Homegrown Author.

One master list.

Something another educator could open and actually understand without needing me standing beside them explaining:

"Okay, ignore that tab. And that one. Actually, I don't know why that's there. OH! But this person is great. Hang on, I think I wrote their information down somewhere else..."

So I started combining everything.

And suddenly I could see just how much information I'd accumulated.

There were hundreds of authors and illustrators.

And that's when the project changed.

Because if I was going to make this useful to someone other than myself, a list of names wasn't enough.

Well, Obviously We Need More Information...

If you're an educator looking for an author, you need to know what they write.

So I needed their books.

And probably publication years.

And age ranges.

And websites.

Social media would be useful.

Contact information would definitely be useful.

And suddenly the simple project of "put all my lists into one spreadsheet" had become:

Let's build a Minnesota Children's Author Database!

Classic.

There was only one small problem.

I had hundreds of authors.

And I am one person.

So I Asked for Help

Once I saw the size of the compiled list, I knew I couldn't realistically research every author and illustrator myself.

So I did something that can be difficult when you've spent years being the person who figures things out:

I asked other people to help me.

I started recruiting volunteers to research authors and help fill in the missing pieces.

And people actually said yes.

That part still gets me.

This wasn't an established organization recruiting people into a polished volunteer program. It was basically me saying:

"Hello! Would anyone like to help me research several hundred Minnesota children's authors because my spreadsheets have gotten wildly out of control?"

And somehow the answer was yes.

Then Something Else Happened

As I worked on the database, I started thinking about why I cared so much about preserving it.

It wasn't really about a spreadsheet.

I loved connecting children with authors.

I loved discovering books.

I loved finding Minnesota writers I had never heard of.

I loved finding stories featuring children and families who aren't always represented on our bookshelves.

And if I transitioned out of the classroom, I didn't want to stop doing that work.

I started thinking:

I want to write more book reviews.

I want to keep connecting with authors.

I want to create book lists.

I want to share this database.

I want to interview writers and illustrators.

I want to build resources for educators and librarians.

Someday, I would love to publish books.

And eventually:

Why am I waiting for someone else to create a place for me to do all of that?

Maybe I could build one.

And that's part of how Moonflower & Myth came to be.

The Spreadsheet Has a New Home

The Minnesota Children's Author Database is now one of the first projects under Moonflower & Myth.

And the volunteers who agreed to help me with my wildly overgrown spreadsheet?

Technically, they became Moonflower & Myth's first volunteers before Moonflower & Myth even existed.

None of us knew that at the time.

The database is still very much a work in progress. There are gaps to fill, authors to research, books to add, and—I am certain—many, many Minnesota authors and illustrators I haven't discovered yet.

But my hope for it has grown.

I don't just want it to help the next person who coordinates Homegrown Author.

I want an educator searching for a classroom guest to use it.

I want a librarian planning an event to use it.

I want someone looking for Minnesota books to discover an author they've never encountered before.

I want local authors and illustrators—especially those whose work might otherwise be difficult to discover—to have another way for people to find them.

Something I created because I was afraid four years of work might disappear when I left my classroom could become a resource for people I've never even met.

And I think that's pretty freaking cool.

All because I finally decided to clean up my spreadsheets.

Although, for the record, I still have too many spreadsheets. Some things never change.