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Tuesday 12 x 12: Carrie Charley Brown

14. May 2013 · 23 comments

If I had to choose a phrase to describe today’s Tuesday 12 x 12 author Carrie Charley Brown, it would be “Newbie No More!” Her excitement and dedication to writing and this community is contagious and inspiring. She’s grabbed her passion for writing with both hands and clearly is not going to let go! And while I ordinarily wouldn’t suggest writing while driving, I had to both laugh and give a thumbs up in Carrie’s case. You go, girl! Please welcome Carrie!

How do you Spell Newbie?

Nervous, Excited, Worried, Busy, Inquisitive, Eager.

That’s enough going on inside one head to explode! So, how do you spell relief?

12 x 12, of course!

My journey from teacher to author began in the form of a little spark in 1991. It ignited into a picture book manuscript. That flame was rather snuffed spending nineteen years on the back burner, so that a teaching career, marriage, kids, and life could happen. My husband and I assumed reversed roles when an unexpected lay-off terminated his career. Back to teaching I went! I have always wondered why that flame chose to lash out at such an inopportune time.

I vividly remember being half asleep, pumping myself with coffee, and then yelling some not-so-nice words at some guy who cut me off in traffic. I took one look at the surprised expressions on my kids’ faces in the backseat, and a fire started to roar through my mind. I grabbed a crumpled up napkin, and started writing furiously as we blazed down the expressway. (Yikes!) When I ran out of room, I snatched a wrinkled receipt and scribbled more. I was bursting! But, with such a busy schedule, I had to stuff the ideas into a notebook for a later date. I was so eager to get into my writing, but my mind was only on break during my morning drives.

My husband finally found work and we reversed our roles again. I joined the SCBWI in the fall of 2012, and finally completed the two manuscripts that had burned themselves into my driving time in 2010. I felt free, and very, very green! I read everything I could get my hands on, started a critique group, and researched agents. I completed four additional manuscripts and a handful of short stories. I received my first big rejection during a professional critique with a big time editor at a SCBWI event in October. My flame didn’t feel so bright anymore. After trying to revise my manuscript in every thinkable way, it went in the drawer.

Enter: PiBoIdMo 2012. Yes! All I needed was more ideas! Sparks were everywhere! From there, I heard about 12 x 12 and became a Gold Member in January.

12 x 12 spells relief:

Nervous? I am meeting so many awesome writers from all over the world! Connecting lead me to my critique groups, an amazing critique partner, and collaborations. It makes me feel comfortable when my new colleagues offer suggestions, and recommend trusted sources for education, information, and professional services.

Excited! With a special mixture of PiBoIdMo ideas and a bunch of new ones, I am writing my little heart out! I love “reporting in” at the end of each month and daily to my critique partner.

Worried? It is comforting to have people all around me that know exactly what I am going through. 12 x 12 is like a big hug! Each and every person I have interacted with in this process has strengthened me as a professional and a person. I am learning that differences are good, and this business is truly subjective.

Busy! The First 250, Query Corner, and Pitch Perfect all allow me to critique the work of other writers. I enjoy helping, and feel a knack for editing. It has helped me become better at revising my own work, too.

Inquisitive? I found support in the 12 x 12 Facebook Group when I needed to know if I was “normal.” Many of my questions are answered by reading the posts of others.

Eager! 12 x 12 has motivated me to produce 7 new manuscripts since January! I am actively submitting and received my first three requests! Everyone has to start somewhere, and 12 x 12 is the perfect place for a Newbie!

Carrie Charley Brown has been inspiring children with the magic of picture books ever since her first teaching job. After 10 years of teaching and an equal amount of years as a full-time mom, she opened a new chapter of her life as a writer in 2012. Her current writing projects include picture books, adult humor, and middle grade fiction. She lives in Mansfield, Texas with her husband Richard, and their three children. Not surprisingly, her children all love to read and write. You can follow her on Twitter at @carriebrowntx or her new blog websites, Carrie On… Together! or Carrie On.

Categories: 12 x 12, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Creativity, Guest Blogging, PiBoIdMo, Picture Book Month, Picture Books, Queries, SCBWI, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, Authors, Carrie Charley Brown, Children's Books, Creativity, Goals, Guest Blogging, Julie Hedlund, PiBoIdMo, Picture Books, Queries, SCBWI, Tuesday 12 x 12, Works in Progress, Writing

How I Got My Agent: Pat Miller

09. May 2013 · 51 comments

Today I am ecstatic to bring you a different kind of “How I Got My Agent” story. This one is special because it is the first, of hopefully many, success stories of authors finding agents through 12 x 12. Once again I was moved to tears by a member’s expression of what 12 x 12 has done for her confidence, her writing and her career. I can honestly say the only time I’ve ever been more pleased to announce that someone signed with an agent is when it was me! Without further ado, congratulations to Pat Miller, who recently signed with Stephen Fraser of Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency! May there be many more 12 x 12 participants who come after you!

I began my writing career out of green-eyed jealousy in 1994 with a magazine article. (That’s another story.) I mostly wrote for school librarians. I reconnected with children’s writing, thanks to Tara Lazar’s Picture Book Idea Month challenge, in November 2012. Tara mentioned Julie Hedlund’s upcoming 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge. Perhaps it was the timing, perhaps the financial investment, but I decided to commit. Here’s how 12 x 12 has made 2013 my luckiest writing year.

ENCOURAGEMENT I began reading other people’s work and submitting my own in the 250 Words Forum. I had done more than six months of research on the sea captain who invented the hole in the doughnut. Now I felt encouraged to stop researching and start writing.

COMPANIONSHIP The 12 x 12 Facebook page peopled my writing space with amiable fellow writers. I was surrounded by their hopes and encouraged by their work. My difficulties were theirs–I wasn’t alone. I began showing up at my desk every morning at 7:00, feeling the invisible but warm company of kindred spirits.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Is a particular conference worth the money? Which writing books are most helpful? How does one format a picture book? The 12×12 group reminds me of a trampoline—throw out a question and within hours, answers bounce up from all over! When I asked if anyone had experience with making book trailers, Julie connected me with Katie Davis. I’ll be joining her Video Idiot Boot Campin May.

RESOURCES Members often suggest sites, blogs, and resources that inspire and educate. Lori Degman told us about a site called Rate Your Story. Over the next couple of months, I submitted three stories. My Stone Soup variant rated a 7, The Hole Story of the Doughnut earned a 3, and Lone Star, Lone Star convinced someone to give it a 1. Encouraged, I sent Lone Star out to several regional publishers.

EXPERT HELP I committed to bringing my Hole Story to completion. I returned to Rate your Story to peruse their list of editors for hire. From a list of heavy hitters, I chose Jill Esbaum, author of 11 picture books and former instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature. She helped me revise my story, and with high hopes, I submitted it to the Highlights Fiction Contest.

I had more than 200 pages of research on my doughnut inventor. In February I began to feel a book was necessary. But where to begin? What to include? What to leave out? On January 23, Elaine Kearns recommended Dear Editor.com, where you send in questions to editor Deborah Halverson. Deborah’s answer to my questions appeared the next day. I began the book.

NEW DIRECTIONS In mid-January, Janie Reinart posted a site about building one’s author platform. Reading it convinced me I needed to learn about using social media to promote my work. In a marvelous coincidence, another member recommended marketing magician Rivka Kawano. On January 28, I took her three-hour online seminar called “Author Success in 2013”. It was so helpful that I signed for her twelve week course, Author’s Marketing Class.

CRITIQUE GROUP In early February, Laura Carpenter posted on the forum’s Critique Connect that she wanted to form a group. Lickety-split, nine of us joined her from seven states and Canada—my first critique group! Soon the stories began to fly, as well as posts about our vacations, our discouragements, and our delight in the group.

SHARED SUCCESSES We participated in the voting for Janie Reinart’s book, Love You More Than You Know, nominated for Best Cleveland Book of 2013. And she won! Tracey Cox shared news of the debut of her cleverly named Arachnabet: An Alphabet of Spiders. Cheryl Lawton Malone nearly won the March Madness Poetry Match with her poem, “Autocorrect”. The success of any of us gave us all hope.

ACCESS TO AGENTS In January, Emma Walton Hamilton taught us to write query letters and posted her analysis of 40 queries submitted by 12x12ers. In February, Stephen Fraser of the Jennifer de Chiara Literary Agency became the first of 11 monthly agents willing to look at our work and make suggestions.

By mid-February, The Hole Story of the Doughnut had been through numerous revisions and shaped up as a picture book biography. I crafted my e-query based on Emma’s advice. I followed it with the manuscript that had been through my critique group, Rate Your Story, Jill Esbaum, and Kathi Appelt, the Newbery-honor winner whose critique I won at a local SCBWI auction. With a small prayer, I hit “send” and off went my manuscript to Stephen Fraser.

A REALIZED DREAM Julie sent out interview and biographic information on Stephen Fraser when he stepped up to be our first agent reader. He sounded experienced, passionate, and kind. Just the kind of agent I would like if I had one. He amazed all of us by turning our stories around in three days or less. And he liked my story. Could I make some changes and resubmit? The day after April Fool’s Day, Stephen called me and offered to represent The Hole Story. I tried not to squeal like a pre-teen at a Bieber concert. He patiently answered my questions and said his contract would be in the mail. HIS CONTRACT WOULD BE IN THE MAIL! I was fizzy with joy, thrilled to have an agent, and very aware of how much I owe to Julie Hedlund and the writers of 12 x 12. Thanks to them, my nineteen-year career became an overnight success.

Pat Miller is the author of 20 professional books and more than 200 articles for school librarians. Her first children’s book, Substitute Groundhog, garnered 32 rejection letters before publication by Albert Whitman. It was named a Junior Library Guild selection. Find out more at www.patmillerbooks.com.

Categories: 12 x 12, Agents, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Creativity, Goals, Guest Blogging, How I Got My Agent, PiBoIdMo, Picture Book Month, Picture Books, Publishing, Queries, SCBWI, Social Media, Video Idiot Boot Camp, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, Agents, Author, Authors, Children's Books, Emma Walton Hamilton, Goals, Guest Blogging, How I Got My Agent, Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency, Julie Hedlund, Katie Davis, PiBoIdMo, Picture Books, Publishing, Queries, Rate Your Story, SCBWI, Social Media, Stephen Fraser, Tara Lazar, Video Idiot Boot Camp, Writing

Tuesday 12 x 12: Teresa Robeson

07. May 2013 · 94 comments

Finally! A Tuesday 12 x 12 author who loves sleep as much as I do! I always thought I was the only one who was rabid about getting enough sleep. Meet Teresa Robeson, who has brought so much humor and heart to the 12 x 12 challenge (AND a recipe for vodka creamsicles!). Just read her bio at the end of this post and you’ll have a good sense of how lucky we 12 x 12 folks are to get to steep in her enthusiasm and energy every day. Please welcome Teresa!

Once upon a time, a young girl loved writing and drawing so much that her mother urged her to take creative writing or fine arts at university. But like any cranky kid, she didn’t listen to her mom and tried to do a science degree instead.

Fast forward a few years – while panicking about turning 30, the girl decided to get serious about writing. So she took a writing-for-children course and wrote what she thought was a nice picture book based on autobiographical material. Turns out it was more of a short-story, and while Ladybug Magazine published it, the girl thought she was a failure as a picture book writer and moved on.

You might think this was the end of the story, but fast forward again a bunch more years, and this girl, now no longer young, had her interest in writing PBs renewed when she came across Paula Yoo’s NaPiBoWriWee. Sometime thereafter, she “met” Julie Hedlund at Write-On Con and Verla Kay, and the rest is 12×12 history! The end.

Kidding. But I’ll stop talking about myself in the third person.

I joined 12×12 because it sounded like what I needed after doing NaPiBoWriWee. So far, 12×12 has exceeded my expectations. Through it, I have become a part of the most amazing critique group (love you ladies – Kristen, Elaine, Victoria, Yvonne, Renee, and Sylvia!), written 3 drafts and polished a couple of old ones, submitted to the three scheduled agents, and made friends with a bunch of supportive and talented writers.

I usually don’t feel qualified to give people advice, but you’re probably here to read some and not just to see me ramble on about myself. LOL! Three things have worked well for me in my so-called writing career. I want to share them with my fellow PB-Padawans:

1) Get thee to a critique group. I can’t believe I wrote (on and off) for 20 years without one. Now I have three and they are my guiding lights, my partners in crime, and my cheerleaders extraordinaire! I was invited to join these critique groups by invitation via a Gotham Writer’s Workshop class, the local SCBWI chapter, and the 12×12 Challenge. Whether you’re already part of one or need to start one yourself, I recommend the book “The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide” by Becky Levine to help guide you.

2) Don’t believe the lies and excuses you tell yourself about why you can’t spend more time writing. I love my sleep. I used to joke that the top three things I love most are my family, food, and sleep, not necessarily in that order. I claimed that I couldn’t give up sleep to write like professional writers urged us to do. This year, with the big Five-Oh breathing down my neck, I decided that it was time to stop making excuses. I started getting up 1.5 hours earlier than I used to and, holy cow, I got so much more writing in! It’s apparently decent writing too because I’ve won two contests since and was a finalist in a third.

3) Never stop learning. I’ve taken classes at the Institute of Children’s Literature, Gotham Writer’s Workshop, and Indiana University Continuing Education, and am currently taking Picture Book Academy and will be taking Making Picture Book Magic in June, taught by the fabulous and talented Mira Reisberg and Susanna Hill, respectively. And, of course, read voraciously about the craft and all books in general.

Teresa grew up in Hong Kong and Vancouver but, these days, find herself in the middle of nowhere Midwest as a homeschooling mom and a wannabe-homesteader. Baking is her preferred method of procrastination but she also enjoys knitting, sewing, crocheting, making cheese and yogurt, and will soon start spinning and weaving. She was raised by Star Trek and Chinese fairy tales, and writes speculative fiction for adults and YA in addition to picture books. She has a degree in Speech Science/Linguistics that she never uses, and still wants to be an astrophysicist or opera singer when she grows up. You can find out more than you ever wanted to know about her at her webite, teresarobeson.com, or blog, Growing, Writing, and Creating.

Categories: 12 x 12, 12 x 12 Featured Author, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Goals, Guest Blogging, NaPiBoWriWee, Picture Books, SCBWI, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, Author, Authors, Children's Books, Critique Groups, Goals, Guest Blogging, Julie Hedlund, NaPiBoWriWee, Picture Books, SCBWI, Teresa Robeson, Tuesday 12 x 12, Writing

Monthly 12 x 12 Check In: April 2013

30. April 2013 · 42 comments

Happy May everyone! Always a favorite for me as it’s my birthday month.

And April wasn’t too shabby either! Although I did not complete a new PB draft or revise an existing one, I did successfully lead the first (now annual!) Writer’s Renaissance retreat in Florence, Italy. I still get goose bumps over the memories. It was that good. I hope some of you will consider joining me next year. Even if you can’t come (if you are a man, for instance), you can follow along vicariously on its new Facebook Page. So yes, I’ve kept busy in spite of the lack of draft for April.

Quick reminder: Submissions to our April featured agent Susan Hawk will close today at 6:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. PST SHARP! Our May featured agent, Elizabeth Harding, will begin accepting submissions tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. EST.

Okay folks. It’s your turn to report. Did you or did you not write a new draft and or revise an existing draft in April?

Here is what you need to do to check in for a chance to win a PB critique from David L. Harrison, even if you didn’t complete a draft!

See the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post that says “A Picture Book Critique from David L. Harrison at the top.
Click on the “Comment on David’s Blog Post” button. It will reveal the task, which is to comment on David’s April 1st post. Commenting on David’s post is mandatory and gets you one point even if you didn’t complete a draft in April. If you haven’t yet commented, click here to do so. Then you click ENTER on that option in Rafflecopter, which will then open the next two options.
Click on the “Wrote a PB Manuscript” button. This will ask if you completed a PB draft in April. If you did, click ENTER, if you did not, move on to the next step.
Click on the last “Revised a PB Manuscript” button. This will ask if you revised a PB in April. If you did, click ENTER. If not, move on to the next step.
Submit your entry. Rafflecopter will track your points.

You have until midnight EST on May 1st to enter your results. I will then have Rafflecopter draw a winner and announce it on the blog on May 2nd.

Many, many thanks to David L. Harrison for showing us how beautifully poetry and picture books come together. One lucky winner will receive a critique from him too.

Finally, don’t forget to come back tomorrow to meet May’s featured author. She’s fantastic!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Categories: 12 x 12, 12 x 12 Featured Author, Authors, Children's Books, Creativity, Giveaway, Picture Books, Poetry, Rhyming, Works in Progress, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, 12 x 12 Featured Author, Author, Authors, Children's Books, David L. Harrison, Giveaway, Goals, Julie Hedlund, Picture Books, Poetry, Rhyming, Works in Progress, Writing

Perfect Picture Book Friday: Cowboys by David Harrison

26. April 2013 · 13 comments

In honor of both our April 12 x 12 featured author David Harrison and poetry month, I decided to feature one of our all-time favorite collections of poetry — Cowboys! Not only the poems evocative, funny, and thought-provoking, the illustrations are phenomenal. You will swear looking at some of them that they are photographs. This book is a great way to round out Poetry Month!

Cowboys

Written by David L. Harrison, Illustrated by Dan Burr

Windsong, April 2012

Suitable for: Ages 7-9

Themes/Topics: Cowboys, Poetry, Old West, Horses, Books for Boys

Opening/Synopsis: From Amazon: The life of a cowboy driving a cattle herd was hard. It took a person with grit to drive a thousand head of longhorns along the Chisholm Trail. Cowboys faced badlands, lightning storms, and deadly twisters. But they also found time to swap stories around the campfire. David L. Harrison has created a cast of tough-as-leather cowboys who speak their minds in twenty-two entertaining poems, brought to life by Dan Burr’s dramatic paintings. Readers follow the cowboys from roundup on a ranch in Texas to the one-thousand-mile trek to market in Abilene, Kansas, where they finally let loose.

Activities: First, have your kids watch this video of David reading a poem from Cowboys on the amazing No Water River poetry website. You could have kids write their own cowboy poems using another of David’s Books, Easy Poetry Lessons that Dazzle and Delight, as a guide. Another great exercise would be to ask kids which poems are their favorites and why, as there are many different styles and topics in the book. Finally, I think it would be great to have kids pair up and write response poems!

Why I Like This Book: It is true that the illustrations by Dan Burr in this book are strikingly beautiful, but equally beautiful are the stories David paints with his words. This collection of poems kept my fidgety son riveted and asking many questions about vocabulary and meaning. I love that children are both drawn in by the poems and also challenged by them. The poems are so evocative and run such a range of topics and emotions, there is truly something for everyone. I’ve read from this book to my kids’ classes and it’s never failed to be a hit. And why not? It’s a treasure of a book.

For more fantastic picture books and resources please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog and find the tab for Perfect Picture Books.

Categories: 12 x 12 Featured Author, Authors, Children's Books, Perfect Picture Book Friday, Picture Books, Poetry, Rhyming, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12 Featured Author, Authors, David Harrison, Perfect Picture Book Friday, Picture Books, Poetry

Tuesday 12 x 12: Carol Coven Grannick

23. April 2013 · 62 comments

I hope you all are as moved by this post from today’s Tuesday 12 x 12 author Carol Coven Grannick as I was. Carol’s words struck such a chord in me. It is SO easy as writers to get mired in self-doubt and anguish and forget why we started writing in the first place. The tagline of her blog — Focusing More on the Writing and Less on the Publication — is going to be my new mantra. It’s not that I don’t want to publish many more books, it’s just that focusing too much on the publication side of things can suck the joy out of the act of writing. I am grateful that Carol found 12 x 12 this year, and I for one will be seeking out her gentle counsel when I need more writing resilience. Please welcome Carol!

THE FREEDOM OF LETTING GO

The past year has been a bountiful, meaningful one in my long journey as a committed, hardworking children’s writer – not because I got a book contract, but because I didn’t.

During the last decade, I’d heard supportive comments for years as short fiction appeared in children’s magazines, several unpublished picture books won several awards and got me an agent, with whom I parted ways after two acquisitions committees but no contract led him to stop sending out my work.

Although I wrote for love, life and urgency, and because I had stories to tell, I wanted to join colleagues who announced their book contracts month after month. I followed all the recommendations and collected plenty of impersonal and personal rejections. I was persistent and resilient. I believed that if I continued along this path, I’d get published.

And then about a year and a half ago I found I was spending too much time recovering from submissions into what many writers were calling the Black Hole of publishing: “If you don’t hear from us, assume we’re not interested.” If I don’t hear from you by when? I wondered. Some said, but many didn’t. Six weeks? Two months? Ten years?

I had to change something. So I challenged my basic assumption about being a children’s author with these words: There is a distinct possibility that I will never get a traditional book contract.

I shocked myself, let the words sink in, cried, sobbed.

Then I stopped. And when I did, I asked myself The Question: Now what?

The answer was easy. Now I am a writer. Now I write.

I had to put the longing for publication on a back burner. It was controlling too much of my writing and my life. I didn’t give up hope, just preoccupation.

Relief billowed in, filled me with a sense of freedom. Ideas for new work, classes I wanted to take, manuscripts I’d revise without losing the heart of the story because it might not be marketable, all seemed possible. “Shoulds” disappeared and joy returned.

I had always been, and would always be, a writer.

Then the oddest and best things happened in a year that unfolded, full of surprises. A new blog to keep me honest, an illustration class I never thought I’d take, query letters more true to my natural voice that got responses and requests for more work, and amazing workshops with authors whose work I loved and who were brilliant teachers as well.

My writing and my well-being blossomed.

And just when I felt ready to begin to submit again, I discovered 12 x 12. Where had it been last year? Well, right here. But I wasn’t. Really, just when I was ready, I found Julie’s site. Was it magic? No. It was luck: readiness meeting opportunity – such a crucial component of our journeys.

I hesitated not one moment. I scraped together the funds to become a GOLD level member, and although I’m still more of a lurker than a poster, I’m loving the forum, loving the opportunities, loving the resources. This post is an easier way of entry for me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

But mostly I’m loving the existence of all of us in community together, picture book writers who don’t believe this precious genre is on the way out.

Carol Coven Grannick writes picture books, middle grade and young adult fiction, and personal essays. Her regular column, The Irrepressible Writer, appears in the SCBWI-Illinois PRAIRE WIND (http://illinois-scbwi.org) and she blogs about her creative process at http://TodayIAmAWriter.blogspot.com. As a writer/clinical social worker, she has an archive of articles about how to create and maintain resilience for the writing life at: http://TheIrrepressibleWriter.com and counsels/coaches individuals and groups on caring for the inner journey of the writing life.

Categories: 12 x 12, Agents, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Creativity, Goals, Guest Blogging, Picture Books, Publishing, Queries, SCBWI, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, Agents, Author, Authors, Carol Coven Grannick, Creativity, Goals, Guest Blog, Julie Hedlund, Picture Books, Publication, Queries, SCBWI, Tuesday 12 x 12, Works in Progress, Writing

March 2013 12 x 12 Winner

02. April 2013 · 18 comments

March has come and gone, so let’s draw our third 12 x 12 winner! The prize is a Picture Book Critique from March’s featured author Carmela LaVigna Coyle!

And the winner is …

Penny Klostermann

Penny, please contact me at JulieFHedlund (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize.

Congratulations Penny and KEEP WRITING everyone!

Categories: 12 x 12, 12 x 12 Featured Author, Children's Books, Giveaway, Picture Books, Works in Progress, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, 12 x 12 Featured Author, Author, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Giveaway, Picture Books, Works in Progress, Writer, Writing

David L. Harrison, April 12 x 12 Featured Author

01. April 2013 · 115 comments

David Harrison (far right) at the Highlights Foundation Poetry Workshop

April is celebrated as being the beginning of spring, but for writers, it’s also the beginning of poetry month. So I arranged a special treat for you this month. Our featured author, David Harrison, is the author of more than 100 books, many of which are collections of poetry.

I had the amazing good fortune of meeting David and working with him last year at the Highlights Foundation Poetry for All workshop. He is humble, gracious, funny, and ferociously talented. It was an honor to learn from him, and I wanted to bring that experience to you.

David was generous enough to fit me into his very busy schedule with a Skype interview, which I intended to take 20-30 minutes. We ended up on that call for an HOUR!

One tragedy is that, despite testing the call recorder to make sure it was working (the test worked just fine), the rest of the interview ended up with still, frozen images of us. I certainly didn’t want to make you stare at us like that for the duration of the interview, so I added photos to accompany specific topics during our talk. I’ve divided the interview into seven parts according to theme. This way you can enjoy them in stages if you don’t have time to watch them all at once.

One caveat: In some cases the videos might seem to end abruptly, but that’s because we didn’t break the conversation up into themes – I did that separately. Any parts that don’t come across as well as they should are entirely my error and not David’s.

David has very generously offered to give away one critique to a lucky 12 x 12 winner. Having worked with him, I know how phenomenal his feedback is. THANK YOU again to David for giving so much of your time and talent. Welcome!

In case the formatting doesn’t come through categorizing the videos, here is the order of the videos by topic.

Part I: Introduction and Reading Your Work Aloud
Part 2: David’s Writing Journey
Part 3: Importance of Theme in Children’s Poetry
Part 4: Impact Common Core State Standards
Part 5: e-Publishing for Poetry Collections
Part 6: Writing Rhyming Picture Books vs. Poetry
Part 7: Final Words of Wisdom

Part I: Introduction and Reading Your Work Aloud

Part 2: David’s Writing Journey

Part 3: Importance of Theme in Children’s Poetry

Part 4: Impact Common Core State Standards

Part 5: e-Publishing for Poetry Collections

Part 6: Writing Rhyming Picture Books vs. Poetry

Part 7: Final Words of Wisdom

Categories: 12 x 12 Featured Author, Authors, Children's Books, Creativity, Digital Publishing, Friendship, Giveaway, Goals, Picture Books, Poetry, Publishing, Rhyming, Self Publishing, Works in Progress, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, 12 x 12 Featured Author, Author, Authors, Children's Books, Creativity, David L. Harrison, Digital Publishing, e-publishing, Friendship, Giveaway, Goals, Highlights Foundation, Julie Hedlund, Picture Books, Poetry, Publishing, Rhyming, Works in Progress, Writing

Tuesday 12 x 12: Vivian Kirkfield

19. March 2013 · 97 comments

This post from today’s 12 x 12 author Vivian Kirkfield took my breath away! Look how much she has accomplished over the past year! I am both honored and humbled that 12 x 12 was among sparks that lit her creative bonfire. Vivian’s experience epitomizes everything I aim and hope for with 12 x 12 — that people find a safe place to learn, become part of a caring community and stretch themselves as writers. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I did. Welcome Vivian!

I love books! As a young child, I was small in stature and people would stare at what looked like a walking stack of books when I left the library. This obsession love for books of any genre continued throughout my life. To be perfectly honest though, picture books had me from the first page turn.

As a kindergarten and Head Start teacher, I read picture books with my students. When I became a mom, my children might not have had all of the newest and most popular toys…but they ALWAYS had lots of picture books. And I enjoyed scribbling stories for them as we waited at the doctor’s office or sat in the car on long road trips. Sadly, most of those stories were lost during our many moves…and not one of those stories was ever submitted.

Fast forward to 2012…through a stroke of luck/karma/destiny…I connected with Julie Hedlund…discovered 12×12…and embarked on a year of sheer bliss and happiness. And 12×12 in 2013 is even more supercalifragilisticexpealidocious!

For me, there is a magical quality surrounding 12×12. Miraculous things occur:

DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE: I now know where I am headed (most of the time…and my husband might disagree). I write every day (picture book stories in addition to checks to pay the bills). This year, as a Golden Level Member, I’m able to submit to agents without the angst and anxiety of finding them myself…although now, because of 12×12, I know I can do that.
COMMUNITY AND RESOURCES: Being part of this group is like coming home…there is support and encouragement from other members. I can honestly say I’ve never been part of a more generous group of people. I even found my amazing online international critique group here (big wave to Hannah, Tina, Diane, Carrie and Allie). The 12×12 Facebook page is a treasure trove of information about query letters and agent submission and contests and everything writing picture books. If you have a question, ask it…someone will provide an answer. If you have a problem…post it…someone will offer a solution. And everyone really CARES…about each other…and everyone is genuinely happy when success comes knocking at someone’s door/mailbox. There is a sharing of knowledge, expertise and LOVE that shines through each comment.

In September of 2010, I published a book to help parents and teachers. I wanted to get it ‘out there’ in social media-land even though I always shrank (and being so small, I have no inches to spare) from technology. I set up an author website. I started a parenting blog. I got active on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, Pinterest…and I’m still hobbling along learning every day.

In 2012, because of 12×12, I wrote twelve picture book drafts, entered several writing challenges and contests, did PiBoIdMo and won Emma Walton Hamilton’s Just Write For Kids online picture book writing course (thank you, Julie and Emma!). Best of all, I connected with amazing people and will be speaking at the 2013 Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore this May…because of one of those connections.

So, what does 12×12 have in store for me this year? I’ve already written two picture book drafts. I submitted my first-ever picture book query in January and clicked ‘send’ for my first-ever picture book manuscript submission in February. I also submitted a story for the Highlights Fiction Contest. I’m polishing up a new picture book story and will be submitting it to agent Tricia Lawrence later this month, as well as to the SCBWI Barbara Karlin Grant competition.

The best thing is that I am having so much fun. When I retired this past December, my younger son told me, “Mom, you are turning to the next page in the book of your life.” 12×12 is definitely a very important chapter in that book!

Vivian Kirkfield is an educator and mom. Her mission: help children become lovers of books and reading and empower parents with tools and tactics that make the difficult job of parenting a little easier and a lot more fun. She believes that one of the most important tasks of parenthood is to read with children. When she is not hiking and fly-fishing in the Colorado Rockies with her husband of 45 years, Vivian is reading, crafting and cooking with local kindergarten classes…and writing picture book stories, of course.

Categories: 12 x 12, Authors, Books, Friendship, Guest Blogging, Parenting, PiBoIdMo, Picture Books, Queries, SCBWI, Social Media, Works in Progress, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Friendship, Goals, Guest Blogging, PiBoIdMo, Picture Books, Queries, SCBWI, Social Media, Works in Progress, Writing

Tuesday 12 x 12: Sylvia Liu

12. March 2013 · 44 comments

Today it is my pleasure to bring Sylvia Liu to the Tuesday 12 x 12 series. This is Sylvia’s second year partaking of the challenge, and she has been a huge supporter and enthusiastic giver of her expertise the whole time. Sylvia understands the value of external motivation and peer support and how both are vital to growing as a writer. She gives freely of her knowledge on her blog and website, and I highly encourage you to go there after you read her post today to be wowed by her amazing art. Here is a woman headed for high places. Please welcome Sylvia!

The Value of Critiques

by Sylvia Liu

Sometimes when you write a story, don’t you feel it’s just perfect, and you can’t wait to send it to a publisher or agent so that you can be discovered already? Yeah, I felt that way about a recent manuscript. I shared it with one of my critique friends, and she essentially said, “meh.” She also gave me some great suggestions to improve it. After I got over my shock that she didn’t think this would be the next worldwide picture book bestseller, I realized all over again why it is so important to have my work critiqued by others.

1. The Story in Your Head is Not What is Written.

When I write, I know the feelings and images I want to convey. But the words I choose are rooted in my own experiences and emotions that are not necessarily universal. Someone who doesn’t share my worldview, sense of humor, or baggage background may not get the same feelings from my words. By trusting my story to fresh eyes, I can gauge how close I am to achieving my intended effect.

2. A Writer Does Half the Job; the Reader Does the Rest.

The corollary is that, in any story, the reader brings her own life experiences. A good story takes a life of its own as people react to it in different ways. Critiques help me discover the range of reactions a story elicits. For example, in one story I shared, half the readers thought one of the main characters was imaginary and the rest thought he was real. I had intended him to be real, but I liked the other interpretation too. As I refine the story, I will consciously keep the ambiguity.

3. Any Story, No Matter How Brilliant, Can Be Improved.

No matter what level of writing we are at, constructive criticism can improve our work. Even the most accomplished writer can get too attached to a hard-won turn of phrase or lovingly created scene that may not move the story forward. Writers who know the rules (such as show, don’t tell; use active voice; raise the stakes) can use reminders. And writers exploring unfamiliar genres may need to learn the conventions (for example, the Rule of Threes in picture books).

4. Critiquing Others Will Help You Grow as a Writer.

Author Sarah Pinneo recently wrote an article on how critiquing queries is a great way to improve one’s own queries. It’s so much easier to identify ways to improve other people’s manuscripts, even as I struggle with the same issues. And once I notice a common pitfall enough times, I try to avoid it in my own writing.

5. All of the Above Applies to My Art as Well.

In some ways, I need less feedback on my illustrations because I can compare the finished project with my mental image. But I have still found critiques to be invaluable. Comments on composition, color choices, perspective and other issues that I did not notice have all been instrumental in making my pieces stronger.

12 x 12 is A Great Place to Get Critiques

Because of all these reasons, one of the best parts of 12 x 12 for me has been all the opportunities for getting critiques of my work: (1) the first 250 words in the Forum; (2) the ability to connect with critique partners, and (3) the PB Illustrators Critique Group, a Facebook group open to illustrators in 12 x 12. It is also through 12 x 12 that I discovered Rate Your Story, a great way to get free professional critiques of picture book manuscripts.

All who have critiqued my work have been generous with their knowledge and constructive in their criticisms. Without a doubt, my work has improved as a direct result.

Sylvia Liu is a former environmental lawyer turned artist/illustrator/writer. She is working on several picture book projects and developing an illustrated chapter book. She blogs about children’s illustration, picture books, ebooks, infographics, and Blogger tips at Sylvia Liu Land. Check out her portfolio, Art and Illustration by Sylvia Liu, or find her on Twitter @artsylliu, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+.

Categories: 12 x 12, Authors, Children's Books, Creativity, Goals, Guest Blogging, Picture Books, Works in Progress, Writing · Tags: 12 x 12, Author, Authors, Children's Books, Creativity, Goals, Guest Blogging, Illustration, Julie Hedlund, Picture Books, Sylvia Liu, Tuesday 12 x 12, Works in Progress, Writing