In the next several weeks I will be having some guest posts and interviews here on The Write Stuff. As we all know, one of the best ways to learn is by talking with others.
Beginning on this coming Monday, February 13, I will be reviewing Hazel Mitchell's new book, Hidden New Jersey. Later on this month you will be able to read interviews with both Erik, This Kid Reviews Books, as well as Julie Foster Hedlund.
Keep watching here, and come back soon!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
I Am Officially a PUBLISHED Children's Author!
I am thrilled to share the news with all of you that I am now officially a PUBLISHED children's author!
Today I received an email from uTales that my book had been approved. . . and published.
As an author, it is one thing to think that your story is worth sharing, but to have a panel of editors agree with you is an unbelievable rush. I have not stopped smiling since that email came in, and I am already excited to work on the next one.
I was very fortunate with work with illustrator, Barb Dragony. Her beautiful pictures bring the story to life. Barb did a fantastic job of adding animation and sounds to the story. Barb, I cannot thank you enough for all of the time and hard work that you put into Annie and Me.
Each day I am more and more amazed about how digital publishing is changing the world of children's literature. Our children are developing a different style of reading than we did as children. I am eager to see how this trend continues over the next several years.
I invite you to read Annie and Me . It is the story of young Olivia, whose best friend, Annie, has moved away. Olivia and her mother travel to visit Annie in her new home reminiscing about the girls' past adventures.
I hope that the story makes you smile as much as it has made me smile today.
I want to especially thank the 4 girls who inspired this story-- Emma, Allison, Julia, and Ellie. Without the four of you and your special friendships, this story never would have been written.
Thank you to Rob, my husband, for putting up with my years of agonizing over this story, and for believing in me to get it accomplished.
Today I received an email from uTales that my book had been approved. . . and published.
As an author, it is one thing to think that your story is worth sharing, but to have a panel of editors agree with you is an unbelievable rush. I have not stopped smiling since that email came in, and I am already excited to work on the next one.
I was very fortunate with work with illustrator, Barb Dragony. Her beautiful pictures bring the story to life. Barb did a fantastic job of adding animation and sounds to the story. Barb, I cannot thank you enough for all of the time and hard work that you put into Annie and Me.
Each day I am more and more amazed about how digital publishing is changing the world of children's literature. Our children are developing a different style of reading than we did as children. I am eager to see how this trend continues over the next several years.
I invite you to read Annie and Me . It is the story of young Olivia, whose best friend, Annie, has moved away. Olivia and her mother travel to visit Annie in her new home reminiscing about the girls' past adventures.
I hope that the story makes you smile as much as it has made me smile today.
I want to especially thank the 4 girls who inspired this story-- Emma, Allison, Julia, and Ellie. Without the four of you and your special friendships, this story never would have been written.
Thank you to Rob, my husband, for putting up with my years of agonizing over this story, and for believing in me to get it accomplished.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thoughts from Ann Whitford Paul
As I have told you all before, I have become a huge fan of Ann Whitford Paul and her book, Writing Picture Books. I have found her teachings to be very helpful to me in my execution of my story ideas.
Recently I asked Ann, "How does an author know when a manuscript is ready to submit?" Here is what she said:
That’s a very interesting question and one that I’ve been grappling with in regards to a novel I just sent off to my agent.
Thomas Mann said, “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than for other people.” We know that it takes work to structure a story and find the right words. A lot of work—months, years. We think of the story constantly—when we take a walk, bake a cake, clean out the closets. It’s always with us. We polish, we share it with other writers, we put it away. We bring it back out. So when to let go?
I think the problem comes from our insecurity recognizing that a manuscript rarely lives up to the image of the story we have in our head. We want perfection and there is no such animal. There is always something more a writer can do with a story. That’s a given. I love this quote by the writer Gene Fowler, “A book is never finished. It’s abandoned.”
With my latest manuscript, I found I was going over and over and over it again, shifting chapters, revising language, upping the tension, bringing out the characters until I thought I’d go punchy. Everyone in my writing group told me to send it off, but I couldn’t let go until I realized I could spend the rest of my life revising and still have more to go. I’d done it all—even reading the 50,000 word manuscript out loud. Each change sends ripple effects through the manuscript, but at some point one has to stop.
So what made me stop? Number one, the basic story flowed. I had three acts, the drama came at the end and the ending was satisfying but not perfectly wrapped up. The big issues had been handled to the best of my ability.
Number two—I had checked and re-checked my research. Facts I knew in my gut were correct, I still persisted in going back to the research just to be sure—a huge waste of time.
Number three—because my novel was based during the revolutionary war, I made many visits to my trusty Oxford
And Number four, I realized that I was down to nit-picky revisions . . . working on word choice and punctuation and this was the killer I was changing some words only to return at a latter time and changing the words back to the original.
In summary, I had gone as far as I could go with the story. It was time for a fresh eye. That’s when to send your manuscript out.
Ann Whitford Paul writes picture books, poetry, and early readers. She was won a large variety of awards for her work including the New York Times Notable Books, and the Carl Sandbug Award for Children's Literature. In addition to her writing, she teaches workshops and does school visit on both writing and quilting.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
My Writing Process
Today as I was scrolling through all of the fabulous blogs that I follow, I came across Write it Sideways by Suzannah Windsor Freeman. She discusses how to embrace the writing process as a whole. It is an EXCELLENT post, and I encourage you all to read it by clicking on her name up above.
Thank you Suzannah for inspiring me to take a closer look at my own writing process. In order for me to examine what it is that I truly do, I have made a list below. I love to make lists! So here we go...
1. I make a lists of all of the story ideas that are randomly floating around in my head. This could include titles, character names, and funny one-liners. You name it, I have written it down on sticky notes, my hand, or even the back of a grocery list. . . somewhere.
2. I write it out long hand. I always write my first draft long hand with a blue ball point pen. I cross out, scribble, and rewrite in teeny-tiny writing all over that page. I squeeze thoughts into the margins. I make arrows. I carry that pad of paper with me wherever I go, and by the time I am done with that first draft that paper looks as if it has gone through my 3 year old nephew's grubby hands.
3. I decipher what I have written and I type it into my computer, editing along the way. For me, editing is not a one shot deal. It is a constant component of my writing process, and I do it from before I actually write things down on that first sticky note.
4. Print it out and write all over it in many different colors. I really edit! Recently I have been sitting down with Writing PIcture Books, by Ann Whitford Paul and using it as a guide (BE SURE TO CHECK THIS BLOG ON MONDAY AS ANN WHITFORD PAUL WILL BE GUEST POSTING). I have re-read this book so many times, you would think that I would have it memorized by now, but I don't--I discover something new each time. I sit with my manuscript, and I go through the book chapter by chapter doing each of her assignments. This part of my writing process has truly helped me to tighten my story and to bring out the best in each of my characters.
5. I send to my critique group. This is always hard for me. I sit waiting for their emails to return saying, "Sandi, send this out! It is ready! Can I have an autographed copy?" This hasn't happened. . . yet, but maybe someday. When I receive their critiques I quickly read them over, and then I let their thoughts mill around in my brain for a while.
6. I print and write all over it again. I carefully examine the comments that my critique group has offered and I pick through what I agree with and what I don't. I HAVE TO ALWAYS REMIND MYSELF THAT THEIR CRITIQUES ARE MERELY THEIR OPINIONS AND I AM THE AUTHOR. I GET TO DECIDE WHAT ULTIMATELY WORKS FOR THE STORY (AND FOR ME) AND WHAT DOESN'T. After making the suggested changes I will frequently send it out to them again.
7. Now here is where I get impatient-- I now believe that I have written the best story ever told and I start to research potential agents and publishing houses to represent me on my WORLD BOOK TOUR. I begin to think about going shopping for what to wear when the Queen of England invites me over to the palace to sign her personal copy while we sip tea.
8. I come back to earth and wait for their return comments. I also begin to share my story with children. I like to see what they think. My 12 year old always has insightful comments like "Mom, no one uses the word GROOVY anymore. Stop sounding so old!" Or, "you know Mom, that word might be too difficult for a 4 year old to understand."
9. I now repeat step 4 and then bite off all of my fingernails.
10. When I finally feel like I am tweaking just for the sake of tweaking I move on to my disorganized submission process... but I will save that for another post.
Thank you Suzannah for inspiring me to take a closer look at my own writing process. In order for me to examine what it is that I truly do, I have made a list below. I love to make lists! So here we go...
1. I make a lists of all of the story ideas that are randomly floating around in my head. This could include titles, character names, and funny one-liners. You name it, I have written it down on sticky notes, my hand, or even the back of a grocery list. . . somewhere.
2. I write it out long hand. I always write my first draft long hand with a blue ball point pen. I cross out, scribble, and rewrite in teeny-tiny writing all over that page. I squeeze thoughts into the margins. I make arrows. I carry that pad of paper with me wherever I go, and by the time I am done with that first draft that paper looks as if it has gone through my 3 year old nephew's grubby hands.
3. I decipher what I have written and I type it into my computer, editing along the way. For me, editing is not a one shot deal. It is a constant component of my writing process, and I do it from before I actually write things down on that first sticky note.
4. Print it out and write all over it in many different colors. I really edit! Recently I have been sitting down with Writing PIcture Books, by Ann Whitford Paul and using it as a guide (BE SURE TO CHECK THIS BLOG ON MONDAY AS ANN WHITFORD PAUL WILL BE GUEST POSTING). I have re-read this book so many times, you would think that I would have it memorized by now, but I don't--I discover something new each time. I sit with my manuscript, and I go through the book chapter by chapter doing each of her assignments. This part of my writing process has truly helped me to tighten my story and to bring out the best in each of my characters.
5. I send to my critique group. This is always hard for me. I sit waiting for their emails to return saying, "Sandi, send this out! It is ready! Can I have an autographed copy?" This hasn't happened. . . yet, but maybe someday. When I receive their critiques I quickly read them over, and then I let their thoughts mill around in my brain for a while.
6. I print and write all over it again. I carefully examine the comments that my critique group has offered and I pick through what I agree with and what I don't. I HAVE TO ALWAYS REMIND MYSELF THAT THEIR CRITIQUES ARE MERELY THEIR OPINIONS AND I AM THE AUTHOR. I GET TO DECIDE WHAT ULTIMATELY WORKS FOR THE STORY (AND FOR ME) AND WHAT DOESN'T. After making the suggested changes I will frequently send it out to them again.
7. Now here is where I get impatient-- I now believe that I have written the best story ever told and I start to research potential agents and publishing houses to represent me on my WORLD BOOK TOUR. I begin to think about going shopping for what to wear when the Queen of England invites me over to the palace to sign her personal copy while we sip tea.
8. I come back to earth and wait for their return comments. I also begin to share my story with children. I like to see what they think. My 12 year old always has insightful comments like "Mom, no one uses the word GROOVY anymore. Stop sounding so old!" Or, "you know Mom, that word might be too difficult for a 4 year old to understand."
9. I now repeat step 4 and then bite off all of my fingernails.
10. When I finally feel like I am tweaking just for the sake of tweaking I move on to my disorganized submission process... but I will save that for another post.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Where it all began.. .
Now that I have decided to devote so much of my time to developing a career as an author, I had to take some time to think about why.
Why do I want to pursue a career that will, most likely: result in a great deal of rejection, bring me very little money, take more time than a standard 40 hour work week, and frustrate me to no end?
The answer is not simple, but it makes a lot of sense to me.
When I was a little girl I always loved to write. I wrote letters to my friends and wrote long messages on birthday cards for my family members. I also loved to read.. . .in fact, today I read to my children some of the original copies of my childhood favorites. I can't believe that both my mother and I saved them all of these years. My children frequently remind me of my age and comment on how those books belong in an antique book store.
I also loved to read until I got to high school. Before high school I was able to read for the joy of reading, with the occasional book report. I selected the books that I wanted to, and if I wanted to read a favorite over and over I could. In high school, however, that changed. I had to read the books that my teachers required of me and then analyze them. I disliked looking for symbolism--it bothered me that we had to try to figure out the author's thought process. I believed that sometimes authors simply wrote a story for the sake of the story--nothing more. This picking apart of a book actually backfired on my teachers' intentions. . . beyond my homework, I didn't read anything for my own pleasure beyond a magazine article for almost 20 years. This is incredibly sad and embarrassing to me. I was a poor model to my own students as well as to my children.
While reading was a downer for me in high school, writing picked up for me. I will never forget the Advanced Expository Writing class that I took with Mrs. Edington. She was a fantastic teacher and settled for nothing less than perfection with a smile. I was driven to prove to her that I could attain the goal which she had set. In fact, that year I wrote a story that was entered into a state writing contest. As the grand prize winner I let a group of students to the state capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin and presented all of the winning stories to Governor Tommy Thompson. I can even remember what I was wearing that day!
From that day on I joined the school newspaper, and continued to take a variety of different writing classes in college--still not reading.
About 7 years ago my husband and I experienced a tragic event and I needed to get some things off of my chest. In an attempt to write a journal entry, my first picture book came out. I loved it! Despite the topic, I loved the rush that I got from putting it down on paper. I love the rush that I got from editing, and I loved the rush that I got when I went to the mailbox to see if a publisher liked it. It never made it to the shelves, but it did jump start me.
I have been writing ever since. I always have a story running through my head. I keep pads of paper next to my bed, in my purse, in my car, and any where else that I can stash one. Today, I love analyzing a story! In fact, editing is my favorite part of writing.
Going back to the beginning. . .why do I want to pursue a career as an author?
It excites me. It has always excited me. It just took a while to discover why, but now that I know. . . I am driven to attain the goals that I set for myself.
Why do I want to pursue a career that will, most likely: result in a great deal of rejection, bring me very little money, take more time than a standard 40 hour work week, and frustrate me to no end?
The answer is not simple, but it makes a lot of sense to me.
When I was a little girl I always loved to write. I wrote letters to my friends and wrote long messages on birthday cards for my family members. I also loved to read.. . .in fact, today I read to my children some of the original copies of my childhood favorites. I can't believe that both my mother and I saved them all of these years. My children frequently remind me of my age and comment on how those books belong in an antique book store.
I also loved to read until I got to high school. Before high school I was able to read for the joy of reading, with the occasional book report. I selected the books that I wanted to, and if I wanted to read a favorite over and over I could. In high school, however, that changed. I had to read the books that my teachers required of me and then analyze them. I disliked looking for symbolism--it bothered me that we had to try to figure out the author's thought process. I believed that sometimes authors simply wrote a story for the sake of the story--nothing more. This picking apart of a book actually backfired on my teachers' intentions. . . beyond my homework, I didn't read anything for my own pleasure beyond a magazine article for almost 20 years. This is incredibly sad and embarrassing to me. I was a poor model to my own students as well as to my children.
While reading was a downer for me in high school, writing picked up for me. I will never forget the Advanced Expository Writing class that I took with Mrs. Edington. She was a fantastic teacher and settled for nothing less than perfection with a smile. I was driven to prove to her that I could attain the goal which she had set. In fact, that year I wrote a story that was entered into a state writing contest. As the grand prize winner I let a group of students to the state capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin and presented all of the winning stories to Governor Tommy Thompson. I can even remember what I was wearing that day!
From that day on I joined the school newspaper, and continued to take a variety of different writing classes in college--still not reading.
About 7 years ago my husband and I experienced a tragic event and I needed to get some things off of my chest. In an attempt to write a journal entry, my first picture book came out. I loved it! Despite the topic, I loved the rush that I got from putting it down on paper. I love the rush that I got from editing, and I loved the rush that I got when I went to the mailbox to see if a publisher liked it. It never made it to the shelves, but it did jump start me.
I have been writing ever since. I always have a story running through my head. I keep pads of paper next to my bed, in my purse, in my car, and any where else that I can stash one. Today, I love analyzing a story! In fact, editing is my favorite part of writing.
Going back to the beginning. . .why do I want to pursue a career as an author?
It excites me. It has always excited me. It just took a while to discover why, but now that I know. . . I am driven to attain the goals that I set for myself.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Ann Whitford Paul--Stay Tuned
Hello Everyone-
We have been honored to have Ann Whitford Paul prepare a guest post for The Write Stuff.
Keep checking back, as I will post her thoughts next week!
We have been honored to have Ann Whitford Paul prepare a guest post for The Write Stuff.
Keep checking back, as I will post her thoughts next week!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
All this, AND my shoes are on the correct feet!
I recently bumped into an old acquaintance who said to me, "Sandi, you look great! Your hair is brushed, your clothes are clean, and your shoes are on the correct feet. How do you keep yourself smiling while raising 4 energetic daughters, taking care of your husband, and crazy dog. . .all while trying to launch a career as a children's author."
I answered her with a simple, "A moms gotta do, what a moms gotta do."
During my drive home from the store I began to rethink my answer. I decided that I am a fantastic multi-tasker.
Here is a sample day:
5:45 am- begin hitting snooze bar on the alarm clock so that I can get up by 6:10
6:10 am- take out dog and begin to wake girls for school (while walking between bedrooms I collect dirty laundry and check phone just in case that 6 figure book deal came in while I was sleeping.
7:00 am- load girls into mom-mobile and drive to school. At every red light I exercise by doing stomach squeezes to try and tighten that twin skin. My twins may be 6 1/2 years old, and they say that skin won't go back into place without a little help from a plastic surgeon, but I am going to keep trying.
7:45-8:15 am-- drive to grocery store and call my parents (on hands-free speaker phone only) to check in for the day
8:15 am-- grocery shopping. I try to pick out healthy foods that my picky daughters will eat. At the same time, I work on rhyming words with the items on my list (eggs = begs, milk = silk, granola = flanola. . . ok, not always so successful here)
9:30 am- take mom-mobile to dealership for oil change and tire rotation. While waiting, I work on editing the manuscripts for the members of my critique groups.
11:45 am- home, let the dog out, and hit the shower. I exercise while blow drying my hair with butt kickers and calf raises.
1:00 pm- eat lunch and fold Mt. St. Laundry all while catching up on listening to Katie Davis podcasts.
2:00-3:00 pm- work on my own writing, catch up on emails and reading blogs of my colleagues, all while taking care of the dog. He gets his tummy scratches while sitting on my lap. He is a great critique partner, because he likes EVERYTHING!
3:00 pm- drive to school pick up and listen to news on the radio, once again while exercising. Butt squeezes at the red lights.
3:20 pm- arrive at school and park in the car line. Here I continue to revise my own work. In fact, I am sitting in the car line right now while working on the blog post.
4:00 pm- arrive home with starving children and try to convince them that after school is time for a snack and not a meal. At the same time I am trying to decide what to make for the next meal in just a few hours
4:30-6:30 pm- homework for 1st, 5th, and 7th grade (I sure hope that the 7th grader doesn't have math tonight). 5th grader is doing a lot of writing projects this year so I get the opportunity to work on my editing skills.
8:00 pm. tuck 6 year olds into bed and read 3 picture books to each one. While reading to the girls I study the books for the latest lesson that I am working on for Anastasia Suen's online Picture Book Intensive class that I am taking.
9:00 pm- tuck in 10 and 12 year olds. 12 year old still likes it when I tell her a story. She gives me a topic (usually mermaids or unicorns) and I create an impromptu adventure.
9:30 pm- watch recorded TV with hubby (bet you thought that I forgot about him)
At the end of the day there is still laundry to be done and groceries that I forgot on my list, but everyone is safe and sound and ready to repeat it all again the next day.
Thank you family for your patience with me, as I have now figured out that I am an inefficient and scattered multi-tasker, so that I can become the children's author that I someday hope to be.
I answered her with a simple, "A moms gotta do, what a moms gotta do."
During my drive home from the store I began to rethink my answer. I decided that I am a fantastic multi-tasker.
Here is a sample day:
5:45 am- begin hitting snooze bar on the alarm clock so that I can get up by 6:10
6:10 am- take out dog and begin to wake girls for school (while walking between bedrooms I collect dirty laundry and check phone just in case that 6 figure book deal came in while I was sleeping.
7:00 am- load girls into mom-mobile and drive to school. At every red light I exercise by doing stomach squeezes to try and tighten that twin skin. My twins may be 6 1/2 years old, and they say that skin won't go back into place without a little help from a plastic surgeon, but I am going to keep trying.
7:45-8:15 am-- drive to grocery store and call my parents (on hands-free speaker phone only) to check in for the day
8:15 am-- grocery shopping. I try to pick out healthy foods that my picky daughters will eat. At the same time, I work on rhyming words with the items on my list (eggs = begs, milk = silk, granola = flanola. . . ok, not always so successful here)
9:30 am- take mom-mobile to dealership for oil change and tire rotation. While waiting, I work on editing the manuscripts for the members of my critique groups.
11:45 am- home, let the dog out, and hit the shower. I exercise while blow drying my hair with butt kickers and calf raises.
1:00 pm- eat lunch and fold Mt. St. Laundry all while catching up on listening to Katie Davis podcasts.
3:00 pm- drive to school pick up and listen to news on the radio, once again while exercising. Butt squeezes at the red lights.
3:20 pm- arrive at school and park in the car line. Here I continue to revise my own work. In fact, I am sitting in the car line right now while working on the blog post.
4:00 pm- arrive home with starving children and try to convince them that after school is time for a snack and not a meal. At the same time I am trying to decide what to make for the next meal in just a few hours
4:30-6:30 pm- homework for 1st, 5th, and 7th grade (I sure hope that the 7th grader doesn't have math tonight). 5th grader is doing a lot of writing projects this year so I get the opportunity to work on my editing skills.
8:00 pm. tuck 6 year olds into bed and read 3 picture books to each one. While reading to the girls I study the books for the latest lesson that I am working on for Anastasia Suen's online Picture Book Intensive class that I am taking.
9:00 pm- tuck in 10 and 12 year olds. 12 year old still likes it when I tell her a story. She gives me a topic (usually mermaids or unicorns) and I create an impromptu adventure.
9:30 pm- watch recorded TV with hubby (bet you thought that I forgot about him)
At the end of the day there is still laundry to be done and groceries that I forgot on my list, but everyone is safe and sound and ready to repeat it all again the next day.
Thank you family for your patience with me, as I have now figured out that I am an inefficient and scattered multi-tasker, so that I can become the children's author that I someday hope to be.
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