Nancy I. Sanders's Blog, page 38

A Special Day

Do you know what today is? It’s a special day! A brand new event!

It’s Bring Your Bible to School Day!

When I found out that this was the second year in a row that this event is being hosted all across America, I wished I had a school I could go to just to take part! But then I heard folks talking about how we could bring our Bible to Facebook or to our blogs, so I got excited about joining in on the fun.

You see, when I was a kid, I remember staying inside for recess one day in my fifth grade homeroom. I grew up in PA and it must have been too cold to go out that day. My teacher was sitting at her desk reading.

I loved my teacher and I loved reading, so I sidled up next to her at her desk and asked her what she was reading. “My Bible,” she gently explained. “I love to read it every day.”

Wow.

That impacted me big time. So much so that when I got to junior high and became a Christian, I started to read my Bible every day, too. And I got such a hunger for reading the Bible that it was only natural for me to carry it in my backpack and read it any time I had a break, too. The Bible encouraged me. It helped me through many difficult days. It reassured me of God’s love for me. It taught me right from wrong.

In fact, many of my friends would see me reading my Bible at school and would ask about it. I’d share with them something wonderful I was reading and they’d get encouraged, too.

I never thought about it…it was just a natural part of my growing up. I carried my Bible with me all the way up through high school, too. I carried it with me when I was in college. And when I was working as a camp counselor for public school outdoor education, I carried it with me to read on my breaks as well. In fact, my husband shares how before we discovered we liked each other, he always knew I was nearby when he’d see my Bible on one of the little end tables in the break room. (He was my boss, lol.)

I still read my Bible every day. It feeds me. It sustains me. And still after all these years it encourages me and shines a light on the dark path in front of me. It defines me as a writer and as a person in this crazy world today.

So in honor of today’s event, I thought I’d share a couple of my favorite verses with you. And if you’d like to join in the celebration, post some of your favorite Scriptures on your social media sites, too!

Oh, how I love Your law!

It is my mediation all the day.

-Psalm 119:97

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

-Psalm 119:105

Happy BRING YOUR BIBLE TO SCHOOL day!

(Here’s a photo of my cat Pitterpat trying to choose which Bible story book she’d like to take today!)

Filed under: Inspiration

Nonfiction for Children’s Magazines: The Topic

I hope you’re going to join me in writing a nonfiction article to submit to a children’s magazine. Or if you’re not going to actually write one right now because your schedule is too jam-packed, you can at least follow along to see the steps I take as a working writer so when you’re ready to write your nonfiction article, you can use these to follow as a guide.

One of the main reasons I wanted to write a nonfiction article right now is because I have a TOPIC I want to write about.

For example, I’ve written nonfiction articles for this magazine before. One of my favorites was called BLUE RIBBON MAMA where I shared with kids why a mother alligator should get the Mother’s Day award for being such a good mama! (Do you like the great sign I saw about alligators when we were down in Texas a couple of weeks ago for the NF4NF Conference?! I just had to take a picture of it.)

Where did I get my idea for my topic?

I have been working on a nonfiction picture book. I had just researched a topic I had never researched before. While this information was fresh in my mind, I wanted to use it for something else and get extra mileage for all the hard work I’ve been doing.

Plus, one of my critique group buddies (you know who you are!) had suggested I use a portion of my manuscript that didn’t seem to fit (yes, I had to cut it…ouch!) and recycle it as part of an article for this particular children’s magazine.

So I’m taking her advice and doing it!

All that to say, do you have a TOPIC you’d like to write about for a nonfiction article in a children’s magazine?

If so, great!

If not, go ahead and pick 1-3 potential ideas.

*Perhaps you’ve already researched a topic and would like to get extra mileage from all the hard work you did on that topic.

*Perhaps you’re working on a book manuscript right now that needs research on a certain topic but you just haven’t gotten around to doing that research yet. You could choose that topic to write about in a nonfiction magazine article, research that topic, and then use that research in your book manuscript, too.

*Perhaps you have no clue what you’d like to write about.

No worries! We’ll be talking about topics in an upcoming post so hang in there and see if our discussion will jumpstart some ideas for you! I’ll tell you the name of the magazine I’m writing for, too, so you can see if your topic is a good fit for that same magazine, too.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Nonfiction for Children’s Magazines: Join Me in the Journey!

I sat down this morning to start a new manuscript. It’s a nonfiction article for a children’s magazine.

I gathered all my materials and got settled down to get started.

And then I had a lightbulb moment.

DING!

Would you like to follow along and write a nonfiction article to submit to a children’s magazine, too?

I’ll show you step-by-step the process I go through. You can write one while I write one and then you can submit it to the same magazine I’m submitting to or you can submit it to the children’s magazine of your choice.

I mean, it’s no fun to go on a cruise all by yourself, right?! (Do you like this photo of a cruise ship I took when I was riding the ferry down at Galveston, Texas?) I thought it would be much more fun to do this together!

So get out your pens and pencils. Put on your thinking cap. And join me in the journey ahead if you’d like to write and submit a nonfiction article to a children’s magazine!

We’ll get started in my very next post.

Filed under: Magazines, Nonfiction

Faith Building Fridays: Proclaim!

Sing to the Lord; bless his name.

Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.

Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.

Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

Great is the Lord!

He is most worthy of praise!

-Psalm 96:2-4, NLT

The Lord is worthy! Let us join together to proclaim the wonderful news that He saves! Let us work hard as His scribes to publish words declaring His amazing deeds!

Oh Glorious One! You are worthy to be praised. We praise and adore Your holy name. We sing unto You a new song today. Amen and amen!

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For more faith-building encouragement as a writer, visit my site, Scribes.

Scribes: Devotions for Christian Writers is available at Amazon. What a great gift of encouragement for you to have to start a brand new year as a writer! Add it to your Christmas wish list today.

Filed under: Faith-building Fridays

NF4NF 2016: Be there!

Yesterday I shared links to a list of publishers that I was given when I attended and taught at the NF4NF Conference in Houston, hosted by the wonderful Pat Miller. In that post I mentioned that this conference was “amazing” and that it was the “best” I’ve ever been to.

Today I want to share the details. The nitty gritty. The nuts and bolts. Why did I say that? First of all, let me give you some background. I’ve taught at SCBWI Nationals, SCBWI regional conferences, and Christian conferences near Los Angeles and in Philadelphia. They’ve all been great.

THE TEACHING

But NF4NF was special. Different. First of all, what does NF4NF stand for? NonFiction for New Folks. So if you’re just starting to get your feet wet as a children’s writer in general or as a nonfiction writer for children, you’ll feel right at home. But I found as a professional that there were many “aha!” moments where I LEARNED a strategy that addresses issues I’ve been struggling with to take my writing to the next level. In other words, the TEACHING from all the various faculty was very practical and applicable.

THE COMMUNITY

One of the attendees put it perfectly when she shared how she always feels so lost at a conference. So many people. So many crowds. So impersonal and so competitive. Not so here at NF4NF, she shared! And I agree. Size is limited so the conference is kept small. You get to connect with everyone there. It felt like family!

But the sense of community didn’t stop at the conference. We have a secret Facebook group (shhhh! don’t tell anyone) led by our awesome conference leader Pat Miller where more strategies and tips and links and perks are flying around as people are supporting and encouraging each other towards success as writers.

THE FUN

And it was fun! There was line dancing. (We were in Texas, remember?!) And a fun game called “Contract.” (I was the loser of the entire game, lol!) And piles of gorgeous nonfiction picture books we all had lots and lots of chances to win along with other prizes like beautiful artist journals to sketch our brainstorming ideas in.

THE PAMPERING

Yes, pampering. I felt like I was at a spa for writers. When we arrived at the “classroom” our first morning we were given a composition notebook with a handcrafted scrapbook cover that decorated the front to take our notes. We were given bookmarks decorated with beads. All through the conference, we were given motivational and inspirational talks by our beloved conference leader Pat Miller to follow our theme and ignite our fire for writing.

THE RESOURCES

Get this. There was a LIBRARY of 200 hand-picked best of the best nonfiction children’s books for us to browse through and borrow and learn from during the conference, along with a list of these titles to take home so we can continue the learning! We got handouts like the one listing the current trade book publishers who accept unsolicited manuscript that I shared in my post yesterday here on my blog. And much, much more! These resources are impacting my career as a writer. Yay!

So what are you waiting for?!!! Hop right on over to the site of the NF4NF conference and sign up for updates so you can learn the details about next year’s conference as they come out.

Because if you’re someone who likes to attend a writer’s conference every year, be sure you put this one at the top of your list. And if you’re someone who wishes you could go to a writer’s conference, start saving your money today so you can go. (If you just put $5 in an envelope every single day, in 6 months you’ll have almost a thousand dollars! Skip a coffee or soda each day and save that cash for a good investment!)

I feel like I should add a disclaimer. You know how bloggers put at the bottom of a glowing report on a product that they received the product for free in exchange for their honest opinion? Well, I didn’t do anything like that to make me say this in my post. It’s just that I discovered the golden ticket, a diamond mine, and a buried treasure chest all wrapped up together in this conference for nonfiction children’s writers.

Why am I sharing this? Because I want YOU to experience success as a writer. As I explained at the conference during one of the sessions when I taught, I am a living example that YOU can experience success as a writer. When I started writing, I did everything wrong. How wrong you may ask?

For my first manuscript submission…

I wrote it out by hand…

on lined notebook paper…

in red pen!

Ouch!

And to make matters worse, I dug around and found the address of an author I admired. Because I thought…hey! She got her book published. She could publish my book, too!

Yikes!

In other words, I learned everything the hard way, inch by inch and step by step. But I’ve experienced success in my writing career and I know you can too. I’m confident of it!!!!

And the NF4NF Conference is a great launchpad to help you on your way.

Filed under: Writer Workshops, writer's conferences, Writer's Retreat

Good News for Children’s Writers!!!!

A week and a half ago, my husband Jeff and I packed our bags for Houston and headed to the airport early in the morning only to find out that the entire airport terminal was closed because of a bomb scare! Flashing lights. Police dogs. Helicopters. And crowds of people lugging suitcases standing at a “safe” distance. As we joined the crowd, workers informed us that a police dog had discovered a suspicious suitcase and given the signal for danger.

Well…that was quite a start for our trip, but I’m happy to say that after an hour of investigation they opened the airport and we made it to Houston safe and sound without even missing our connecting flight.

Why were we going to Houston? To attend Pat Miller’s amazing conference for nonfiction children’s writers, NF4NF. I was honored to be part of the faculty.

And boy, am I glad I got to go. Not only was it THE BEST conference I’ve ever attended, I came away with a sense of more hope for us as children’s writers than I’ve had in years.

You see, in recent years when I’ve taught in writing conferences and critiqued manuscripts for children’s writers, when it comes to submitting our manuscripts, I’ve had to paint a bleak picture. Most publishers were requiring agents. The overwhelming process of submission seemed doubly intimidating if not even impossible.

But I am happy to report that is not the case any more! Right now in the children’s industry there are a significant number of big name publishers who have an open door policy for unsolicited submissions. So for those writers who don’t have agents, this is good, good news. In fact this is GREAT NEWS.

The catch is that you do have to do your homework first. Some only take picture book submissions and not children’s novels. Some only take unsolicited submissions if you’ve already been published. Some are very very specific about what they accept and what they don’t. So click on each link to see if it’s a fit for your manuscript. And if it is, then submit! Yay!!! And do a happy dance because this is a wonderful opportunity right now for YOU!

Here is the list of trade book publishers that Pat Miller, the fearless and amazing leader of the NF4NF conference, gave each of us:

TRADE BOOK PUBLISHERS THAT ACCEPT UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS

Arthur A. Levine Books

Albert Whitman and Co.

Boyds Mills Press

Charlesbridge

Chronicle Books

Creston Books

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Holiday House Publishers

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Children

Ideals Publication

Kane Miller

Lee and Low

Peachtree Children’s Books

Isn’t that a great list? Now we have oodles of opportunity to submit our manuscripts in the trade book market!

But wait…there’s more!

If you’ve been following along with my blog this summer you know we’ve talked about all the great opportunity to submit manuscripts in the educational market as well! You can find a list of these publishers at Ev Christensen’s amazing site:

EDUCATIONAL MARKETS FOR CHILDREN’S WRITERS

So what are you waiting for?!!! Get out there and submit your children’s manuscript today.

And while you’re at it, be sure you sign up on Pat Miller’s website so you can get updates on next year’s 2016 NF4NF conference because YOU…WILL…WANT…TO…GO! It’s that amazing!

Filed under: Agents, Conferences, Educational Market, Inspiration

Free Giveaway Raffle!

Announcing a Brand New Release:

ONE SENTENCE STORYBOOKS: BIBLE HEROES!

I’m excited to share that the second set of early readers I wrote has been released in the One Sentence Storybook series.

And guess what?!!!

If you hurry up and hop on over to the site of the blog, My Joy-Filled Life, you can enter for the chance to win this set PLUS the first set in the series, One Sentence Storybooks: Bible Favorites.

Be sure to get these books if you have a child of your own who is learning to read.

Be sure to grab these books if you have a grandchild or niece or nephew who is learning to read. And be sure to buy these books if you’re a home-schooling family or a teacher or librarian at a Christian school where young children are learning to read.

There’s something very unique and special about these little gems. Kids grab them and say, “Look! I’m reading!” But not only is their confidence soaring because of the unique vocabulary-art match and sentence structure that builds in a repetitive way, each book shares a Bible story along with a lesson to teach little hearts about God’s Truth. It’s a win-win combination.

These books make great gifts at baby showers. I’ve found they’re also a great witnessing tool to give to friends and neighbors for families that you’ve been praying about sharing your faith with. Most people are thrilled to see their little ones reading these Bible stories even if they don’t go to church!

To learn more about the One Sentence Bible Stories, CLICK HERE to read an author interview on the publisher’s blog.

And CLICK HERE to learn what even more parents are saying about these books!

Filed under: My Books

Faith Building Fridays: Trust

[God] said to me, “You are my servant

and you will bring me glory.”

I replied, “But my work all seems so useless!

I have spent my strength for nothing

and to no purpose at all.

Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;

I will trust God for my reward.”

And now the Lord speaks–

He who formed me in my mother’s womb

to be his servant,

who commissioned me to bring his people

of Israel back to him.

The Lord has honored me,

and my God has given me strength.

He says, “You will do more than

restore the people of Israel.

I will make you a light to the Gentiles,

and you will bring my salvation

to the ends of the earth.”

-Isaiah 49:3-6, NLT

Wow! What a powerful Scripture for a writer! So often we write and write, but we never see our words published. We feel like all our work and all our effort has been meaningless and accomplished no purpose at all.

Dear Lord, I give it all back into Your hand. I WILL write. If you choose to reward my efforts with publication, money or fame–or not–what is that to me? You have Your purpose! You have called me to be Your scribe. You formed me and commissioned me to write Your words to bring restoration and salvation. You have called me! I will write. Amen.

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For more faith-building encouragement as a writer, visit my site, Scribes.

Scribes: Devotions for Christian Writers is available at Amazon. What a great gift of encouragement for you to have to start a brand new year as a writer! Add it to your Christmas wish list today.

Filed under: Faith-building Fridays

Faith Building Fridays: Grace

My purpose in writing is to encourage you

and assure you that the grace of God

is with you no matter what happens.

-1 Peter 5:12, NLT

Has something happened to discourage you as God’s scribe? Be encouraged! God’s grace is bigger. His plans are more firm. His strength and hope are more powerful. No matter what happens, God’s promises are sure!

Oh Lord God, thank You for encouraging me just when I needed it the most. Help me keep my eyes on Your promises and on Your grace even on the darkest day. Amen.

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For more faith-building encouragement as a writer, visit my site, Scribes.

Scribes: Devotions for Christian Writers is available at Amazon. What a great gift of encouragement for you to have to start a brand new year as a writer! Add it to your Christmas wish list today.

Filed under: Faith-building Fridays

Get Ready for “Talk Like a Pirate Day” This Year!

Ahoy there mateys! Is anybody here planning to celebrate TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY this year with yer wee ones?

Here be a list of fun ways ye can celebrate. It’s this coming Saturday, September 19! Invite yer friends, parents, brothers and sisters, captain, teachers, mateys, and everyone ye know to join in the fun!

1. Talk like a pirate.

2. Dress up in yer pirate gear.

3. Take a nap in a hammock.

4. Dig a hole and bury a box filled with treasure.

5. Say “Ahoy there!” when ye answer the phone.

6. Draw a treasure map.

7. Read A PIRATE’S MOTHER GOOSE.

8. Draw pictures of pirates.

9. Practice saying “Aargh!” in front of a mirror.

10. Sail on a real ship.

11. Dance a jig.

12. Go geocaching on an amazing treasure hunt.

13. Be kind to parrots and monkeys.

14. Swagger when ye walk.

15. Make a pirate craft.

16. Give a bag of gold chocolate coins to yer mates.

17. Play a fiddle.

18. Bake a recipe of hard tack and eat it with yer pirate mateys.

19. Wear buckles on yer shoes.

20. Play a fiddle.

21. Sing a pirate shanty.

22. Decorate a big box to be a pirate ship and sit in it to sail the seven seas!

Yo ho!

Filed under: Picture Books