Nancy I. Sanders's Blog, page 6

REALITY SHOW: KIDLIT WRITER PICKS NEW WORK IN PROGRESS

Welcome back to our Realty Show: KidLit Writer!

My goal is to show you what’s really happening in my corner of the world as a KidLit writer and I hope you’ll comment and share what’s happening in yours!

A couple of weeks ago I finished up a work-in-progress, WIP. I sent it to my agent and the publisher is already looking at it. It was part of a series that’s getting published, so it’s hopefully just a matter of when it will be published, not if, like so many other manuscripts of mine. (Yours too? I hear you!)

But I’ve been wandering around aimlessly since then with just 2 WIPs on my plate when I always like to have 3. Three MAIN ones, that is, to focus on.

Right now what are my other 2?

#1 I’m working on a kid’s devotional. It seems like every Christian KidLit writer I know is getting a kid’s devotional published right now. So I thought, hey, why not try my hand at it, too? It’s not under contract, but I’m hoping it will be picked up after I finish it. (More about that later.)

#2 I’m working on a teacher’s product I can self-publish on Teacher’s Pay Teachers. Zillions of worksheets. Stuff I really have fun writing. It will take me months and months and months at a steady pace to create all the art and design and content for these worksheets, so I’m trying to create a certain number of them every day. (More on this later, too.)

#3 This was my blank plate for the last few weeks. But I’m happy to report, not any more! After I received an email with the Children’s Writer eNews from Jan Fields and the folks at the Institute of Children’s Literature, I got motivated to pick out my new WIP! CLICK HERE to sign up for their free eNews and scroll down to the bottom to find the link. Get in the KNOW!

In the newsletter, Jan shared that a current HOT MARKET is BABYBUG MAGAZINE.

Now, I love BABYBUG MAGAZINE. I have a KidLit writer friend who has written for it. I’ve read it for years, even before I had grandbabies! But now that I have grandbabies and they have a subscription to it, I get to see how much my favorite littles LOVE to read their newest issue of BABYBUG and all the past ones, too.

So after several days of thinking about it, it’s official! I’ve decided to write and submit to BABYBUG. From time to time, it will be fun to share inside peeks with you about what this process looks like. Right here in our very own Reality Show!!!

So that’s what I’ve been doing this week…how about you? What’s happening in your corner of the KidLit world?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

REALITY SHOW: KIDLIT WRITER

I just listened to an amazing Zoom meeting with a successful KidLit writer sharing tips and tools of the trade. As I listened, I found myself longing to know more about this author. How many hours did she write each day? What was her office like? How did she land her contracts with some of those publishers I was wishing I could get published with?

You get the picture…what’s happening behind-the-scenes in this other KidLit writer’s life?

So then I though…hey! You might want to see what’s happening behind-the-scenes in my corner of the world, too. And you could even share in the comments about what’s happening in yours. We could have a kind of reality show going on, LOL, where we let each other see the nitty gritty of what a real KidLit writer’s life is like with all the ups and downs.

So here’s my first share for our new reality show. After watching that free Zoom meeting–yes! it was FREE as are many of the Zoom meetings hosted by the amazing duo, husband and wife team Laura Backes and Jon Bard, at Children’s Book Insider (CBI)–I visited their website and signed up to pay to renew my membership which had lapsed. (That’s why I was so jazzed to get to participate for free even though I needed to catch up on my membership dues.)

Every year I INVEST in tools to help me grow as a writer. You know…market guides, online subscriptions, and how-to-write courses etc. It doesn’t take much, but it’s worth it. I choose very carefully what I invest in and that morning it was time to renew at CBI.

Next on my list is to dig into all the great resources they’ve already provided me! First up: their monthly subscription.

Cover Reveal BEDTIME WITH MOMMY

I’m so excited to share the cover reveal for my newest title!

BEDTIME WITH MOMMY

It’s a board book. Yay!

It’s a snugglewumpums bedtime book. Yay!

It’s an adorable “I love Mommy” book. Yay!

And it will be here in August to share with your favorite littles.

Thanks Felia Hanakata for your delightful art!

Thanks End Game Press for believing in this new book!

Thank you, Mommies everywhere, for snuggles at bedtime with your cherished ones!

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day with Some of My Favorite Books About Trees!

I love trees! And I love hanging out with these amazing creatives who have published some of my favorite KidLit books on trees!

Earth Day 2021 is April 22 and it’s just around the corner. There’s just enough time to order these books in at your local library or purchase them from your favorite online or local bookstore. Let’s share these treasures with the littles in our life and nurture a love for trees!

A Leaf Can Be… by Laura Purdie Salas. Art by Violeta DabijaWith soft illustrations and a simple poetic feel, young readers will be inspired to think of leaves and trees in meaningful ways. A Swinger of Birches: Poems of Robert Frost for Young People. Art by Peter KoeppenA wonderful way to introduce the joy of trees to children through the eyes and voice of Robert Frost. Beautifully illustrated. A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry. Art by Marc SimontFrom climbing its branches to sitting under its shade, this award-winning classic reminds readers of all the wonderful ways a tree is nice. Almost Time by Gary D. Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney. Art by G. Brian KarasSweet story of Ethan waiting for spring to arrive (and his loose tooth to fall out!) so the sap will run and he can have maple syrup on his pancakes once again. Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer and Adam Schaefer. Art by Frann Preston-GannonWith lovely art and simple text, this beautiful book demonstrates the magnificent result of little acts in nature such as how a tree can grow…just because an acorn falls to the ground. Maple by Lori NicholsA sweet and refreshing book about a little girl who is named for a tree that is planted in honor of her birth…and the arrival of a baby sister who continues the wonderful tradition in their family who loves trees. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman. Art by Pamela ZagarenskiThe joy and poetry of celebrating trees (and nature) all through the year in the rich palette of colors they provide. The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and our National Parks by Barb Rosenstock. Art by Mordicai GersteinThis rollicking good fun read tells the story of how Yosemite National Park and the preservation of the giant sequoias came to be. The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins. Art by Jill McElmurry.This true story tells how one woman transformed a desert-like community into an oasis of trees because of her love of trees. The Very Oldest Pear Tree by Nancy I. Sanders. Art by Yas ImamuraThe exciting history of an amazing tree…the first pear tree that was ever planted in America and is still alive and strong at nearly 400 years old today. Beautifully illustrated. Trees Make Perfect Pets by Paul Czajak. Art by Cathy GendronThis delightful story will inspire every child to grow a tree of their own. Why?! Because a tree makes a perfect pet, of course! Who Will Plant a Tree? By Jerry Pallotta. Art by Tom LeonardFrom an owl coughing up an owl pellet and an elm tree growing to ants carrying a pine nut into their tunnel and planting a pine tree, this engaging book demonstrates a variety of ways seeds are planted and trees grow. 1,000 Things in Nature by Usborne. Art by Mar FerreroWith sturdy board pages and a thousand labeled illustrations, young readers will identify lots of trees as well as fruits, leaves, seeds, and other natural wonders.

Love these KidLit authors and illustrators! Love these books! Which books about trees are your favorites? I’d love to add more to my list.

@laurapsalas @violeta.dabija.illustrator @frann.pg @lorinicholsbook @joycesidman @sacredbee @brosenstock @jillmcelmurry @yas.illustration @paulczajak @cathgendron @jerrypallotta

#earthday #earthdayeveryday #earthday2021 #trees #treestreestrees #treeslover

KidLit Writers Connect With Homeschoolers

Thank you, Mary, for asking such great questions about my previous post. Rather than write a lengthy comment in the comments section, I thought it would be more helpful to all of us to answer your questions in this post.

Here is a recap of Mary’s questions:

How can a KidLit writer connect to the homeschooling market?Where would I find homeschooling groups to follow?How did the homeschoolers find your books?

Q: How can a KidLit writer connect to the homeschooling market?

A: My goal is to connect with the homeschooling market on various platforms. In other words, I want to hang out online where they are hanging out.

Q: Where would I find homeschooling groups to follow?

A: On Instagram, I follow two very influential homeschool bloggers. (CLICK HERE to follow me on Instagram @nancyisanders and I’ll follow you back!) I also like to follow people who comment on their posts because most are homeschooling mamas and families who love children’s books.

@wovenchildhood has 47.6K followers and will get 1.5K comments on her posts.

@Lacy.arrowsmith has 46.7 followers and will get close to a thousand comments on each post.

On Facebook I have joined a couple of homeschool private groups. (CLICK HERE to like my Author’s Page on Facebook. Then post the link to your page in the comments and I’ll like/follow you too!) I am just starting here but I am commenting and getting to know these folks. Already I’ve been able to recommend some of my books as answers to their questions. And unlike if you make a post on Facebook and only a small amount of your followers actually end up seeing it, every person who is reading the posts in these private Facebook groups will read your post, too. And that’s a lot of eyes!

Christian Homeschool Families has 45K members.

Hip Homeschool Moms has 36K members.

On Pinterest, I am just getting my feet wet, but the gal to follow as the Homeschooling Queen of Pinterest is @writebonnierose. Bonnie Rose Hudson has 124.3 monthly views and 5.9K followers. All looking for homeschooling products to use. Follow her on Pinterest. Repin her pins. Help her amazing audience connect with you. (CLICK HERE to follow me on Pinterest. @nancyisanders. Then post the link in the comments below and I’ll follow you back!)

Q: How did the homeschoolers find your books?

A: I have written a 6-book homeschooling writing curriculum called WriteShop Primary and WriteShop Junior. When Covid hit and many parents suddenly found themselves homeschooling, sales of these 6 books skyrocketed. Where did they find these books? Kim Kautzer, publisher and editor (and writer for some of the primary/junior material) is very active on various social media platforms where she engages with homeschoolers and promotes WriteShop. WriteShop has its own website and it also has its own private Facebook group for homeschooling mamas to join.

Hopefully these answers will help you find WHERE to connect to the homeschooling market. But for the HOW to build your platform so that homeschoolers and others in your target audience connect with you and your books, I highly recommend a year-long class on marketing that I’ve been taking since last May. It has been a game changer for me as a KidLit writer. The best thing is that it’s a very reasonable pace. We learn one platform a month with one new video class every Friday—and it’s all for a very reasonable monthly fee.

So if you would like to learn marketing strategies at a nice pace, with an author who is a social media guru to hold your hand and help inspire you each step of the way, CLICK HERE on this affiliate link to find out the amazing details and pay a monthly fee.  CLICK HERE on this affiliate link to sign up and pay all at once for the whole year.

Let me know if you have any more questions to add to Mary’s list!

KidLit Writers and Homeschoolers

I’ve always had my ear to the ground, so to speak, regarding homeschooling families, even though my husband and I didn’t homeschool our two sons. For one thing, two of my sisters homeschooled their children, so I learned how wonderful this experience can be.

But now that our grandson is being homeschooled, I feel even more connected with the homeschooling community. And little did I expect that every child in our neighborhood and many in our nation and countless around the world would be homeschooled over the course of this last year…and still continuing!

Yes, homeschooling families have become a big part of our current culture, whether by choice or by circumstances.

So what does this have to do with KidLit writers? With you and me?

Plenty! As I discovered this last year when some of my books and products for homeschoolers skyrocketed in sales, this is a valuable target audience for us authors who write for children.

And as we’re building our social media platform, it’s important to include homeschooling groups on our radar as we spread the word about the books and products we create and publish for kids.

Even if you’ve never homeschooled before, it’s a good time to start connecting with homeschooling groups who use your favorite social media platforms. Join their groups. Follow their loops. Connect with members. Get to know their needs and wants. Not only will this help generate ideas for you to write about in future book projects, but you can connect with folks who will want to read your current published books. And that’s good news for marketing!

Image by Jozef Mikulcik from Pixabay

A Helping Hand for Indie Authors

I am a traditionally published author. This means that I have more than 100 books published with traditional publishers such as Scholastic Teaching Resources, Chicago Review Press, Tyndale Publishers, Zonderkidz, and Albert Whitman, among others.

But I’m also an indie author. This means that like many of you, I have self published a number of my own books. And as you know if you’re also an indie author, this means I am sole marketer and publicist for these books. If I don’t initiate getting the word out, the books don’t sell.

Well, as you may have already experienced, this basically means that my self-published books haven’t been selling. (Do I hear an “Amen”?)

But I’m excited to share…in 2021 that will not be the case! I now have a helping hand to guide me as I sail my course and set off on my personal adventure towards indie success!

This helping hand has come in the form of a year-long class I signed up for last May to learn how to build my platform as a writer. Every year I invest in some form of learning to help me grow as a writer. This year, for a very reasonable monthly fee (think the cost of one restaurant date with a writer friend each month) I have made MILESTONES and I mean MILESTONES on learning how to build my brand, build a solid foundation on key social media platforms, and gain the tools and the confidence I need to market my books as an indie author. This class has been a game changer for me both as an indie author AND a traditionally published author.

But one of the best perks of all is the helping hand. This hand is in the form of our amazing and wonderful teacher and group leader, Victoria Duerstock. I mean, does this woman ever sleep? She’s there to answer each and every one of my personal questions. She’s amazingly assessible and offers monthly in person group Zoom meetings as well as live chats a couple of days each week during office hours. She leads our awesome private Facebook group where she’s just a question away from answering and encouraging and helping us get in the KNOW and experience success.

Plus did I mention how fun she is?!!! She mailed me a hardhat! Yes! My own personal hardhat to wear because I’m a builder building my amazing platform. And as I complete each month’s class where I’m learning and building and growing on a different platform, she sends me these awesome stickers to stick on my hardhat. Is that fun or what?!!!!

So if you would like to learn marketing strategies at a nice pace, with an author who is a social media guru to hold your hand and help inspire you each step of the way, CLICK HERE on this affiliate link to find out the amazing details and pay a monthly fee.  CLICK HERE on this affiliate link to sign up and pay all at once for the whole year.

Happy marketing and may your books get in the hands of the people you are trying to reach!

Exciting News to Share

I’m so excited to share that my brand new board book, Bedtime with Mommy, will be one of the inaugural titles in the brand new publishing company, END GAME PRESS. Its scheduled release date is this fall, August 24, 2021!

I wanted to share a little bit of the story behind the story…as you may already know, I’m a grandma to four adorable little chickabiddies. And as you may already guess, I love to read books to them.

So this past year as we were Christmas shopping for them (we were able to shop at our favorite local bookstore on a day when it was actually open!) we bought them a set of Mommy and Daddy books to gift to their parents as a surprise gift under the tree. Of course, they each got to sign both books, which was cuteness in itself.

They were so excited and the books were so absolutely adorable, that I just had to sit down and write my own book about Mommy’s love for her little one.

And since I had recently finished writing a set of 48 mini-books for teachers all about animals and their habitats, I decided to make the unique slant for my new board book to feature animal mommies in a variety of habitats putting their babies to bed.

The result is Bedtime with Mommy, featuring a mommy and baby animal in 8 different habitats getting ready for bed. And to quote my publisher, “A super cute book for baby to age 4!”

I want to also give a shout-out for my wonderful agent, Cyle Young, who was instrumental in this deal with End Game Press as well.

Thanks for sharing in my joy!

2021: A GREAT Year for Writers

I don’t usually pick a theme for every year, but after 2020 threw us all such a curve ball, I felt inspired to choose one for 2021. It started with picking a theme Bible verse:

“Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 5:19, NKJV.

I don’t know about you, but in my life in 2020, I was controlled by restrictions that were outside of my power to change. I couldn’t go grocery shopping late at night like I prefer when our city was put under curfew. I couldn’t host my local writing friends in my home as I’d been planning on doing. I couldn’t attend a local writing conference because it got cancelled. I couldn’t attend funerals with friends and neighbors who lost a loved one. The list goes on and on and I know you have tales of your own to tell. Yes, 2020 is a year many of us would like to forget.

But with Matthew 5:19 in mind, 2021 can be a GREAT year, because no matter what restrictions are enforced or new virus strains are discovered, God gives us an amazing promise:

If we follow His commandments, and teach these commandments to others, we shall be called GREAT in the kingdom of heaven.

As writers, this is an exciting prospect indeed! Our efforts do not go unnoticed as we model the life of a Christ-follower within our writing circles, and through the words that we write teach a biblical worldview to a lost and hurting world.

Now, I don’t know exactly what this promise means…does it mean that even while we’re sitting at our computer and writing, God and Jesus are sitting in heaven and Jesus turns to God with excitement in his voice and says, “Look at my scribe! She is doing a GREAT thing today. Truly she is GREAT in our kingdom.”

Or does it mean that on that day when we stand before the judgement seat and the books are opened, that Jesus will step forth and announce triumphantly to all the angels and heavenly host, “Take a special look at this scribe. He is GREAT! In the blog posts, social media posts, articles, stories, and books he wrote, he taught the commandments. And he kept them well. Well done, good and faithful servant!”

I don’t know exactly how this verse will be fulfilled for eternity, but what I do know is enough to make me very, very excited for 2021 and the year ahead. I want to study God’s Word and read the Bible with renewed enthusiasm. I want to be diligent and faithful about my Christian walk to make sure I’m following God’s biblical commandments and not current cultural trends that are deceiving even fellow church-goers and writers to err. 

And then I want to teach God’s commandments through the words that I write. Whether fiction or nonfiction, children’s or adults, in my social media connections or in the writing groups where I participate…oh what a glorious goal for the year ahead, each and every day.

Yes, I’m counting on 2021 to be a GREAT year. I hope you’ll be inspired to do the same!

-Image by ShadOwfall from Pixabay

Merry Christmas Book Giveaway

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It’s time for some Christmas cheer!

There’s a Merry Christmas book giveaway happening this week over on Instagram. CLICK HERE to hop on over and join in the fun!!!!!