Tag Archives: SCBWI

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 6: How to bio

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

[Before we start, have you followed 10 new people yet?]

It’s all about YOU!

Yesterday was a big-picture assessment of your homepage.

Day 6 hones in on your Bio, which you need for your website as well as every social media platform you’ve got.

Let’s make sure you are presenting the best possible version of yourself (that’s still truthful of course).

snapshot of Bitsy Kemper's bio page

I sorta cheated on this task, since my home page right now is my bio page, and I worked on that yesterday. But I do need to revisit the bios I have on Twitter (oh, wow, noticed outdated info right away!) and Insta (how long has that link been broken?! Oh and did you know they now let you add FIVE links on your Insta profile?!). I bet you forgot about those platforms and were only thinking about your website! But they are ALL our brand, and they all have bios–even if just five words.

I’ve culled bio tips other professionals (I searched the web so you don’t have to) and blended them with my own advice. For example, Leaders Press lists reasons WHY the bio is so important and offers some tips of their own. So today we create (or enhance) it.

How to create a writer’s bio:

First off, think about your audience. Who is reading this bio? Is it parents, past and potential buyers of your books? Specialists from schools and libraries considering whether to book you for an author signing? Kid fans? Literally picture them in your mind as you write your bio. As we’ve talked about, different platforms will have slightly different audiences. It’s OK to vary them. Every social media outlet doesn’t have to say the same thing in the same words.

Secondly, write it well! Be engaging! If you can’t write a good bio about yourself, can readers trust you can write a good book? Remember you are your own brand. Your bio needs to reflect who you are, so that when someone reads it, they “get” you. Some great examples of writing in your own voice are here offered by Rocket Expansion. Granted, those are mainly jacket flap bios, but you get the idea. This bio isn’t for jacket flap, which has an even more centralized audience—potential and current reader/buyer OF THAT BOOK. Right now, work on your webpage since it’ll be the longest. Adapt accordingly for Insta, Twitter, etc.

Third, don’t sweat wordcount. It can be as simple as a paragraph. Don’t bore anyone by cramming in too much information no one needs. (You’ll have stricter parameters on most of the other platforms.)

Lastly, don’t forget a CALL TO ACTION! More on that below.

On websites, I’ve always appreciated the almost-all-encompassing two or three sentence bio, followed by a few paragraphs of more-detail-that-isn’t-crucial-but-is-nice-to-have. That way, if your reader only has a few seconds, they can get enough from those first few sentences. It’s something they can cut and paste if they need to introduce you. To nail down the super short “elevator pitch” of your bio, check out Scribe Media (scroll about halfway down to Template heading). 

OK, let’s get down to it. What should you include on your bio page?

YOUR HISTORY

  • Where you’re from, and where you live now. I like to keep this generic, as in “from NY, now live in CA” as I honestly don’t think it’s anyone’s business what town or exact city I live in. Plus, with cybersecurity issues, you don’t want to give out too much info on yourself. But if you have an unusual city name, like Boring, OR – please keep it! Have some fun with it.
  • Personal info but IMHO only AS IT PERTAINS TO YOUR WRITING such as if you write about the environment and you have a biology degree. Or, say, if you mainly write male characters b/c you are a mom of four boys, talk about how they influence story ideas or creative work hours.
  • Toss in some “PERSONAL TAGS” like something you’d call out on a main character to show their personality or make them memorable. Do you love Orange Crush? Root only for the Mets? Enjoy fly fishing? Hate the Oxford comma? Show readers what makes you uniquely you. Be relatable!
  • Recognition or awards you’ve received. Go ahead and toot your own horn! But no need to be a jerk about it. “I was excited to win the MOMMA 2022 Book of the Year” is different than “I beat out 200 other mostly-lame entries to capture the coveted award that most other authors only dream about” which makes you sound like a poo-poo-head. Be specific, spell out all acronyms, and give dates/years (unless it’s over 8ish years ago as then it’s old news so don’t give the year). Bonus points if you can toss in a few kid-friendly things like “baton champ of 5th grade” or “voted worst penmanship in 12th grade.” Remember that note about being relatable?

YOUR NOW

  • Books published. If none, don’t say you’re unpublished. Consider saying something descriptive like you have “a middle-grade novel for shy girls in the works.” Find tips for unpublished writers from Gatekeeper Press here.
  • Your main age level and genre. For example, although I have CB and MG manuscripts that I’m working on, I am mainly a PB fiction writer, so that’s what I talk about. If I get published in the other age ranges, I’ll talk more about them. If you say you “write for all ages” then it looks like you’re unfocused. It’s more impressive to be specialized.
  • ALL your current social media handles WITH LINKS. (Exception: if you haven’t updated Pinterest since 2006, say, don’t include it.)

YOUR PHOTO(S)

  • Headshot that’s within the last 5 years please! NOTE: HEADSHOTS ARE TOMORROWS TOPIC. Cute, old selfies are fine as long as there is a reason (say, a book signing) current ones are also there.
  • People love pets so feel free to also add a few of those.
  • Book covers! Add all of ‘em.  Feel free to have the pic linked to an indy book store where the book can be purchased—but do NOT say anything about buying the books. Simply have the linked book cover images.

YOUR CALL TO ACTION

  • Don’t miss the opportunity to ask people to leave a comment, sign up for your mailing list, click on a link to your blog or recent recorded interview, follow you on social media (with links), etc. Do NOT have the call to action be a sales pitch. No one likes that. It ruins the great impression you’ve just created.

Did we miss anything? Let me know if you have crucial info you think has to be included.

Once you hone your revised bio, make sure you update your bio’s main points on all your social media accounts. They don’t have to be exact; as mentioned, most people have slightly different personalities on each platform. But make sure they sync up and make sure they are all current.

Recap: Update and rework your bio(s!) as needed. Make sure each social media service you use has a bio that fits the audience (adapt your new one accordingly).

Happy multi bio-ing!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 5: Homepages (re)visited

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

[Hey there–before we start, have you followed 10 new people yet?]

Bringing that website home

Welcome to Day 5!

Today we are going to apply your brand to your website. We’ll start with your homepage.

Tell me you have a website. If not, you’ll start today! A great starter guide is here by the lovely Jane Friedman. Worth reviewing even if you’ve had a site for a while.

Let’s tidy up the house so we are proud when company comes over. We’re first looking at your home page because you only get one chance to make a first impression. No major changes yet, just taking notes at what people see, and asking if it’s the best projection of your brand. Grab that notebook.

Go to your homepage:

Open your website. View it with fresh eyes, as if you were someone that doesn’t know you, and is there for the first time. As far as the big picture, do you see a clear author brand? Would a stranger see it? Is your site a visual mess, or is it a place someone would want to stay and linger? Take notes on what needs to change overall. Does it need to be friendlier or more welcoming? Is it clear you’re an author or illustrator? Maybe it’s too focused on YOU and not what you can do for the reader <um, guilty>.

Now take closer inventory. What is the first specific thing people see and feel? Take notes on the following:

  • When someone sees it, do they get an immediate sense of who you are?
  • Perhaps more importantly, is it welcoming to the point people want to stay?
  • Does it represent the current you, and your brand?
  • Are the colors right? Is font readable? Do you have enough whitespace?
  • Is it current? As in, when was your last post or update? How would they know?
  • How old is your bio pic? Be honest with yourself here.
  • Is every subheading correct, necessary, and relevant?
  • Do you have clearly marked Contact info and links to social media?

Now get to work.

RIGHT AWAY, get working on anything in those notes that can be done in under five minutes. Document any work you still need done. Give yourself a deadline to complete it. Even if you end up needing to push the deadline out, give yourself one. Trust me (and science!), it is more likely to happen when you hold yourself accountable by being SMART (remember–Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.) Don’t have time to add the icons and links to all your social media platforms today? Write down you’ll figure out how to do it by Friday the 5th and complete it by Saturday May 6th.

If editing a website is above your pay grade, contact someone today with SPECIFICS on what you would like them to do for you. Not “help me with my homepage” but “change the colors on the homepage, update my contact info, and remove this image.” Give them a (reasonable) deadline too – or at least a timeframe. Ask a teen to help in exchange for a Starbucks.

I just got done assessing my homepage, and FWIW this is what I realized:

  • My colors were too juvenile so I changed them
  • I hate the random, ugly ads that are generated in the free version of WordPress that I use, so did what I’ve been thinking about doing for years: upgraded to the no-ad version. Not saying you need to! Just something I’ve wanted to do and finally did, whew. Glad I did.
  • “Upcoming Events” list was waaay too long. I shortened it and put stuff from 2020 on a diff page.
  • The “long version” of my bio was, well, too long so I pared it down (it’s still too long, but progress…).
  • My homepage is still too self-serving and not enough “what’s in it for you to be here” so I am working on that.
  • I realized my tagline, held over from when I spent more time marketing than writing, feels dated, so I edited it.
  • While my formatting skills are horrendous, I cleaned it up a little bit at the bottom (it’s still terrible but it’s good enough for now. I added it to my To Do list to fix later.)
  • I added a “subscribe” button in the top right column — please sign up so you get emails on each daily task! (It’s now on the top right of every page)

I had time and was able to handle all of it within about an hour.

Now it’s your turn.

Recap: Take a birds-eye view of your homepage. What needs updating, changing revising? Take note (literally) of larger things To Do and change what you can right now.

Let me know how it shakes out! Leave a comment below.

How to Nail the Modern Writers Conference

Posted in Writing Children's Books, Writing events by

New Ideas for Creating Your Own Success

Photo of Keynote Speaker #BretLott at West Coast Christian Writers Conference 2023
WCCW2023 Conference in Roseville, CA

I’ve been to hundreds of writer conferences. OK, maybe dozens. No, wait, lemme, think…seeing as I attend several a year and started in 2003…*does the math*… honestly it totals over 50.

That’s a LOT of writer conferences. And I just got back from another one yesterday.

This one was a little different than the others. I noticed it was more modern. More tech-savvy. And much more up to ME to make things happen.

Don’t get me wrong, they were GREAT making sure first-timers and old-timers (wait–I mean experienced conference goers!) were well taken care of. But as technology places so much at our fingertips, it means so much of it is, well, at our fingertips. As in, it’s up to us to go find and get it. That’s not how it used to be. We used to show up and be handed a folder with everything we ever needed to know, from speaker bios to local restaurant menus. Now we’re basically handed a badge and left to wander like a kindergartener dropped off on their first day.

I’ve participated in events in every way from keynote to emcee to volunteer that helps clean up, and even organized and held them for several hundred people. I’ve written blogs on how to prepare for them and what to expect, including how to dress, and what to pack. (I admit it, I love conferences!) I thrill in meeting people, learning, and getting the latest scoop on the industry from the people who know it best.

In my prior corporate life, I probably attended another 50 events. I’ve seen that no matter the topic, location, or industry, conferences are generally the same.

But times have changed recently.

In early 2020 we were suddenly forced to halt in-person events. When they started again, new technology replaced some of our standard ways of doing things, without us realizing it. It wasn’t like we voted on it. Time just marched on.

WCCW Conference with real live people, Oct 2023

Noted Changes:

  • Budget cuts are everywhere.
    • Many handouts are now available online only. That means you have to print them out and bring ’em with you, so plan ahead. (It also means you definitely need to plan out your schedule in advance so you have the right handouts. Or, bring your laptop to call them up during the session. Have them downloaded so you don’t have to rely on shoddy wi-fi.)
    • Similarly, don’t assume you’ll be handed a printed schedule of the event. They may only offer an online version, so look into it and print one out ahead of time as needed.
    • In fact, bring a folder as it’s not safe to assume you’ll be getting one of them, either!
  • Use technology to your advantage in other ways.
    • Have a critique or 1:1 you don’t want to be late for? Set a silent alarm on your phone and you won’t have to keep checking your watch/phone.
    • Unless you learn better by handwriting notes, save time by snapping pix of the presenter’s slides instead of writing down what they say. See if your phone software will translate it straight to text.
    • Check to see what’s being video’ed. Many conferences are “hybrid” meaning they are both online and in person. If you want to attend two sessions at the same time, go to the one that isn’t being recorded. Watch the other one that night or when you get home.
  • Make the Freebie table work for YOU. Plan to pack and drop off your bookmarks/flyers promoting your book/website/critique services/etc. (Make sure it looks appealing and is professionally edited or you’ll be doing yourself a grand disservice.)
  • Social media: You gotta be present, man.
    • No need to livestream by any means. But pick your fave social media outlet and talk about the event before you go, using the hashtag the event coordinators will share.
    • Follow the hashtag to interact with people before you go, so you have a leg up on in-person interactions. Virtually meet new people ahead of time so you have built-in conference buddies.
    • Post with the hashtag (including quotes and photos) after the event as you bask in the glow of what you learned and accomplished.
    • Don’t forget to offer thanks to the organizers too.
    • If you can’t afford books at the conference bookstore, it’s OK! In lieu of that, do your fave speaker/presenter a solid by reserving their book at your library, giving it and the author/illustrator a shout-out on social media, and if you want to go the extra mile, give their book a review at Goodreads or Amazon (ONLY IF YOU’VE READ IT!). Word of mouth means a LOT to authors and illustrators!
  • Speaking of books…many conferences have onsite or pop-up bookstores that now let ANY attendee sell a book, not just faculty. Ask!

Same as Before:

  • Bringing business cards: people still use them! BUT, bring REDESIGNED cards with NEW types of info. Have them ordered and ready well ahead of time.
    • Don’t include your home address on your card, no one needs that.
    • Phone number is optional and IMHO unnecessary since they can email you for it. (No offense, but why would this stranger that you just befriended need to call you? You can always write it.)
    • I recommend two-sided. Add book covers or endorsements on the back.
    • I have a QR Code that takes you right to my website; some have it go right to their newsletter sign-up or book order page.
    • Be sure to include your fave social media handles so people can find and follow you.
  • Planning ahead: Decide WHY you are attending, and stick to it. Are you there to learn? If so–to learn what? Are you there to meet like writers–if so for what purpose, is it to find a crit partner or to build your social media following? Are you there to get your critique–if so, add another purpose b/c that’s just one tiny part of your day(s) there.
  • Taking notes. You’re not going to remember stuff–not even the great things you swear you don’t need to write down. Especially names and book titles. Trust me.
  • Being friendly: I hate the word networking as (to me) it implies you’re trying to make a sale, so I think of it as being friendly. Smile even just a little and nod a hello to everyone you see. Introduce yourself to anyone next to you with a conference badge. Asking “what are you working on?” is the perfect way to start a conversation–people love to talk about themselves AND it establishes a common ground–they are free to ask you the same question!
  • Packing a light sweater (there’s always one sub-zero room).
  • Having your “elevator pitch” ready. When someone asks you what you’re working on, be ready with a concise yet spunky two-to-three-sentence summary. Not “a picture book about grandmas” but “a rhyming picture book about how a grandmother might not realize the lasting, loving impact she’s had on her family.” (See the difference? Which book do you want to hear more about?)

What other change have you seen? Let me know!

And happy conferencing, whether in person or online. People need people, so keep gathering.

Submit Your Children’s Book Without an Agent! *New List of >100 Open Publishers*

Posted in Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books, Writing events, Writing events, promos, contests by
100 Publishers accepting children's books
100 Publishers accepting children’s books, no agent needed

No Agent? No Problem!

**Publishers accepting children’s books, updated 8/23/23**

Eager to submit your children’s book but don’t have an agent (yet)? Finding publishers accepting children’s books from unagented writers is no easy task! But not impossible. I know because I’ve been doing it awhile, having authored 16 books so far without an agent. I’m now actively pursuing one, given the tighter and more competitive climate, but am still pitching solo. Many other kidlit authors/illustrators that are staying commando too. Wait, I mean rogue. Agentless? You know what I mean.

image of "closed" sign symbolizing publishers closed to picture book submissions

As I get ready to submit my next round of picture books, I see more and more publishers that USED to be open to submissions are either closed and now agent only, are at capacity and temporarily closed until further notice, or sadly have shuttered down completely. Some have been bought out by larger houses so their policies have changed, some are simply catching up from the constant influx of subs and are temporarily overwhelmed.

What that means to me is that aaalll those great lists of picture book publishers I’ve bookmarked and found sooo helpful are now outdated. It’s frustrating to have to re-research every link. You feel my pain, I know you do.

[click READ MORE to read entire post and get to list]

Writing Goals vs Writing Skills

Posted in Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by
5-ds-goal-setting-goals-poster-aliat

Every writer has a goal, whether it’s yearly, monthly, or “someday.” Goals are used as motivation to get stuff done. Resolutions are made, typically with broad intent.

A goal might be to get on the best seller list.

It might be smaller, like come up with x number of viable book ideas (challenges like Storystorm encourage picture book writers to come up with a 30 new ideas in 30 days).

Or get an agent, find a critique group, nab a pitch party.

Or, finish that darn book (NaNoWriMo is famous for encouraging writers to complete a novel in 30 days).

The problem with those kinds of goals, is that the skills needed to accomplish them are glossed over. Nowhere in the goal setting does it account for HOW it will get done.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to focus on the skills you need to accomplish your goals, instead of the goals themselves?

As performance coach Derek Schenck puts it, “The Good focus on a goal; the Great focus on a skill.”

Maybe, instead of having a goal to finish your book, you can focus on the skill of, say, self discipline. The skill you choose to focus on for the year or month could be limiting social media to x numbers of hours a day/week, or once in the morning after you’ve checked email, and once in the afternoon after lunch. Maybe the skill to focus on is saying no to interruptions, and reminding yourself you are worth alone time. Those skills free up time for you to write…which will help you finish your book.

Maybe, instead of the goal of finding a critique group, your focused skill could be on better communication and social interactions with fellow writers. You could focus on being the best type crit partner one could have–like having tact, kindness, offering direction/suggestions without rewriting, and knowing when to shush. Practice your people skills (introverts prefer online groups for this very reason–avoiding in person convos. But it needs to happen, and practice makes perfect–or at least better). Find ways to interact with people without expecting a return or gain. The better you get, the more you’ll view yourself as a valuable crit partner, and the more confident you’ll be in seeking others out. Get real good and a critique group might even come find you!

Instead of a goal of finding an agent, how about you (re)focus on your writing skills, getting them so fine and tight and absolutely irresistible that no agent could possibly say no? Same goes for getting a best seller. Sure, some of that might be luck and marketing–but it’s nothing without beautiful writing. Quality writing is something you can control. Fame is not.

Wanna nab a pitch party? Focus on research — what EXACTLY is being asked, how can I meet that, who are past winners, how did they format their pitch, who can I bounce revisions off of until I’m ready?

image from heidipozzo

To paraphrase the hilarious Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, to master the skills needed to reach your goals, the question isn’t so much “Who do you want to be?” so much as it’s “What are you doing to make it happen?”

His blunt questions are: What are you improving at? What are you learning and gaining? Instead of thinking about what you want to achieve…ask yourself, “What do I want to be good at that I’m not?” Then he challenges you to get working on it.

Goals are easy to formulate. But when you achieve them, you need new goals. When you don’t achieve them, you feel disappointed if not disillusioned. Repeat ad nauseum. You’re never done; you never close the loop.

Skills? They are harder, for sure.

But they last a lifetime.

Growth Along the Writing Journey

Posted in Writing Children's Books by

As a panelist on the WriteOnCon session “We Were All New Writers Once: Growth on the Journey,” I spent some time reflecting, of course, on my own writing journey.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Here’s the thing: I honestly never thought I’d be a writer.

My daughter disagrees. She says from what I’ve told her, at every turn I was a writer…from the boxes and boxes of saved handwritten letters (each one means I wrote to them first), to papers I claimed to have loved writing in school (including my dissertation), to comedy & theatre sketches, to the way I somehow always ended up writing at work whether it was news releases or ghostwritten technical papers or business plans. She even mentioned the mock Christmas newsletters I used to send out, like when I claimed she toured Europe in sold-out piano concertos (she was 7) and one son had unlocked the secret to the Dead Sea Scrolls (he was 5) and the other had been banned in the Midwest for his expert ninja skills (he was 3). [I guess I was always creative if nothing else.] Yes, I had stints as on-air and newspaper reporters too, but they came as a result of a corporate job where, to make a long story short, I ended up co-writing a syndicated newspaper column on a fluke.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

Or was it a fluke?

Did I unknowingly will it to happen? Have I always been a writer?

My daughter’s accusation, if you will, really caught me off guard. But OK. Maybe I really have always been a writer even if I didn’t realize it until this week. Maybe it’s that I never thought I’d be an author. But honestly, aren’t they really the same thing?

I realized I have always been drawn to — what…places? work?… — where writing plays a large role. What a great creative outlet! And you’re in control the whole time. Don’t like what you’ve written? Go back and fix it. Get feedback that what you’ve written isn’t right, or good? Well it’s not like math–right or wrong. It’s subjective. So you don’t have to like what I’ve written. I do! It’s the perfect loophole, lol.

Surely that “you can’t tell me it’s wrong” caveat gets tricky when it comes to being published. The other person HAS to like what you’re writing in order to publish it, unless you are self publishing. Even then, there are grammar rules, punctuation, etc. People have to like your writing in order to buy it. It’s not exactly a free-for-all. But as a writer, I am in control of everything! I write when I want. What I want. I certainly take what others say into consideration. I honor proper English and don’t go rogue on spelling or manuscript formatting or query protocol. I have several critique partners that I couldn’t live without. I definitely do my research, attend conferences, and listen to experts. I learn and adapt. I feel I improve a little every day. I don’t do it for anyone else, any more than someone who practices free shots in their driveway over and over does it for any one other than themselves. (Are they trying to impress the neighbors? Get an NBA contract? No. They just want to get better at free throws. They earn a sense of accomplishment, of work well done.)

My daughter had a point. Maybe my journey started before I even knew I was on board, and all that time I spent writing earlier in life helped land me where I am now.

And my journey isn’t over. Far from it.

Maybe your journey started years ago too. Maybe it’s starting right now. No matter when it began, your writing journey can go wherever you want it to! You are in control, my friend.

Your writing is yours. Only you can write what you write, from your perspective, with your voice, with your knowledge base. And so too is your writing journey. Only you can decide where and how to map it out. Only you decide how often you write, how often you edit, how seriously you take professional feedback and direction. It might be up to another person to say yes or no as far as a contract, but its up to you to get your work to the point where they simply can’t say no! Write once in a while? Great. Just don’t expect grand success if you’re not hammering away regularly. Even the best natural writers won’t succeed unless they–wait for it–SIT DOWN AND WRITE.

It takes time. Probably more time that you’re gonna want it to take. Other people will succeed before you. But that’s their journey, not yours. Keep at it. You might not have all the time in the world right now. No one does. It might be really hard to see how to get from point A to point B if you can’t even make it through the day. We’ve all been there! If you can only afford a few hours a week for now, that’s okay. Relish those few hours a week! Work smarter so those 20 minute a day can be even more productive than an open day where “let me just finish this last email” leads to three hours of wasted time. It’s your time, respect it. It doesn’t have to be strictly in front of your computer. Block off time on the calendar and temporarily cut off the internet. Eat lunch alone outside under a tree and speak your notes into your phone. Brainstorm while folding laundry. Find a pen-pal to swap ideas and manuscripts with (note: be upfront with what you are looking for: do you want ongoing positive reinforcement or true honest feedback?)(not that they are mutually exclusive!). Try to do one thing every day to move your path forward, even if it’s one tiny step…but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day. Or three.

Your journey can only move forward if you’re in motion!

Mainly: take yourself seriously. Allow yourself that daily distraction-free time, even if nothing immediately usable comes of it. Nothing creative is wasted anyway. You’ll reuse it in some form, either by learning from it (finding out it’s not a direction you want the story to go, for example, is great progress!) or from the positivity you just allowed yourself to embrace.

Don’t forget the “journey” part of the writing journey means it’s a process, not a one-time event. The journey might be spotty and frustrating at times, but it will also be rewarding and wonderful. Stick with it, even if it’s just for fun. Not everything we write has to have the ultimate goal of being published. Some of our best writings never have to be read by anyone but ourselves. We can be proud of our work no matter where it sits. The important thing is that we’re writing–present tense.

Never thought you’d BE A WRITER?

You already are.

Photo by Eva Elijas on Pexels.com