Authoring Onward

As winter melts in to spring, I’ve got a lovely interview today with picture book author Nelly Buchet. Nelly’s debut picture book came out just as the pandemic started and she has more books on the way.

Like so many authors in that situation she had to pivot her promotion strategy, and that strategy has evolved as things have changed throughout these weird pandemic times.

Have a listen as she describes how she learned to adapt and the ways that, despite the hardships of the pandemic–technology has brought us all together during this tough time.

About Nelly:

Nelly is the author of CAT DOG DOG: THE STORY OF A BLENDED FAMILY (Schwartz and Wade at Penguin Random House, 2020, with illustrations by Andrea Zuill). Kirkus gives this “clever, winning read-aloud for modern families” a starred review, as does the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books. CAT DOG DOG is a Junior Library Guild, 2020 Indie Next List, 2021 American Library Association Notable Children’s Books, and Amazon Best of 2020 selection.

Still reading? Don’t forget, Danielle and I have openings for editing and coaching clients.

Is there some big, scary thing you want to or need to learn about writing or publishing? Today on the show, I share with what my violin lessons taught me about tackling those big scary skills, and I even play a little!

I’ve also got a special announcement this week! As our schedules have changed, my author and editor buddy, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail, realized that we could both benefit by teaming up to share referrals for editing and coaching clients. You might remember Danielle from her episode on the show, back when it was still pretty new.

Danielle has loads of experience in the traditional publishing world and is a fantastic author, editor, and guiding hand. Here’s a bit more about her.

Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail specializes in telling hidden, inclusive histories for audiences of all ages. She is the traditionally-published author of four books, including adult narrative nonfiction, essays, and a best-selling nonfiction picture book. Danielle is also writing both contemporary and historical fiction for adult and middle grade readers. She brings empathy and encouragement to her coaching and editing clients – along with a very sharp eye. You can find her site at https://daniellemc.com

Pop over to the services page if you feel like you need a guiding hand from either of us!

There’s so much to do in our lives as writers. We may have day jobs and families. There’s the writing and publishing process itself. How do you fit marketing tasks in?

I had a great chat this week with Dianna Gunn about fitting in those marketing tasks and how book marketing isn’t like marketing other kinds of products. Have a listen!

And don’t miss out on her upcoming online conference happening February 20th: Worldbuilding Deep Dive.

About Dianna:

Dianna Gunn is a freelance writer by day and a fantasy author by night. Her sword and sorcery novel, Moonshadow’s Guardian, was released in November 2018. 

When she’s not writing, Gunn can be found working to develop the indie author community. She hosts the #WeeknightWriters Twitter chat at 7PM EST and runs the Author Marketing Club.

Find Dianna on her website.

Hi, folks. Today’s episode is a quick pep talk that first appeared as a live session in my Facebook group, Author Goal Rockstars (join us!).

There are loads of tasks for authors to do. It’s far from just writing. There are marketing tasks like newsletter emails, advertising, etc. There are admin tasks that can take up your time (if you don’t have an assistant). And we all have lives outside our author life. How do you balance without dropping the balls?

If you’d like a physical space to schedule in your author life, check out the The Messy Author Planner 2021 or the undated version of the same planner.

Happy February! It seems the groundhog saw his shadow, indicating six more weeks of winter.

If only he hadn’t seen it. Then it would only be six weeks until spring.

I have a lovely interview for you all today with picture book author Ellie Royce about writing for kids, including diverse characters, and allyship. We had a great chat about a lot of things, but especially her latest book, Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero. If there was ever a title to draw you in, this is it!

Have a listen, try to stay warm (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere), try to stay cool (if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere), and enjoy.

About Ellie:

Ellie Royce was born in Adelaide, South Australia and she’s been telling stories ever since.

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Although she spent over ten years crafting nonfiction articles for magazines, she finally realised her real love was writing the stories for young people that blossom in her imagination.

Ellie is the author of five books, four of which are for children, with a new picture book due out in 2021.

Her first picture book “Lucas and Jack” was published in 2014.

“Auntie Uncle:Drag Queen Hero” Ellie’s second picture book came out in April 2020.

Ellie truly believes in the power of stories to change the world for the better, so she writes and reads them all the time (quite often when she should be doing other things!). Recently she’s also added podcasting to her life, because it’s such a great medium for sharing stories.

These days Ellie lives on Gumbanynggir Country in Northern New South Wales Australia and plans to keep writing visionary stories for kids and young adults forever.

To learn more, visit her website.

Hi, folks! This week’s episode is a bit of a pep talk. Ask yourself one simple question to make better decisions in your author business.

Sounds easy, right? Well…it’s simple, but not easy. Consistently asking yourself this question takes time and work, but it pays off. Listen to find out more.

This episode originally aired in my Facebook group, Author Goal Rockstars. Join the group so as not to miss any of the presentations and to participate in the upcoming Your Killer Book Concept Challenge.

Hi, folks! On Inauguration Day, I’ve got a great episode with Julie Hedlund of the 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge. We talk about writing picture books, writing prolifically and vetting ideas, and how to be a good ally to marginalized communities.

We had a wonderful discussion with a lot to benefit both children’s writers and writers for adults. If you do want write picture books, consider signing up for 12 x 12 and writing 12 drafts in 12 months. I finally signed up this morning and I can’t wait to do some writing this afternoon!

About Julie:

ulie Hedlund is a children’s book author who lives with her own troop of two children and a VERY large and misbehaved hound dog. Her latest book, MY LOVE FOR YOU IS THE SUN has been hailed as belonging on the shelf “between Guess How Much I Love You and Goodnight Moon.” Her book A TROOP IS A GROUP OF MONKEYS is based on her two popular and critically-acclaimed storybook apps for the iPad. When she is not acting like a monkey, Julie is busy writing more books and visiting with the kids who read them at schools and libraries.

Julie’s site

The 12 x 12 Challenge

Hello! This episode is a recording of a Facebook Live session I did for my Author Goal Rockstars group. Got a question? Looking for a goal-minded community? Don’t want to miss a weekly live session? Join us!

A lot of folks starting out want to find the cheapest solution to book promotion, but instead it’s better to think long term. Yes, you want to be careful with money, but rather than looking for the latest tactic that gives short term results, think long term strategy.

Lots of writers face setbacks. How can you get up and carry one when a major problem–like your publisher closing–happens to you?

That’s what happened to Stenetta Anthony, but she made a new plan and carried on, now having both published a second book and republished her first. Have a listen!

About Stenetta:

Stenetta Anthony is a native Chicagoan, the eldest of four children. As a way to keep her siblings entertained, Stenetta would tell them stories oftentimes adding her own unique flair. As she got older she never lost her desire to tell stories and engage with children in a dynamic way. While working as an educator Stenetta was asked to create a special curriculum for her primary classroom; little did she know what would happen as a result of that simple request? Not only did she create the curriculum, but her first children’s book; The Love Story was written and published.

Stenetta has a Bachelor’s degree in Educational Leadership Studies from Grand Canyon University.

Stenetta currently resides in the Chicagoland area with her loving husband while enjoying being a grandmother.

The quote that fuels Stennetta’s desire to write comes from Mary Poppins “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.”

Social media linksWebsite: http://www.stenettaanthony.weebly.com  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/public/stenetta-anthony Twitter: https://twitter.com/StenettaA   Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/stenettaanthony/  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/stenettaa   Linked In:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/stenetta-anthony-42b28544Online vendor purchase links  Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Home-Sally-Stenetta-Anthony/dp/1640037268     Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-home-for-sally-stenetta-anthony/1129827038?ean=9781640037267 Target: https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=A+Home+for+Sally+by+Stenetta+Anthony  Ingram Books:  https://www.ingramcontent.com/retailers

And don’t forget, you can now get The Messy Author Planner in two versions, dated for 2021 and undated.

Be sure to join the Author Goal Rockstars Facebook Group for more tips in the weekly live sessions.

Today’s episode is late, because I really wanted to be able to announce the publication of The Messy Author Planner on this week’s show. And now I can!

There are a zillion tasks on an author’s to-do list, from the writing process itself, to publication tasks, to social media, to advertising…

And then we need to take time to keep learning about our writing craft and business too. How do we keep track of it all? Especially if we aren’t exactly the naturally organized type?

That’s where The Messy Author Planner comes in. You’ll find robust goal-setting sections covering the four key areas of planning for author-entrepreneurs as well as plenty of room to pencil things in on a quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily basis.

Dive right into a planner meant to be scribbled in and splattered on. You can be a productive and well-planned author… even if you’ve got a teetering pile of dishes in the sink.

Get it now.

Available both as a version dated for 2021 and an undated planner!

The planner has been my backburner project for the entirety of 2020, and I’ve discovered some pros and cons to having a long-term creative project running in the background like this, so that’s the topic of today’s episode. See what’s worked for me, what’s been more challenge, and decide if you’d like to try a backburner project for yourself.

Maybe you’ll even write it into your planner.