Using a Business Development Grant

 In 2021, two SCWMI-MI members, Kate Rietema and Kinyel Friday, were awarded a Business Development Grant. Today, they would like to share how they used this grant and how it helped them.

Kate Rietema

What a wonderful surprise to be awarded a 2021 Business Development Grant! I knew I should have a website, and this grant was just the encouragement I needed to get it going. Now, as my manuscripts are being sent off to publishing houses, I feel extra pleased knowing my agent is able to include a link to my new website. 

 After receiving a recommendation for a web designer, I previewed sites she had created for others to make sure we would be a good fit for each other. Then I browsed lots of author sites, made a list of elements I liked, and began working on my own content. I emailed the web designer a document with everything I hoped to include on my site along with a couple color palettes I liked. The web designer got to work, sending me samples along the way for my approval. Once she finished, she sent me an awesome personalized video tutorial of how to manage and update the website myself. Overall, the process was really smooth, and I feel like she came up with a flow that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve on my own. You are welcome to check it out at www.katerietema.com!

 Each time we take a new step in our writing journey, it requires a bit of courage. There is an element of risk each time we exchange a critique, submit a manuscript, or apply for a grant. But sometimes, things work out even better than we expect.  Be encouraged today to take a new step, risk and all! Here’s to hoping for more good things ahead! 

Thanks, SCBWI-MI!

Kinyel Friday

The SCBWI Business Grant afforded many opportunities for my business. Overall, the grant helped me in three major ways:

a.       It made me take a more calculated approach to what I put money into,

b.       It was helpful at book fairs, and

c.       It helped me plan how to sell and who to sell to.

I spent the grant money on promotional items (business cards, QR code cards and sign, and retractable banner), marketing books, and a course on selling. Through these purchases, I learned a few valuable things.

a.       People still like paper (ex. I ran out of business cards at an event). Tangible objects are well received.

b.       My marketing products enticed fellow authors to get promotional materials. At each event I attended, all authors were learning from each other, from table displays, to banners, to cards, to giveaways.

c.       “You are never promoting yourself, only your author self. Your author self is a marketing construct, a brand.” (Stop Worrying; Start Selling by Sarah R. Painter; page 32). For an introvert like me, this puts a unique spin on selling books. It’s almost like you must have an alter ego to sell more products.

d.       The course I’m currently taking is having me take a closer look at my products, pricing, how to sell wholesale, and more.

Thank you, SCWBI, for providing me the opportunity to positively impact my business and to advance my business knowledge.

Thank you, Kate and Kinyel, for sharing your experiences!

For more information about other upcoming grant and scholarship opportunities from SCBWI-MI or to donate to make any of our existing grants possible in the future, see the SCBWI-MI website.

Book Birthday Blog with Lindsay Moore

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors and illustrators. 

 

Congratulations to Lindsay Moore on the release

 of Yoshi and the Ocean: A Sea Turtle's Incredible Journey Home

 

 

 

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

I think the underlying purpose behind what I write and illustrate is a desire to share the wonder I feel about the world we inhabit.  So, as I work, I am trying to translate that wonder for my audience in images and text. Where that takes a reader depends on the individual, but I hope some are inspired to create, pursue more knowledge or for others to take action.  

You mention in the Booklist  video that you treated the ocean as a character while creating the story. What was your process?

Yes, I wanted to treat the ocean as more of a character than a setting because Yoshi and the Ocean is not just about a sea turtle, but also about how the ocean works. The ocean is dynamic.  I chose a color scheme to represent different ecosystems in the ocean as Yoshi, the main character, moves across the globe. I also used a wet-on-wet technique to mix colors as I put down layers of watercolor to keep the ocean from looking too flat.  Sometimes there was too much noise and my art director and editor had me ratchet it back.  I looked at a lot of paintings by Winslow Homer for Yoshi and the Ocean.

The back matter includes incredible detailed illustrations. How long did it take to conduct the research for the book and complete the illustrations? 

I worked for about a year on Yoshi and the Ocean.  When my editor suggested this story and we had both fallen in love with the real-life Yoshi, I had to quickly learn a lot about sea turtles. I could maybe guess a few sea turtle species names, but I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. When I was reading text, I kept getting Leatherback and Loggerhead turtles confused because of the L’s.  Of course, in real life they look very different, but I’m just being honest about my starting point.  I was new to marine herpetology.  My information came from books, peer-reviewed research journals, a necropsy guide, webinars and interviews with scientists.  I spoke with someone who cared for Yoshi, and sea turtle researchers in Australia and the States. I even emailed a sea turtle anatomist who helped me with choosing the right color for sea turtle lungs. I have a fear about perpetuating myths or old information, so I try to dive really deep into primary research and pay close attention to when the articles were published.  Then, before publication, content specialists and a copy editor comb the text and illustrations for errors as well. 

What was the most difficult part of writing this book?

It’s a toss-up.  Cutting stuff from it was hard.  Yoshi swam for 2 years and visited a lot of amazing places, but we had to cut some of them to make the story fit into the picture book format.   For example, Yoshi spends a bit of time in Walvis Bay, Namibia and anyone reading this should stop what they’re doing and google it.  It is this amazing marine and coastal area with dolphins and flamingos and cape seals and whales, and we just couldn’t fit it in. If I could have written more about the whole Skeleton Coast, I would have.  All the research opened my eyes to an area of the world I knew so little about.  I would like to visit Namibia and South Africa one day.

The other challenge was finding the story’s voice. It always takes me a long time to get the sound and rhythm right.  I usually wrestle with that the most in a manuscript. Walking in the woods, running or swimming laps helps me with rhythm.  Also, reading good writing helps.  Edna St. Vincent Millay, Wendell Berry, William Blake and Gabriel Garcia Marquez are all voices I love to read and help with my internal voice. 

 

Illustrations from Yoshi and the Ocean © 2022 by Lindsay Moore 

 

What's next for you?

Between the art and the writing, I feel like picture books take a toll on my mind and body. So, I took a break and I have been reading a lot about a few different topics that fascinate me.  I can see some ideas forming the skeletons of stories in my notebooks. There is so much wonder in the world and there are so many stories waiting for a chance to be told.  It really just takes the artist listening long enough and taking the time to cultivate what’s there to find the right narrative. In all honesty, I’m writing this as a gentle reminder to myself. 

A little bit about the book . . .

In 1997, a young loggerhead sea turtle was rescued from the ocean after an injury to her shell. The fishermen who rescued her named her Yoshi and took her to the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. She was rehabilitated there and grew stronger—and larger!—every day. She also became one of the most popular exhibits at the aquarium. After twenty years in captivity, Yoshi was released back into the ocean and traveled more than 25,000 miles in 1,003 days to find her way home. A tracking device on her shell transmitted data about her journey to marine biologists and turtle enthusiasts of all ages around the world.

A little bit about the author . . .

Lindsay Moore is an artist and writer with roots in Northern Michigan.  She studied marine biology and fine art at Southampton College on Long Island and figure drawing at the Art Students League of New York, and earned her master of science in medical and scientific illustration from Medical College of Georgia, now Augusta University.  She is the author and illustrator of Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival and Yoshi and the Ocean: A Sea Turtle's Incredible Journey Home.  She also created the artwork for Rosanne Parry's middle grade novel, A Whale of the Wild. After living in many lovely cities around the Great Lakes and across the globe, Lindsay works and lives with her family in the beautiful and often wintry woods of Northern Michigan.

Instagram

Website 

 

 Photo Credit: Rosanne Parry

 
 

It Starts with Hello with Betsy McKee Williams

 

Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert or somewhere in-between based on the situation, you’ll be able to relate to the bookends in Betsy McKee Williams post: from wondering if you belong—to knowing you belong in SCBWI-MI! The welcomes, invitations, and smiles we share with others, especially those who are “frozen like the proverbial deer in the headlights” as Betsy mentions, have a huge impact in making our members feel seen and valued. And as we know, one “hello” leads to another and another!

Share an important “Hello” experience with your SCBWI-MI friends by submitting your story (300-words or less) to Isabel Estrada O’Hagin: ohaginib@gmail.com  Recently joined SCBWI? Don’t be shy--we’d love to hear from you!  

Once upon a time, I was an introverted newbie at my first SCBWI conference, unpublished, knowing nobody, and doubting that I belonged.

At my first session, I chose an empty seat, one strategically surrounded by other empty seats.

Nancy Shaw sat down beside me. She introduced herself and chatted with me. She provided helpful info and made me feel welcome, as if I had a right to be there.

Later, at mealtime I stood, tray in hand, frozen like the proverbial deer in the headlights. All the tables looked full, filled with people talking to friends. But before I could seek an empty corner, Ruth McNally Barshaw saved the day. She invited me to join her crowded table and welcomed me into their conversation.

Only later did I learn how many books Nancy and Ruth had each published. These eminent authors first welcomed me as a friend.

More invitations followed: to join a book club, to join a critique group, to help plan events, to help out at conferences. Somewhere along the way, I started extending invitations too.

I’m still an introvert, still pre-published, but approaching my goals. I’ve made good friends and learned a lot. I’m still learning. And I know I belong in SCBWI.

Betsy McKee Williams

Betsy McKee Williams supports grad student writing by day and writes for kids after hours. She writes mostly middle grade, fiction and non, and seeks precise historical accuracy when writing time travel fiction. She recently completed an MFA in Young People's Literature from the Solstice MFA Program. Betsy has been a member of SCBWI since 2012. For most of that time, she has been coordinating Shop Talks in Ann Arbor. And writing.

Combating Unauthorized YouTube Videos of Children’s Books

By Janet Ruth Heller

In late March 2022, I was googling my fiction picture book about bullying How the Moon Regained Her Shape to get the ISBN to fill out an important form. I expected the first Google listing to be my publisher Arbordale’s webpage. However, I was startled to discover that the first site listed was a YouTube video of a woman reading aloud my award-winning book for children and showing all of the book’s illustrations.

Continuing my search, I found three more different YouTube videos of unauthorized people reading my book aloud and showing all of the artwork. While I liked knowing that these people enjoyed my book, I strongly disapproved of their plagiarism.

Copyright law in the United States allows “fair use” of a published book. For example, when I taught college courses about literature for children, I would bring various kids’ books to class to show my students. But posting a video online requires permission from the author, artist, or publisher. The YouTube plagiarists violated my book’s copyright. I was shocked that people would post such a video without permission.

I immediately e-mailed Arbordale Publishing, and editor Donna German asked YouTube to take all four videos down. YouTube quickly complied.

I also posted about this plagiarism on the Michigan SCBWI’s listserv to let my brother and sister writers and artists know that this is happening so that they could check YouTube and other social media, protect their copyrights, and not allow this infringement to continue.

Terry Hojnacki, who also writes for children, is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sterling Heights Public Library, and is a member of SCBWI-Michigan, saw my post and e-mailed me the following questions: “Do you know anything about librarians reading books and posting online? Would this also be considered a copyright violation?”

The next three paragraphs are my answers to Terry’s questions. 

I have no objection to librarians or teachers reading my seven books aloud to children and adults at a library or school and showing the audience the illustrations. However, I do not think that librarians or teachers or anyone else has the right to post a video or podcast or any other online message copying words or illustrations in my books. The only exception would be if the author, artist, and publisher all approve such a video or other posting of such material. Any legal posting should have a line reading “recorded with permission from Arbordale Publishing” or a similar acknowledgment.

Some of my books exist in many forms, including hardback, paperback, online, English, Spanish, and audio versions. When people post my books online on YouTube and other media, people can access free copies. That cuts into the royalties that I earn from sales of my books in all of their formats. Plagiarism also makes people less likely to ask me to come to a school or library to read my books and discuss them, which is another way that writers and artists earn money.

As you know, we writers and illustrators benefit from sales of our books. Illegal posts and videos of our works hurt our income and our right to decide who gets to show pages or read our books to the public.

Also, I e-mailed the national offices of the SCBWI and requested that the leaders of our organization contact YouTube and other social media to ask for a better policy when individuals want to post material from books or a video of a person reading aloud copyrighted material. People should have to prove that they have permission from holders of copyrights to post pages from books or read books aloud.

However, the national SCBWI Advisory Council has declined to pursue social media who violate copyright protection. The Advisory Council stated that many publishers and countries like Australia have allowed more sharing of book material due to COVID. Writers’ and artists’ contracts with publishers vary in restrictions about how much from each book may be posted for publicity purposes. In general, the Advisory Council felt that this issue is too complex to litigate.

I’m disappointed that the Advisory Council will not insist that social media exclude plagiarists. Most schools have returned to in-person classes in 2022, so I see less need for online posting of books. I would like to see all social media platforms clearly inform users that no one may post copyrighted books without written permission and that individuals who do so will get suspended from that platform.

 

Janet Ruth Heller is president of the Michigan College English Association. She has published four poetry books: Nature’s Olympics (Wipf and Stock, 2021), Exodus (WordTech, 2014), Folk Concert: Changing Times (Anaphora, 2012), and Traffic Stop (Finishing Line, 2011). The University of Missouri Press published her scholarly book, Coleridge, Lamb, Hazlitt, and the Reader of Drama (1990). Fictive Press published Heller’s middle-grade chapter book about sibling rivalry, The Passover Surprise (2015, 2016). Her children’s book about bullying, How the Moon Regained Her Shape (Arbordale, 2006; 6^th ed. 2018), has won four national awards. Her website is https://www.janetruthheller.com.

 

Book Birthday Blog with Pria Dee

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors and illustrators. 

 

Congratulations to Pria Dee on the release

 of Molly and the Lost Dance Shoes

 

 

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

My children were always misplacing their things just before an important event, leading to many stressful and amusing moments.  I wrote this story to capture one such moment.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

Parents I am sure can relate to this story, where all their pleas of putting things where they belong are often ignored. Children however will relish the fact that Molly realizes her mistake and tries to rectify it on her own and learns an important lesson in the process. 

What inspires you to write?

I have always loved telling stories to children and seeing their faces glow with delight.  There is nothing more wonderful than igniting a child’s imagination and to hear them laugh as they listen to a story.  I hope that other parents can enjoy these moments with their children when they read my books to their little ones.      

What was the most difficult part of writing your book?

Writing is a joy and working with an illustrator to bring a story to life is a wonderful experience.  However, publishing the book, marketing it, and getting it into the hands of your targeted readers are the hardest parts.  A book only has value when others read it. 

What are your marketing plans for the book?

I am part of several author groups on Facebook and recently have become a part of the TikTok and Instagram author communities. In addition, I am using KDP advertising.

A little bit about the book . . .

Little Molly Butter has practiced over and over for her recital. Sometimes with her dance shoes on. Sometimes with them off. She needs them for her show. Where could they be hiding? This book is the second in the Billy and Molly Series.

A little bit about the author . . .

Pria Dee is an Indian American author, who lives in Michigan.  She has written several children’s books based on her experiences and observations.  Pria loves animals and children and writes to combine both her passions.

Pria’s book Molly and the Lost Dance Shoes is about a little girl who loses her shoes just before a recital and tries to find them on her own.  It is the second book in the Billy and Molly Series.  This book speaks to the heart of what Pria loves most about childhood experiences; it is spirited, fun, and about a family. Doing things without adult supervision is something that all children want to do while growing up, and this story brings the humor of that everyday situation home to young readers.

Pria has written for years and has many works in progress but did not have the time and resources to see the projects through to publication until recently.  

Website 

https://www.facebook.com/priadeeauthor/ 

 

Writer Spotlight: Michelle Traven

Off the train in the Czech Republic, an Orphaned Grandfather in Mexico City, the best mud pie in Colorado, and getting "the words just right": Michelle Traven

Charlie Barshaw coordinates our regular Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet world traveler, photographer and librarian, Michelle Traven.

I thought I found some travel photos you’d taken in various European countries, but now I can’t find them again. Was I delusional, or did you travel to France and Italy?

Ireland

Many years ago, I lived, wrote, and guest taught K-12 in Switzerland for two years while my husband had a temporary position at a local university. I also lived in Berlin once upon a time. My itchy feet have taken me around Europe and North America, and one time even hopped a ride on a train through the Czech Republic.

My Eurail pass wasn’t valid in the recently established country, and the very generous yet stern Czech ticket officer repeatedly threatened to throw me off the train at the next station, but then very carefully avoided my train car at every stop during what was a very long overnight journey to Austria.

In your world travels, what places did you like best? Which places would you pass up this time?

I wouldn’t pass on any place. The world is full of wonderful sights and wonderful people.

You seem to be an excellent nature photographer, judging from some of the compositions you posted on social media. Is photography a passion, or are you just gifted at it?

Lake Superior at sunset

Thank you for your kind words! I attribute any seeming photographic talent to modern technology and these amazing computers that fit in our pockets.

 

One of your “handles” includes CADL. Are you employed or affiliated with the Capital Area District Library?

Literacy, education, and librarianship are some of my passions. There are many-worlds in these magical objects we call books. I worked for the fantastic organization that is the Capital Area District Library for many years before returning to school to earn my teaching certification in the hopes of eventually managing my own school school library.

Are you teaching now?  What subject?

I recently was hired as the librarian at Red Cedar Elementary School in East Lansing and feel as if I won the job lottery.

What’s your favorite age of student, and why?

All kids, both young and only young-at-heart, are great to work with.

Describe your life growing up. Who or what influenced you to become a writer?

My very large maternal family was full of storytellers. My grandfather told tales of surviving the streets of Mexico City as an orphan, my grandmother concocted romantic tales (later discovered to be just about complete fiction) about how they had met. As a child I loved to hide in closets where the darkness enabled me to fully enter the imaginary worlds my mind conjured. In other words, I was born this way.

Where did you grow up? What do you remember about your early years?

Shadow Mountain Reservoir, Colorado

 

I grew up in Colorado and Texas. I owned and operated Colorado’s best mud pie bakery. Most of my customers were imaginary and every single one of them loved my mud pies. I also liked to run in circles along the chain-link fence in my mama’s backyard in Texas and to search for cicadas and praying mantises and to try and catch lizards by their tails (fortunately mostly unsuccessfully).

What were some of your favorite books? What are you reading now?

Hop on Pop was a childhood favorite and remains a go-to book when trying to capture the attention of a younger audience. All folk tales are favorites. I always love seeing these stories reimagined by new writers and illustrators.

Another photo from a pre-pandemic trip to Ireland

Currently I am reading Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake, and looking forward to reading Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff.

What are you working on right now? 

Right now, I am working on a coming-of-age/thriller young adult novel loosely based on my own experiences as a high school scholarship student at a prestigious East Coast boarding school, with a little bit of fictional, murder-mystery thriller plot thrown in for some excitement.

What works have you put away in a drawer? What did you learn from writing them?

I have many short stories, poems, a middle grade and YA novel in a drawer. My life is very full, so my present attempts at publishing are on a burner not at the back, but also in a drawer.

Writing is a lifelong endeavor to get the words just right, but always falling just a little bit short of what is imagined. I am a firm believer in the transformative power of a good edit, so consider all my works-in-a-drawer little seeds that someday might prove to be mighty oaks.

How did you find SCBWI? How did you find LAST?

 

I found SCBWI when researching organizations that support writers of children’s literature, and it has been a fantastic resource of many things including a map to the Lansing Area Shop Talks, which are a great way to network, talk about the writing life, and enjoy the company of other creators.

Welcome Shanna Heath to the E&I Team!

 

Please help SCBWI-MI welcome Shanna to the Equity and Inclusion team. We appreciate her passion and are excited that she is joining the team!

 

Shanna Heath writes horror for all ages, because it is an ancient genre that has always embraced weirdness. Her short stories have been published in BURROW PRESS REVIEW, CEMETERY MOON, and the upcoming anthologies OTHER TERRORS: AN INCLUSIVE ANTHOLOGY (Clarion/Mariner) and HAUNTED STATES OF AMERICA (Henry Holt). Shanna lives with her wife and two kiddos in Kalamazoo, where they keep Halloween decorations out all year long. Shanna is a member of SCBWI and the Horror Writers Association (HWA). Connect with Shanna on Instagram @mother_marrow, Twitter @shannalheath, or through her website shannaheath.com.