New Series Idea: What I Wish I'd Kown

As members of SCBWI-MI, we are at different stages of our writing and/our illustrating careers. Some are you are well-known published authors and illustrators. Some of you may have just started out on your kidlit journey and joined SCBWI to find out more. And many are somewhere in between. But everyone was new to writing/illustrating at some point. And most of us have made mistakes or felt surprised along the way.

So, in the spirit of being able to look back at our past with humor and wisdom and sharing that hard-won wisdom with others, I'd like to propose a new series to be published here on The Mitten:

What I Wish I'd Known...

My hope is that you will look back at one of your firsts like your:

First submission

First shoptalk

First critique 

First conference

First portfolio review

First contest

First published article

First published book

First school visit

First fair or book-selling event

And share what went right, what went wrong, and what you'd have done differently, or what you wish you'd known. These memories can be funny (I hope some will be!), sad, or optimistic (maybe you wish you'd known that something was easier or more fun than you expected!). 

Like usual, aim for around 400-600 words (but as anyone has read this blog recently, I'm not too strict in either direction if it takes more or fewer words to say what you want), include an image or two if you have them, and send your posts to me at: sarah.prusoff.locascio@gmail.com.

I hope to hear from you soon!