All Summer in a Day: The Sweet (and SHORT) Journey of a Picture Book by Patti Richards

 (This is the final installment of a three-part series. Read part one and part two here.)

 

MRS. NOAH
goes out of print 

At the end of our second installment, I left you with the news that my publisher was going out of business. That meant my book would be available for a few more months, but at some point, in 2023, it would go out of print.

People who know me know I’m not a quitter, so after receiving the news, instead of resting on my laurels, I went to one final book-selling event in January of 2023. With my husband’s help (he is the king of schmoozing) I mingled, visited booksellers’ booths, and even had a radio interview and book signing! 

After that event, I stocked up on as many copies of MRS. NOAH as I could afford. I kept checking Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and on a day in late June I read the words “out of stock,” and I knew it was over. Approximately 18 months after her release, MRS. NOAH sailed out of online book retailers and stores. But what a ride we’d had. My picture book journey truly felt like all summer in a day!

 

Blessings

MRS. NOAH all dressed up
in her award swag!

I couldn’t possibly share how blessed I have been by this journey. The frustrations were many, but the reward of getting to see a book you’ve loved into existence in the bookstore and on the library shelf more than makes up for them. I’m also pleased to say that in MRS. NOAH’s short life, she won five awards, including a Northern Lights Book Award for best first picture book. Do I wish MRS. NOAH’S journey had ended differently? Of course! Do I think I’ll try to self-publish now that I have the rights back? Ask me again in a few months when the sting fades a bit.

 

The Takeaways

 When the life of a book begins and ends at this record pace, it’s important to pause and reflect.

 

Here are a few of my takeaways for those who are un-agented that might help someone else:

 

1.    Do your homework. If you get an offer for one of your books, find out all you can about the health of the company making the offer. Use your SCBWI membership, ask other authors who have published with the same company about their experience, and check with the publisher’s state business website. None of this is foolproof. It’s impossible to predict the future ever, but especially in publishing. Getting as much info as possible can help you make informed decisions for your book.

2.    Lead the discussion. In the excitement of having someone love your book, the temptation is to let the offering company lead the discussion. You might feel like you can’t ask for time to do your research and even to ask for changes to your contract. But you can! It’s also a good idea to have an attorney who specializes in contract law look over your contract to make sure you’re getting the best terms possible. At the very least, an attorney can help you know what questions to ask. Will this cost money? Unless you have a friend who can help, yes. But it’s money well spent. The Author’s Guild also provides contract reviews and other services for their members.

Faith Radio interview at the
Christian Product Expo in
 Georgia in February

3.    Learn how to market! As you can tell from my story, I had to fast-track my marketing knowledge. If you have the luxury of taking your time with this step, then do it! Budget some of your weekly writing hours for marketing education. Learn how to use Canva. Build a professional-looking website. Take advantage of free services like Pinterest, Goodreads, and Instagram to keep information about you and your books in front of your audience. When that contract offer comes, you’ll be glad you did!

4.    Get your eggs out of the basket! Having a book release and then go out of print so quickly resulted in the entire process becoming almost all-consuming. The fight to keep MRS. NOAH in front of people for as long as I could forced other things to take a back seat. Writing, revising, submitting, looking for an agent…none of those things should stop while you’re in the middle of what feels like a sinking ship. It’s what keeps us balanced as writers. I’ll admit to losing my focus in the middle of the flood of work that came with MRS. NOAH’s release, but I’m grateful I have it back.

5.    You are more than one book. This takeaway speaks for itself. Your success as a writer should never be measured by one contract. No matter how much the end of one book can break your heart, you and your work go on.    

 

So, there you go. The story of a book’s journey…All Summer in a Day! I’m so grateful I got the chance to experience it, and that there are many little loves enjoying MRS. NOAH. That is the best gift of all.

 

And did poor Margot ever get out of that closet to see the sun? I’m not telling. You’ll just have to read that story for yourself.

 

Patti Richards has spent more than 30 years writing stories and telling tales. Her first fiction picture book, MRS. NOAH (Little Lamb Books, October 2021) was a Selah Award Finalist, A Northern Dawn Book Award Winner for Best First Picture Book, a Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Winner, and a Royal Dragonfly Honorable Mention Winner. As a freelance writer, Patti has provided content for Capstone Publishing, Red Line Editorial, the Foundations Recovery Network, Uptv.com, The Lookout Magazine, Worship Leader Magazine, Songs4Worship.com, Metro Parent Publishing Group, and various other local, regional and national newspapers and magazines. In 2003, her article, “Timing is Everything When Treating Infertility,” (Metro Parent Magazine) won a Gold Medal Award for Special Section Within a Publication (Circulation of 55,000 or more), from Parenting Publications of America. Patti also offers professional picture book critiques. Visit her website, www.pattigail1.com to learn more!  

 

Hugs and Hurrahs

 It's time to celebrate our MichKids friends and colleagues!! Welcome to this quarter's edition of Hugs and Hurrahs!

Wendy BooydeGraaff's short story, "The Michigan Triangle" is being published in the  The Haunted States of America, a  middle grade horror anthology with stories from each state in collaboration with SCBWI and illustrated by Solomon Hughes.  It'll be out July 2024. 

Way to represent Michigan, Wendy!

 

Patti Richards recently sold a poem, Snow Quiet, to Highlights High Five Magazine. She's also happy to announce that her picture book manuscript, IDA PLUCK'S CLUCK took 8th place in this year's Writer's Digest Fiction Contest in the Children's/YA category. 

Congratulations, Patti!

Molly David's first picture book, My Mischievous Wheelchair, has just been released and earned a 5-star review from Reader's Favorite.

Well done, Molly!

Joe Kimble has published another Mr. Mouthful book—this one called Mr. Mouthful and the Monkeynappers. The main character is back with his highfalutin talk that creates comical scenes with kids. Then his hotshot monkey, Dupree, goes on a romp and gets into big trouble—only to have kids once again come to the rescue. Joe is hoping, naturally, that this new book receives the same positive reaction that the first one did—from reviewers and readers.

Way to go, Joe!

Lauren Ranalli's fourth children's book, Snow Day at the Zoo is now available!

What happens when the zookeeper's children are snowed in with their favorite animals? Find out in this wonderful winter adventure!

Congratulations, Lauren!

In August, Paulette Sharkey’s picture book, A Doll for Grandma (Beaming Books, 2020), was selected by United Through Reading for their recommended book list. The organization (unitedthroughreading.org) provides deployed military service members with the opportunity to record themselves reading a book of their choice to their child, and the child then receives a free copy of the book to read along with the storytime recording.

That's wonderful, Molly!

Look for the next request for submissions in your email, but please feel free to submit all your KidLit publishing news to Alison Hodgson at aewhodgson@gmail.com any time.  Enjoy the rest of fall here in beautiful Michigan!

All Summer in a Day: The Sweet (and SHORT) Journey of a Picture Book by Patti Richards

(This is part two of a three-part series. Read part one here.)

 

At the end of our first installment, I left you wondering, “Will the continued Covid shutdown mess with Patti’s release date? Will MRS. NOAH ever leave the dock? (see what I did there?), and does poor Margot ever get out of that closet?” Let’s find out!

 

Part 2

 

Story time at Baker Book House
in Grand Rapids

First raindrops fall.

 

For those of you who have been through the process of publishing a book, you know that just about anything can happen after the ink dries on a contract. Illustrators walk away, release dates change, marketing plans and budgets (if there are any) get reduced or eliminated. I knew this, and hoped none of it would be the case for my book.

 

First Week on Amazon!

But before we could get to release day, my editor left. Then the release date got pushed back, and we learned things weren’t improving for the publisher. But hey, I had a book coming out! I still believed that with a strong showing from MRS. NOAH and the publisher’s other fall releases, they would survive a little while longer. Their internal struggles also meant I was on my own when it came to planning release events. I’d helped so many others along the way get the word out about their books, I was not daunted. Head down. Swim on!

Then, on October 28, 2021, MRS. NOAH was born! She was the number 1 new release on Amazon for her category for several days, and she stayed in the top 100 in her category almost the entire time she was available. I was so excited!  

 

Diving In!

On the shelf
at Baker Book House in Grand Rapids

By the end of 2021, my fellow authors and I heard from the publisher. They were going to be doing a major restructuring of the company starting in 2022. When January rolled around, my publisher got sick with Covid. This, combined with their business woes, caused the marketing help promised in my contract to evaporate. What did that mean for MRS. NOAH? I needed to keep her strong start going.

 

So, I became a Canva expert and created engaging social media content to get the word out about my book. I researched contests, made a list of the ones I wanted to enter and how many books I’d need to make that happen. I ordered books from Amazon because I hadn’t received my author copies. I had done a blog tour the week the book released, so I put all of my energy into giveaways, holiday-themed Canva posts and the contests I mentioned above. I learned about organizations in the faith-based community and joined them. I bought more books and mailed out press kits to local and national bookstores. I blogged in places I’d never blogged before, and MRS. NOAH kept on sailing. I attended book-selling events that I never knew existed, and I got to do a couple of story times in places I wasn’t expecting. By the summer of 2022, MRS. NOAH was in several brick-and-mortar bookstores, and on her first birthday (which I celebrated on social media), I got to see MRS. NOAH on the shelf of our local public library. All of my efforts seemed to be paying off. But. . .

 

On the shelf at the 
Farmington Community Library

Cue Storm Clouds

 

During the summer of 2022, I received a letter from my publisher releasing the rights to my second book back to me. I no longer had a second book coming out. We still held out hope that with a plan to reduce the number of titles the publisher produced each year they would remain in business. But that was not to be. On December 31, 2022, one year and two months after MRS. NOAH’s release, my publisher was done.

 

But was this the end? What, if anything, was next for MRS. NOAH? Come back next month to find out!  

Patti Richards has spent more than 30 years writing stories and telling tales. Her first fiction picture book, MRS. NOAH (Little Lamb Books, October 2021) was a Selah Award Finalist, A Northern Dawn Book Award Winner for Best First Picture Book, a Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Winner, and a Royal Dragonfly Honorable Mention Winner. As a freelance writer, Patti has provided content for Capstone Publishing, Red Line Editorial, the Foundations Recovery Network, Uptv.com, The Lookout Magazine, Worship Leader Magazine, Songs4Worship.com, Metro Parent Publishing Group, and various other local, regional and national newspapers and magazines. In 2003, her article, “Timing is Everything When Treating Infertility,” (Metro Parent Magazine) won a Gold Medal Award for Special Section Within a Publication (Circulation of 55,000 or more), from Parenting Publications of America. Patti also offers professional picture book critiques. Visit her website, www.pattigail1.com to learn more!  

All Summer in a Day: The Sweet (and SHORT) Journey of a Picture Book by Patti Richards

(This is part one of a three-part series. Read part 2 here.)

 

I think I was in middle school when I first read Ray Bradbury’s, “All Summer in a Day.” Then I got to study it in more depth in high school and fell in love with the journey of Margot, the girl who believed that the sun was going to come out after seven years of rain, and her classmates who didn’t. When their lack of faith and what she knew was true ultimately collided, she ended up locked in the classroom closet, just as the sun came out. The children, forgetting about Margot, ran from the school building and stepped out into the most powerful light they’d ever seen. Then, almost as quickly as the sun came out, one raindrop, then another and another fell, until the clouds rolled in and the sky closed over it again. How long did all of this take you might ask? One. Single. Day.

 

So, what does this story have to do with my publishing journey? I’m glad you asked.

 

Back in 2019, I participated in a Twitter pitch party called #Faithpit. Faithpit was designed for authors who write faith-based children’s books to share their pitches in the hopes of grabbing the attention of agents and editors. As you all know, finding an agent in this business is extremely challenging. Writing for both the main stream and faith-based markets makes it even more difficult. There are very few faith-based publishers that take unsolicited manuscripts, so I knew this Twitter pitch event was a good opportunity.

I had written the first draft of a manuscript called MRS. NOAH about eight years earlier, and after many rounds of critiques and drafts, I had a picture book I was ready to submit, and the #Faithpit sounded like a good place to begin. So, I pitched!

Miracle of miracles, I got a heart for MRS. NOAH and for another manuscript. I followed the submission instructions for the interested publisher, and in a few months, I got the email offer for both books. This was in October while at a writing retreat with my critique group! What a sweet moment I got to share with my dear friends. I had the contract in my hand by Thanksgiving, and by Christmas, I had signed a two-book deal with release dates planned for 2021 and 2022. This was in late 2019. Enter 2020 and. . .

 

Covid.

 

In the first few months of 2020, I received my first round of edits for MRS. NOAH. Revising is one of my favorite parts of the writing process, so I was excited to dive in. By March, both of my adult daughters were back home, and now there were four of us working from all over the house. Thankfully, I had moved my office out of the corner of the dining room into a spare bedroom, so I could shut the door and enjoy the process of seeing MRS. NOAH come to life. No matter what was going on outside, I forged ahead.

 

It didn’t take long until the first interior sketches hit my inbox for my feedback. I still had to stop now and then, take a breath and make myself believe this was happening. I was running around in the sun like the children in “All Summer in a Day,” enjoying every moment of this thing I had worked so hard for and waited so long to come to pass.

 

More. Covid.

 

As the year progressed, it became clear the continued shut down was having a significant impact on the publishing world. Small houses were already having trouble staying afloat. My publisher began working on new projects to help increase revenue, while we continued getting MRS. NOAH ready for her debut. By the end of 2020, we were still on track for a Fall 2021 release.

 

But how would things progress given the continued shutdown? Would I make the release date, or would Covid stop me in my tracks?

Tune in next month to find out. . .

 

Patti Richards has spent more than 30 years writing stories and telling tales. Her first fiction picture book, MRS. NOAH (Little Lamb Books, October 2021) was a Selah Award Finalist, A Northern Dawn Book Award Winner for Best First Picture Book, a Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Winner, and a Royal Dragonfly Honorable Mention Winner. As a freelance writer, Patti has provided content for Capstone Publishing, Red Line Editorial, the Foundations Recovery Network, Uptv.com, The Lookout Magazine, Worship Leader Magazine, Songs4Worship.com, Metro Parent Publishing Group, and various other local, regional and national newspapers and magazines. In 2003, her article, “Timing is Everything When Treating Infertility,” (Metro Parent Magazine) won a Gold Medal Award for Special Section Within a Publication (Circulation of 55,000 or more), from Parenting Publications of America. Patti also offers professional picture book critiques. Visit her website, www.pattigail1.com to learn more!  

Book Birthday Blog with Patti Richards

 

 

 

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

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

Congratulations to Patti Richards on the release of Mrs. Noah 

 

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

 

I was packing my family for our very first cruise—a trip to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. I was running around like a crazy woman trying to prep for the two-day drive to Florida as well as the three-day voyage.  There were five of us in my family at the time, so making sure everyone had enough clean clothes and toiletries for all the stages of the trip was a big job. Add in buying up enough pet supplies and snacks for our house sitter, stopping the mail, making sure everyone had a swimsuit and shoes that fit, plus paying all the bills and getting the house cleaned before we could leave, and I was a shipwreck waiting to happen!

Somewhere in all of the craziness, I had this thought… “If I’m this stressed trying to get everything done before we leave for our cruise, how in the world did Mrs. Noah get everything ready for an ark full of animals and the rest of her family?” This made me laugh out loud. The idea of Mrs. Noah settled in and stayed (a “God whisper”) and by the time the trip was over, I had the first lines of the story in my head.

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

 

The themes of MRS. NOAH are love, family and teamwork! I hope young readers and the adults in their lives will see the joy and fun of working together, all wrapped up in the unconditional love it takes to make a house—or Ark in this case—a home!

 

 What inspires you to write?

 

So many things inspire me, it’s hard to name one. But the reason I write is to bring joy and light to little hearts in a world that can sometimes be difficult to navigate. I want all of my books to sing with love and the magic of childhood.

You have 2 more books scheduled for release next year. Do you have more books in the works and how do you stay organized?

 

I do, and just reading those words makes my heart so happy! It’s been many years in the making, and I’m so excited to see MRS. NOAH and my other two books out in the world. The thing about writing for children is that you need to have a variety of projects at different stages of completion at all times. So, while I’m marketing for MRS. NOAH, waiting for the finishing touches for O POSSUM’S PREDICAMENT (Blue Whale Press), and finishing revisions for MILLIE’S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE (Little Lamb Books), I’m still writing, revising and submitting new stories regularly as well as submitting to agents. Even as I’m answering these questions, I have several files open that I’ll look at off and on when I need a break from other tasks or have an idea that needs attention right away!

As far as staying organized, I use Excel spreadsheets to keep track of submissions. I have three different ones: Editorial Submissions, Agent Submissions, and one special one for a group I’m part of called, 100 Rejections Are a Good Thing!

What are your marketing plans for the book?

 

I have to admit that marketing is one of the things that gives me the most anxiety in this process. But I’m diving in and hoping I don’t make too many mistakes along the way. Right now, I’m in the process of visiting wonderful blogs like our Mitten! We’re also getting a press release ready to send out to local newspapers, libraries, schools and bookstores. I’m part of a launch group called “21 for the Books,” where we review others books and share on social media about release events, and I’m planning a Facebook live event the day MRS. NOAH releases. I think part of marketing is just doing what you know to do in the most professional and enthusiastic way you can, and that’s what I’m trying to do.

A little bit about the book . . .

 

Noah can’t wait to show his bride the enormous ark he’s just completed. As amazing as it is, Mrs. Noah knows it can be more. She sees beyond the wood and fasteners to the home it has the potential to be—and so, she gets to work! With care for each animal and its needs, Mrs. Noah hammers, gathers, knits, and schlepps this floating house into a loving home. And while she starts the project on her own, teamwork will see it through.

A little bit about the author . . .

As a writer, wife, mother, teacher, and storyteller, Patti Richards has spent nearly 30 years spinning yarns and telling tales. From local newspapers and regional and national magazines to published children’s books, Patti’s life revolves around writing words that speak hope, love, light and joy into the lives of her readers. She lives in Farmington Hills, Michigan with her husband Gene. You can visit her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram as well as on her website at www.pattigail1.com

SUCCESS STORY: Patti Richards and Work-For-Hire Writing Projects

You all know Patti Richards as one of our Mitten blog editors. She trumpets the good news and hard work of our SCBWI-MI members in two quarterly features, Hugs and Hurrahs and Writer Spotlights. It's been awhile since we've shared a Success Story interview, and Patti is the perfect candidate. It's her turn to shine! Patti kicked-off the new year with the release of her newest non-fiction book, ALL ABOUT SOCIAL NETWORKING.

Tell us a little about your book.
ALL ABOUT SOCIAL NETWORKING (Red Line/North Star Editions, January 2017) is part of the Cutting-Edge Technology series produced by North Star Editions. There are eight books in all that cover everything from apps and coding to drones and social media. They had two titles for me to choose from and I took the social networking title because that’s an area where I’m very comfortable. Specifically, my book is written for kids age 9 to 13 and defines social networking, how instant messaging works, the social media choices that are out there for kids, how to stay safe while online and future trends in social networking.

This book was a work-for-hire project. What does that mean?  
Work-for-hire writing is a bit different from the usual way writers submit a manuscript and wait to hear from a publisher or agent. With work-for-hire, the publisher determines the titles they wish to publish during their editorial year. Then they reach out to writers who have submitted resumes and writing samples or who have been recommended by another writer. If the writer is interested in taking on the project, the company sends a contract that outlines the terms of the agreement and payment.

Once the writer signs and returns the contract, she receives instructions on how to proceed. For me, this included an outline, suggested subheadings, submission formatting and those all-important deadlines! I got all my instructions in late May and had two weeks to complete the first draft. I waited about a week after submitting the first draft for my editorial notes (which required a complete rewrite because I’d miss some important style-guide points…ugh), and then the final draft was due about two weeks later. So the entire process from start to finish took approximately six weeks. That was last summer, and the book was released a few weeks ago. For most picture books the entire process can take two years or more from the day the contract is signed.

Are there pros and cons for this type of writing?
I really don’t see a downside because work-for-hire projects accomplish some important things.
First, it’s a paying gig, and those can be few and far between in this business. There’s nothing like knowing the work you’re doing is work you’re actually getting paid for as a writer. It’s a confidence builder in an industry where “atta girls” can be scarce!

Second, it forces you to work to a style guide and deadlines. It’s very common for those new to the business side of writing to chafe under deadlines. For me, deadlines are a part of daily life, and basically, if you don’t get it turned in on time, you don’t get paid. Learning to write under this kind of pressure sharpens your writing and editing skills in a way nothing else can.

Third, you get a hold-in-your-hand book at the end of the process and a new credit for your resume. It might not be the next Newbery Award or an idea that was born in your writer soul, but seeing a project like this through to completion and getting to open the box with your author copies inside- well, there’s just nothing like it!

As far as cons go, it’s difficult to find any. You’ve done the work (maybe faster than you would otherwise), it’s a substantial credit for your resume, and you have a book out. Some might shy away from this type of work because there are no royalties involved in work-for-hire projects. Once you get paid you don’t earn any more money and you have no rights to the content you’ve provided. I would say, sometimes you have to be willing to do things that look a little different than your dream in order to realize that dream in the long run. Writing is a business and making smart business decisions as you go along will serve you well in the end.

How did this opportunity come about for you?
I’m constantly looking for sources of paying work since I write for a living as well as working to get my children’s books published. As I’m working on writing web copy for clients, I’m researching places that do work-for-hire projects, whether they’re in the children’s market or other markets. I submitted my resume to Red Line Editorial the first time in October of 2014. I never heard back from them, so I resubmitted my resume in March of 2016, and this time, within 24 hours I was asked to send writing samples. Once I sent those and they liked them, I was put on their contributing writer list. That means if they come across a title for which they think a writer would be well suited, based on experience and the writing samples, they reach out. That happened for me just a couple of months later.

Do you have a responsibility for marketing/promoting these type of books?
No, work-for-hire projects are usually for schools and libraries and are marketed to teachers and librarians directly by the company. I can certainly promote the book through social media and my website/blog, but there’s no official book release party or that kind of thing for these projects; although there’s no rule that says an author can’t do that.

Do you have any research tips? And what about organizing all of this information (and on a tight deadline!)? Do you use a program like Scrivener?
Research for me has to go pretty fast, so I don’t use a program like Scrivener. I stay organized by simply cutting and pasting the URL from my sources into a Word document so I can keep a running list. Then from there I use a free bibliography generator like Citation Machine to produce a bibliography in whatever the style the publisher wants- MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.

This project required footnotes/endnotes, and for that I simply used the reference option in Word. I cut and past the URL while I’m writing into the endnote and then go back later and format the note correctly. For me, it’s better than stopping and starting all the time.

I also had to produce a glossary of terms and provide additional reading options for the “To Learn More,” section at the back of the book. So for these types of projects it’s pretty old school when it comes to research and sourcing, although internet resources make the entire process much, much easier!

Do you have any advice for others who would like to find work-for-hire writing projects?
As with other types of writing, researching the kinds of titles companies like this produce can help you craft samples that show you can do the work. One of the first things I did when I got this contract was to order a book written by a friend of mine for this same company so I could get a vision for what the final product would look like. I needed to see it before I started on my own title. Learning to write to a particular style may seem restrictive, but being able to adapt at a moment’s notice lets editors know you are a professional and someone they want to work with again and again.

As far as finding this type of work, Google is your best friend. Use keywords like “work-for-hire writing,” “work-for-hire writing for children,” “educational publishers,” and “educational book publishers,” and you’ll get lots of hits. From there, the submission guidelines, FAQ’s, Contact Us or About Us pages will tell you how to submit or where to send your resume and writing samples.

Thanks for helping us learn from your experience, Patti, and congrats again on your new book! You can learn more about Patti by visiting her blog, Sensibility and Sense, A Perfect Blog for Imperfect Writers. Patti offers paid critiques, resources for writers and insight into the world of writing for children.

https://www.scbwi.org/events/18th-annual-scbwi-winter-conference-in-new-york-ny17/

The annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York begins today! Safe traveling to everyone attending, and we'll share some reports from our MI attendees when they return.

https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1941237

The SCBWI-MI Written Critique Program is underway and going strong! Learn more here.

Happy creating!
Kristin Lenz

A Fond Farewell and an Introduction

You may have noticed some new names under our Meet the Editors heading. Before I make the introductions, please join me in sending a huge thank you to Jodie Fletcher who co-edited the SCBWI-MI newsletter for two years and helped with the transition to this blog. 

Jodie is devoting more time to her freelance writing career and is in the midst of a big move downstate to the metro-Detroit area. I heard there's quite a bit of home renovating going on, too - she's digging into all kinds of new projects. I'll miss our monthly editorial phone calls/inspirational chats, but now she'll live close enough to meet up in person! 

Jodie and I found ways to amuse ourselves whenever inevitable newsletter frustrations arose. My favorite was sneaking photos of Jodie's Little Dog into the newsletter stories, because who can resist that cute sweet face?!

Follow Jodie on Twitter @jodellafletch to keep up with her furry friends, writing projects, and much more.

Moving forward, I'm thrilled to introduce two new members to The Mitten blog team: Nina Goebel and Patti Richards!

Nina Goebel is an illustrator and will coordinate our Featured Illustrator content. She has great ideas, and I can't wait to see how the blog design evolves in her artistic hands. Learn more about Nina and see her artwork at her website.

Patti Richards is a children's author and will coordinate our Hugs and Hurrahs and Meet a Member spotlights. Patti and I have cheered for each other through our publishing highs and lows over the years, and I'm looking forward to blogging with her. Learn more about Patti and her various writing projects at her website.

Nina and Patti will share more about themselves in the weeks ahead, and we'll be brainstorming ways to make this blog beneficial to as many of you as possible. As always, we welcome your contributions, and we want to hear your ideas. See the Submissions tab above for information about writing guest posts or email me at kristinbartleylenz@gmail.com.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, and check in with us the following day on Friday, Nov. 28th. We'll have a special post to gear up for #Giving Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!
Kristin Lenz