Friday, January 30, 2009

SCBWI NY Winter Conference



The SCBWI NY Winter Conference starts today - Friday, January 30th . I unfortunately cannot make the conference this year...much to my disappointment.

However, Alice Pope, editor of Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market and member of SCBWI will be in attendance. For all of us who cannot make it, Alice will be blogging about the conference at:

http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/

Monday, January 26, 2009

Stories for Children Magazine to be Featured at Blog Talk Radio on “The Writing Jungle” Hosted by Lea Schizas.


Stories for Children Magazine
A monthly Ezine for Children (3 to 12)
Website:
http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org/

M E D I A R E L E A S E

CONTACT: Donna M. McDine
Marketing Manager, Stories for Children Magazine
Email: DonnaMcDine@storiesforchildrenmagazine.org
Phone: 800-670-4416
For Immediate Release

Stories for Children Magazine to be Featured at Blog Talk Radio on “The Writing Jungle” Hosted by Lea Schizas.

VS Grenier and Donna McDine of Stories for Children Magazine will be Lea Schizas’s guests at Blog Talk Radio on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 7:00 pm EST - http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lea-Schizas.

VS Grenier is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Stories for Children Magazine and SFC Newsletter for Writers. She also freelances as a children’s author and editor for Halo Publishing along with running her own editorial/critique service. Grenier was voted one of the Top Ten Editors of 2007 by the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll and won second place in Best Nonfiction of 2007 for her article, “Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus.” Learn more about Stories for Children Magazine at: http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org/. To learn more about VS Grenier visit http://vsgrenier.com/

Donna McDine is Marketing Manager of Stories for Children Magazine and a native of Rockland County, NY. Beyond the scope of her marketing duties, Donna is editor of Write What Inspires You! Newsletter. Her publishing credits include over 15 print and ezine publications. She placed 12th in the 77th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition in the category Children’s/Young Adult Fiction. She is a member of the SCBWI and Musing Our Children. To learn more about Donna’s writing career visit http://www.donnamcdine.com/ or http://www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com/.
Be sure to listen and call-in during their interview to ask any questions you may have. The dial-in information will be available prior to the radio show at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lea-Schizas. We look forward to hearing from you.

Learn more about Stories for Children Magazine at: http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org/

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Full Media Kit, Magazine Cover Art, and more are available electronically upon request.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Inspiration for JGDS series by Elysabeth Eldering

I am pleased to have Elysabeth Eldering with me today to share with us all her
inspiration for her Junior Geography Detective Squad. Elysabeth will be joining us throughout the day to answer any questions you may have.

Take it away Elysabeth:

My inspirations came from many places. The inspiration for this series came about originally from a story ("Train of Clues") I entered in a fan contest for Armchair Interviews for an upcoming anthology, "Silence of the Loons". At the time, I was doing book reviews for the site and one of the other ladies who did reviews also saw the contest and kind of dared me to enter the contest. Basically, it was "I'll enter if you enter" kind of thing. I told her I'd think about it.

I hadn't really written much before this, so put it on a back burner and kind of went on my way. While on a mother-daughter trip to Stone Mountain (GA), I was telling the other mothers about the contest and gave them the list of words that we had to incorporate into the story (at least four of the eight - a wig, a headless Barbie, a tattoo, a page from the dictionary, the scent of Obsession, the sound of a train whistle, footprints in the snow and a soiled ballet slipper). One of the girls piped up and said, "Oh, I know. You could make it like a birthday party scavenger hunt on a train or something like that." I thought about it for maybe a minute and then pushed it back out of my mind again. About a week later, I was asked by my friend again if I were going to enter the contest and responded that I didn't really know what to write because I wasn't so good at the writing like she was.

Well, with her encouragement and a couple other friends, I hammered out a story. She and I exchanged stories and edited for each other and gave pointers or suggestions on how to make things better. The contest deadline drew near. I decided to visit my local writing group (I actually have two chapters I could attend, but had already been to one and didn't feel they were helpful at all, so decided the group wasn't for me) and take my story for critique. I was devastated from their comments, mostly because I wasn't sure what to expect as I'd never experienced this kind of group before and I felt they didn't really get the story at all. I came home and cried. Another online friend talked me out of throwing it away; she told me to basically put it aside (I still had a week before the deadline) for a few days and then go back and reread their comments and think about all the things they said to me at the meeting, and then act upon what my gut was telling me. I did. She was right. The comments weren't that bad and the story did need some fixing up. I fixed and entered the contest.

Waiting was hard because we had no way of knowing how many people entered the contest and if what we (my friend the reviewer) had written was even what the judges were looking for.

"Silence of the Loons" was released and the winners were announced. My friend won first place. I placed second runner up, which was third on the listing, but the prize was the exact same thing as first runner up, a copy of "Silence of the Loons", so I say I won a shared second place. I was ecstatic to say the least. My first ever contest entered and I placed. I had talked to my two writer friends about making it a children's series; they were both encouraging to say the least. I looked into SCBWI and thought maybe I should get the opinion of an editor, if not for anything else, a direction. I found an editor, emailed her explaining the story and what I wanted to do - make each state the mystery destination by giving clues that would eventually lead the readers to guess the state. I started my research while she was working on formulating a plan or a direction for me to go.

When she finally sent me the information, I was totally in agreement. It felt right. I played around with it for a bit and then put it on the back burner again, just because I wasn't really ready to jump into a series. I couldn't find the way to make it so it wasn't so boring and nothing really clicked or fell into place for me. All the while the series was sitting on the back burner, I was still gathering my information.

Jump ahead a couple of years to a call for submission on a Yahoo! forum for stories for a new mystery site - the 5-Minute Mystery site - where the stories had to have the potential to be used in schools eventually and had to be short. I contacted the person who did the call for submissions and asked if the stories had to be murder mysteries or if they could be a mystery where it was kind of figuring out a place. I explained to him about my geography mystery series I was wanting to write but wasn't sure how it was going to get done as it would take a lot of time to do every state but my goal was to make sure the state was the mystery and that the clues led to the state. We conversed and he put in contact with his partner, who, I found out, works for an educational publisher. I wrote a couple of stories (two or three states) in different formats, attempting to find the best idea to create such short stories and get enough information in to make this work. They were, after all, offering $50 per story and if I did all fifty, I'd have received $2500. What I pictured and what they were wanting just weren't meshing.

Back to the drawing board. I was in another Yahoo! forum and met Aidana through her portfolio of drawings. I sent her an email about one of her drawings that just really fascinated me. We started chatting. I told her about my idea for the states series and she hooked me up with one publisher. I signed a contract and everything but then things fell through and there were problems abounding left and right and I didn't feel my books would ever get published. Vivian approached me and all but said she was interested in the series in not so many words. I had to get out of my contract with publisher #1 and move quickly to get with Vivian. I did so, and a couple of months later, State of Wilderness was born. It was great going through the whole process from start to finish and watching my small dream of making my very first contest-entered story become a series. Given that first break, I worked on my format more than the stories themselves.

Once I had the right format, I figured the stories would just kind of fall in place. The handheld game idea came and it worked. When I finished the first one, before it was in published stage, I let my 16-year-old daughter read it, because I know she doesn't like to read, just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. She read it in one sitting, which was a miracle in and of itself, and afterwards kind of gushed about wanting more. I know you think she is biased because she's my daughter, but trust me, getting her to read anything is not an easy task. She won't read for school, and when she checks books out from the library, they sit here until they are due and returned, unread. Since book 1 came out, we have had a few obstacles and problems getting book 2 out, but I have faith that the new law that is about to be effective and will affect many small businesses and larger ones including the publishing industry will work out and that we can continue with the series.

My original inspiration came from a mother-daughter trip and went from there. So to those GAs from the church, I owe a lot of thanks. They do get acknowledged in the books as being my original inspiration. For the encouragement and talks and edits from my online friends I also owe a lot. Without them, I would have given up and never entered the first contest. And for my kids, I can't thank them enough for being who they are since my brother-sister characters are based on their personalities a bit.

Inspirations come from many places and if you follow the encouraging people around you, you never know what will come from it. Keep writing, keep following your heart and remember, you never know where the adventure will take you but it's worth the risk.


Contact info:
email:
eeldering@gmail.com
blog:
http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com
website: http://junior-geography-detective-squad.weebly.com/
Publisher's website:
http://4rvpublishingllc.com

Book 1, State of Wilderness, available through publisher and author with teacher's guide available through special orders via Vivian at
president@4rvpublishingllc.com. (Teacher's guide is available as a downloadable file at the low price of $2 for individuals and homeschoolers who order one copy of the book through Vivian or as a free downloadable file for schools who order 10 copies of a book.)



Monday, January 19, 2009

Beverly Stowe McClure Interviews Children’s Author, Donna M. McDine


M E D I A R E L E A S E

For Immediate Release

Beverly Stowe McClure Interviews Children’s Author, Donna M. McDine.

Donna M. McDine is one of the most supportive, enthusiastic and energetic authors I know. As busy as she is with her writing, she takes the time to promote and inspire other writers, including me. I am delighted to interview Donna and have her share with us the exciting things that are happening in her career.

Visit Beverly Stowe McClure and Donna M. McDine at:

http://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/beverlywriter
http://beverlyjean.livejournal.com/
http://www.facebook.com/

Beverly and Donna talk about how crucial a writer’s attendance at writer’s conferences is, her new Marketing Manager position at Stories for Children Magazine, and her FREE newsletter, “Write What Inspires You!”

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Guest Author Tour - Elysabeth Eldering to Visit “Write What Inspires You!”


Guest Author Tour - Elysabeth Eldering to Visit “Write What Inspires You!”

Elysabeth Eldering, author of the new series Junior Geography Detective Squad will be stopping by and posting a guest post at Donna McDine's blog - Write What Inspires You! http://www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com/ on Tuesday, January 20th. State of Wilderness is the first in the series and is now available through all regular markets and State of Quarries should be released in January.

BIOGRAPHY FOR ELYSABETH ELDERING:

With a childhood spent traveling the globe, writer Elysabeth Eldering developed a passion for geography. Growing up in a military family, Elysabeth lived in Japan, Germany, New York, Kentucky, and Texas before her family finally settled in a small town in South Carolina. Elysabeth, who lives in Honea Path, put her globetrotting skills to work in the Junior Geography Detective Squad's 50-state mystery trivia series.

Published by 4RV Publishing, the series made its debut in summer 2008 with State of Wilderness. The Junior Geography Detective Squad will continue to put their mystery-solving talents to work in each state, challenging young readers on their knowledge of the nation's geography and interesting facts about each state. State of Quarries is next in the line-up.

The mother of three - an adult son and a teen-aged son and daughter - juggles a schedule that includes volunteering with her children's school activities, such as marching band and band competitions. An avid pet lover, Elysabeth is caretaker for the family's three dogs and a rabbit named Easter. She's active in the Greenville chapters of Sisters in Crime and the SC Writers Workshop and has judged entries for the Derringers Awards competition.

Elysabeth entered her first writing contest on a dare from a friend. Since then, the prize-winning writer has received awards from Armchair Interviews and Echelon Press. Her most recent story, “Bride and Seek,” was published in the SC Writers Workshop anthology The Petigru Review and is available on http://www.amazon.com/. She has an article on editing and self publishing, also with Armchair Interviews.

To learn more about the Junior Geography Detective Squad, visit http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com/. Contact the author at eeldering@gmail.com.

Elysabeth will be on hand to answer any questions you may have on Tuesday, January 20th at Write What Inspires You! – http://www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com/.

As an added bonus for those of you who leave comments for Elysabeth are immediately entered to win a USA map puzzle and some state related items in return for your interest in the Junior Geography Detective Squad series (State of Wilderness is the first in the series and all books will be titled State of ... with the word pertinent to the clues and other information about the state itself.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Premio Dardos Award



J. Aday Kennedy - A Writing Playground: http://jadaykennedy.blogspot.com/ honored Donna M. McDine with the Premio Dardos Award.

Premio Dardos means "prize darts" in Italian and it is given in recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and person values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing.

The rules are:
1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.

2) Pass the award along to blog(s) you find worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

Here is my choice for the Premio Dardos Award:

Terrie Hope - Write What Your Heart Desires - http://tbhope.blogspot.com/

Thanks for your hard work!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Interview with Christina Katz on Get Known Before the Book Deal


Interview with Christina Katz on Get Known Before the Book Deal
For limited release
January 4, 2009

Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer’s Digest Books). She started her platform “for fun” seven years ago and ended up on “Good Morning America.” Christina teaches e-courses on platform development and writing nonfiction for publication. Her students are published in national magazines and land agents and book deals. Christina has been encouraging reluctant platform builders via her e-zines for five years, has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. A popular speaker at writing conferences, writing programs, libraries, and bookstores, she hosts the Northwest Author Series in Wilsonville, Oregon. She is also the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books).

What is a platform, and why is it so important for unpublished writers to have one?

A platform is a promise, which says you will not only create something to sell (a book), but also promote it to the specific readers who will want to purchase it. Your platform communicates your expertise to others and it works all the time so you don’t have to. Your platform includes your Web presence, any public speaking you do, the classes you teach, the media contacts you’ve established, the articles you’ve published, and any other means you currently have for making your name and your future books known to a viable readership. A platform isn’t what you once did. It’s what you currently do. If others already recognize your expertise on a given topic or for a specific audience or both, then that is your platform. A platform-strong writer is a writer with influence.

Why is it so important to publishers that writers have a platform?

One writer can have a great book idea at the perfect time and be the absolute best person to write that book and still not land the deal if he or she doesn’t have the platform that is going to fulfill the promise to sell the book. Agents and editors have known this for years and look for platform-strong writers and get them book deals. If you want to land the book deal, today, then you need to become a platform-strong writer. You need to stand out in the crowd by the time you are ready to pitch your book.

Why did you write Get Known Before the Book Deal? What was the intention behind the book?

Most of the other self-promotion books for writers pick up with the book deal. No other book dials self-promotion all the way back to how to get started. My intention for Get Known was that it would be the book every writer would want to read before attending a writer’s conference. It should increase any writer’s chances of writing a saleable proposal and landing a book deal whether they pitch the book in-person or by query.

As I was writing the book, I saw how this type of information was often being offered as “insider secrets” at outrageous prices. No one should have to pay thousands of dollars for the information they can find in my book for the price of a paperback! Seriously. You can ask your library to order it and read it for free. Get Known outlines the complete platform basics step-by-step.

Is there a single most important thing authors need to do to build a platform?

When you think about the fact that about 500 books are published each day in this country, you realize that writing a book isn’t going to set you apart. So, the first thing you need to know is what makes you and your expertise unique and communicate that. If you don’t know who you are and what you uniquely offer, how is anyone else going to know? I call this cultivating your identity, not branding, because that word is so grossly overused these days. Identity also nods to the importance of keeping things real and staying true to yourself, while also making self-promotion a priority.

Can you give three specific tips to help writers launch their platform?

Sure. Here’s my top three…

1. Clarify the expertise you have to offer. If you don’t know what your expertise is, then mulling it over could take some time. And that’s okay. Consult experts you respect. Do some self-reflection. Get out and connect with others like you through associations or conferences. Write some articles on things you know how to do. Don’t be afraid to take time for platform development before you start spending a lot of time online…especially if you already are online but are not getting any closer to accomplishing your professional writing goals. When it comes to clarifying your expertise, taking a step back and looking within is a good strategy.

2. Carve out a distinct niche among others who are offering similar expertise. How are you different? Inquiring minds want to know. You’ll have to communicate who you are and what you do quickly. Attention spans are getting shorter, so writing down what you do concisely is critical. Platform isn’t the credentials or your resume; it’s what you currently do. It’s current, constantly evolving, and updated on an ongoing basis. A blog is a good example of a place where a writer can authentically share what she is learning to assist others. Any niche should always be a win-win proposition like this. But again, give your topic some forethought. Realize that a hundred people might already be blogging on the same topic.

3. Identify and respond to your audience. If you are vague about your audience, the whole writing process takes longer and typically requires more rewriting. This applies to books, blogs and everything else. But when you identify your specific audience and begin speaking to them directly, the conversation can spark all kinds of wonderful ideas, connections and opportunities. Small concrete steps build over time and create career momentum.

Times are tight, and people don't necessarily want to shell out money right now. Do you have any tips that are cost-friendly?

Platform development shouldn’t break the bank. My advice is don’t shell out money at the get-go. Instead educate yourself first and then take small steps. Try to avoid the impulse to slap together a platform quickly to impress others. I suggest a more long-term approach and working slowly and steadily in order to spend less and save more in the long run. This means, while you are working on your novel, you should at least be planning your platform. And if you want to write nonfiction, I suggest platform development first and book proposal development second. Platform development will help you write a stronger and more impressive proposal. The numbers of people you influence will help close the deal.

What are the special challenges for fiction writers building a platform?

Fiction/memoir/children’s writers will often spin off a series of topics they can explore to help promote themes they’ve already written about and hope to sell in book form. For example, novelist Marc Acito wrote How I Paid For College, A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater. Afterwards, it made sense for him to write and teach and speak on how to write humorous fiction and how to write a page-turner. Note how specific his topics were. He spun them off after mastering them in his process.

Other things fiction writers often learn about involve: place, a topic from their research, a time period, a truth or phenomenon, universal human themes, a particular time or phase every person experiences (like coming of age), or the creative process itself. These can become promotional opportunities (sometimes even paying ones) that spark book sales.

How do being prolific and/or productive relate to platform building?

Many writers promise publishers that they have the ability to make readers seek out and purchase their book. But when it comes time to demonstrate this ability, they can’t deliver. This explains why so many books get into print, only to go right out of print within the year. They don’t go out of print because they aren’t well written, mind you. They go out of print because they don’t sell. My mission is to empower writers to be 100 percent responsible for their writing career success and stop looking to others to do their promotional work for them so this won’t happen to them.

Platform development is crucial to the sustainability of your writing career. Don’t think: get a book deal. Think: get book deals. A prolific writer can churn out words. A productive writer closes deals and signs contracts to write the kinds of books she’d love to read.

Are there any types of writers who don’t need a platform?

Yes. There are dozens of reasons to write but only writers who want to establish themselves as professional writers, who aspire to publish a traditionally published or a self-published book should concern themselves with platform development. If you’re writing for other reasons, such as to heal, to connect with friends and family, or just for pleasure, then perhaps you don’t need a platform.

When you're done platform building, how do you find time to write?

My career goes in cycles. I have periods that focus on writing followed by periods that focus on self-promotion. I’m in a promo cycle right now and it’s fun! I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. And I’m still writing plenty. I have noticed that these supposed “non-writing times” often yield the next book idea, which has been the case again this time. I can’t wait to pitch it.

If a writer starts today and allows platform development to be an integrated aspect of her writing career, I’m sure she will find that the two efforts—writing and self-promotion—feed each other and help her career to grow naturally and authentically. And what writer wouldn’t want that?

You can learn more about Christina and her offerings at http://www.christinakatz.com.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Rebel in Blue Jeans - Character Visit



Author, Beverly Stowe McClure has unleashed two hysterical characters from her novel Rebel in Blue Jeans. Will and Sully insisted that they have a chance to tell their stories, since the puppies and Rebel have been the stars of the book so far. So here are the Garret cousins, Will and Sully, Rebel’s neighbors, who have agreed to answer a few questions. Ready, guys?

Will: You bet.

Sully: Always. (Said with a wicked grin.)

Q: Will, you and Sully are cousins, right?

Will: We are.

Q: Sully, why do you live with Will and his parents?

Sully: I was eleven when my folks were killed in a car accident. I’ve lived with cuz here (he gives Will a friendly shove) ever since.

Will: (Shoves back) He’s more like a brother than a cousin, annoying at times.

Sully: Ah, you’re just jealous ’cause I’m a chick magnet and you’re not.

Will: Ha! In your dreams.

Q: OK, guys. I get the picture. Let’s talk about Rebel. How did you meet her?

Will: We’ve known Rebel all our lives. The Ferguson Ranch borders our Rockin’ G Ranch.

Q: You’re childhood friends then.

Sully: Reb was more like a childhood pest.

Q: How was she a pest?

Will: I wouldn’t exactly call her a pest; she just liked to tag along with us. Wherever we went, she was there.

Sully: We’d go fishing, and she’d bring her pole. She always managed to hook my shirt or a tree limb, instead of a fish. I spent most of the time untangling her line.

Will: Yeah, but she doesn’t have brothers or sisters so she gets lonesome. We sort of adopted her as our little sis.

Q: When did your attitudes about Rebel change?

Will: (Looks at Sully, who looks back) I don’t know exactly. One day she was this skinny kid wearing braces.

Sully: The next day, the braces were gone, and she had curves.

Will: Sully! You’re talking about our Rebel.

Sully: Absolutely.

Q: All right, boys. This is a friendly conversation. Why do you call her “our Rebel”?

Will: (Clears his throat.) Other guys are getting interested in her.

Sully: And we have to check them out to be sure they’re (he throws Will a quick glance) gentlemen.

Q: What does Rebel think about this?

Will: (Grins) She loves us.

Sully: And forgives us.

Q: Forgives you for what?

Will: For running the guys off.

Q: I see. She’s having a pretty rough time now, with her mother leaving home.

Sully: Reb’s tough. She’ll survive.

Will: Which reminds me, we promised to take her to the movies this afternoon, so we gotta go. Thanks for talking to us.

Q: Thank you for your insight into Rebel’s life.

Will: You’re welcome.

Sully: Bye.

To learn more about Beverly's exciting writing career visit: http://rebelinbluejeans.wordpress.com or http://beverlystowemcclure.wordpress.com

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Margie Lawson's ~ Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors Online Class


Thanks to Jan Fields at the Institute of Children's Literature I have been following Kristi Holl's blog and to my pure delight one of Kristi's recent posts was about Margie Lawson’s “Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors” online class for writers. Early on in my writing career, Kristi's book Writer's First Aid was one of the first books I read and I knew her blog would be of great interest to me.
I have known for quite some time that I make my To Do lists way to long and then get frustrated when I can't accomplish all on my list. At times I seem to back pedal and have the feeling of never getting anywhere.


What most intrigued me about Margie's online class was the no pressure - the amount of participation by the student was left up to them. At first I thought I would be lurker and learn from the lectures and assignments. However, after positive encouragement from Margie I became more active I decided that participation would be beneficial to me.
One of the most important aspects of the on-line course is to team up with a "Change Coach" - which is someone that you are held accountable to. This may sound scary at first...but believe me this is what makes this course such a huge success. Since there are people from a variety of backgrounds I wanted to connect with someone that writes for children and to my absolute pure delight, Kristi Holl, reached out to me to partner up with. We immediately bonded and continue to be a supportive and direct with each another.
Margie's course is a must and you don't even have to leave home to attend.
Good luck with your inspiration for 2009!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Guest Author - Beverly Stowe McClure



Be sure to visit on Monday, January 12th when author Beverly Stowe McClure permits her characters Will and Sully from Rebel in Blue Jeans to visit at Write What Inspires You!

Their quick banter will have you chuckling and leave you wanting more.

Please visit and leave comments...author, Beverly Stowe McClure...aka...Will and Sully will answer any questions you may have!

Until then...keep writing!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Vote for SFC Magazine at Preditors & Editors Readers’ Polls 2008

Stories for Children Magazine
A Free monthly Ezine for Children (3 to 12)
Website: http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org


M E D I A R E L E A S E

CONTACT: Donna M. McDine
Marketing Manager, Stories for Children Magazine
Email: DonnaMcDine@storiesforchildrenmagazine.org
Phone: 800-670-4416

For Immediate Release

Vote for SFC Magazine at Preditors & Editors Readers’ Polls 2008.

Stories for Children Magazine values our readers and contributors immensely and you are what makes SFC the success it is today. SFC has been nominated 20 times in 14 categories at the Preditors & Editors Readers’ Polls 2008 and we are asking for your help to vote for SFC Magazine. Cruise on over to Preditors and Editors voting page at http://www.critters.org/predpoll/ and click to the corresponding category and vote for your favorite today:

Boy in Reverse by C. Lee Makenzie - Category: Sci-fi/fantasy short stories

Sugar Paw and the Babysitter by VS Grenier - Category: All other short stories

Snow Angles by Wendy Dickson - Category: All other short stories

Dinosaur Tracks in My Backyard by VS Grenier – Category: Nonfiction/Articles

Telling Time with the Sun, Moon, and Stars by Kassandra Radomki – Category: Nonfiction/Articles

Best of Stories for Children Magazine Volume 1 – Category: Anthologies

The Little Red Sock by Arnot McCallum – Category: Poems

Sidewinder by Melaine Ryther – Category: Poems

A Grand Dilemma artwork by Stephen Macquignon – Category: ArtworkS

cott's Zoo artwork by Melissa Zepeda – Category: Artwork

September 2008 Cover by Livia Coloji – Category: Cover Artwork

March 2008 Cover by Robby Nicholson – Category: Cover Artwork

VS Grenier – Category: Author

Feras Nouf – Category: Illustrators

Marie Letourneau – Category: Illustrators

VS Grenier – Category: Book Editor (this is for Halo Publishing freelance editor)

VS Grenier – Category: Magazine Editor (for Stories for Children Magazine)

SFC Book Review/Donation Program – Category: Book Review sites

SFC Bookstore – Category: Bookstore sites

Stories for Children Magazine – Category: Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction

Voting is from January 1-14, 2009. Please note: vote only once for each category, double voting will be cancelled out.

Your continued support of SFC Magazine is appreciated.

Be sure to check out the January 2009 issue of SFC Magazine. The magnificent articles and stories will astound you.

Learn more about Stories for Children Magazine at: http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org

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Full Media Kit, Magazine Cover Art, and more are available upon request electronically.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Virtual Book Tour

Today's the day. My virtual book tour for Rebel in Blue Jeans begins. I'm posting the first two stops. Will post others a couple at a time. If you get a chance stop by and meet Rebel and friends. We'd love to read your comments and messages.

Here they are:

Jan 5: http://thebookrack.wordpress.com/2008/12/29/rebel-in-blue-jeans/

Jan 6: http://valleygirlmusings.blogspot.com/ "The Real Hollywood"

More later. Have to run to the hospital now to see about hubby.

Have a good week.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Special Announcement!


Special Announcement Revealed! Thank you to all who have been following along with my teasers/hints regarding my special announcement. Your interest and support is greatly appreciated. Without further ado:

In the last several years I have attended numerous in-person writers’ conference and the last two Muse Online Writers Conferences. The success stories that I've been privy to when a writer finds success in finding an agent or publisher are exhilarating. I have often wondered: How can I make this happen? Are these events pipe dreams? I'm here to tell you, you can make these special connections happen and they do not need to be pipe dreams, but reality. While coasting through the cyber-space hallways at the 2008 Muse Online Writers Conference, I received a virtual tap on my shoulder and an unexpected surprise was presented to me. VS Grenier, founder and editor of Stories for Children Magazine presented me an offer to join her team, starting January 2009 as Marketing Manager.

Your attendance at conferences is indeed crucial to be put into the right place at the right time. You never know who has been watching your writing career from afar and may present themselves to you and offer a wonderful opportunity.

Go for it...market your writing career...the break you've been striving for may just be right around the next corner!

Wishing you all a blessed 2009 filled
with happiness & success!