Write What Inspires You! ~ Donna M. McDine: SCBWI

Showing posts with label SCBWI. Show all posts

Monday, April 6, 2020

Children’s Book Award Contests: The Importance of Entering by Donna McDine

Children’s Book Award Contests: The Importance of Entering

By Donna McDine

The importance of entering children’s book award contests goes well beyond a win. There are two sides you can capitalize on. The obvious, if your book achieves book award recognition you and your publisher can reap the benefits of promoting you as an award-winning author. Second, even if you don’t place in the contest your book does gain additional exposure through the judging process. For example, when I participated in the 2011 NYS Reading Association Conference and Author Fair, two different teachers who are judges for the 2014 NYS Reading Association Charlotte Award mentioned they read my book for the contest. This provided a great opportunity to talk about my school visit workshops and The Golden Pathway’s Educators Guide, which then led to two different school visits. What better way to get the conversation going about your book then by people in the educational trenches.

Not sure where to being your search for contests? Of course the Internet is your most viable option. Google “children’s book award contests” and you will receive over a million hits. I can feel your shoulders sag; please don’t be dismayed as to where to begin. To help you get started I recommend the following websites for comprehensive contest listings:

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators – The Golden Kite Award, Sid Fleischman Humor Award, and Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award.

Story Monster Ink

The Purple Crayon

The Reading Tub – Directory of Children’s Literature and Book Awards

U.S. National and Canadian Awards for Children's and YA Literature

Children’s Literacy Classic International Book Awards

IRA Children’s and Young Adult’s Book Awards

Writer’s Digest -Even though The Golden Pathway and Hockey Agony were originally submitted as short stories to the annual contest they both placed as Honorable Mentions hence providing interest by Guardian Angel Publishing in offering my first two children book contracts.

An additional effective way to help keep you up to date on children’s book awards is by setting up a Google Alert with “children’s book awards”

Don’t stop researching with just the above mentioned. Conduct a search by state, topic, etc. (i.e., historical fiction, bullying, music, etc., all depending on the topic of your book). Cynthia Leitich Smith’s website noted above is a great resource for state-by-state.

Since the majority of contests are copyright deadline based, even before your book is published you need to educate yourself as to what contest is the most reputable and the best fit for your particular book. Do your homework and double check the submission guidelines (they do change from time to time just as publisher submission guidelines). Don’t come across as an amateur, research and confirm submission guidelines before submitting. What to look for: topic, copyright year, state of residency, country, etc.

Create an Excel spreadsheet for tracking purposes:

· Contest Name

· Contact Info

· Deadline Date

· Date Submitted

· Winners Announced By

· Accepted

· Rejected

· Comments

Of course, adjust the form to your personal needs. I set deadline reminders 30 days prior to the actual deadline on my Outlook Task Reminder. Don’t feel as if you need to “reinvent the wheel” in creating your Excel spreadsheet, if you are interested I’d be delighted to email you my blank tracking form. Please feel free to email me at donna@donnamcdine.com. Please mention where you read my article and put “Children’s Book Contests Tracking Form” in the subject line.

Good luck in your quest in becoming an award-winning children’s author!

If you are an award-winning children's author, I'd enjoy hearing about your journey.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Be safe and well!

Write What Inspires You! Newsletter ~ Opt-in today and join parents, teachers, and colleagues who receive Donna’s newsletter and receive two FREE e-Books: “The Story Behind the Books” and “Marketing Tips”

#childrensbookawardcontests

#SCBWI

#storymonsterink

#thepurplecrayon

#thereadingtub

#clcinternationalbookawards

#writersidgest

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Multi Award-winning Children's Author
Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!

Angel's Forever Home ~ March 2019 ~ Mascot Books ~ 2019 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Six and Older

Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Five and Under and Story Monster Approved

A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014 and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Slaying My Inner Naysayer with Planning and Interaction

Kicking off February 2020 my journey continues in remaining focused and slaying my inner naysayer...

I've been planning out and writing my blog posts ahead of time, thanks to Sandra Beckwith of BuildBookBuzz in offering her 2020 Literary Calendar with 122 Occasions for Book Fans. A wonderful resource!

I've also submitted two manuscripts to publishers for consideration.

Attending Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators (SCBWI) area event...

SCBWI Shoptalk session - hosted by the Eastern Upstate SCBWI Chapter on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 6:30-89:30 pm at the New City Library, New City, NY. I am over the moon that there is enough interest in continuing monthly SCBWI right here in Rockland County. Thank you to Kerry for coordinating!

I'd enjoyed hearing about how you are keeping your focus for 2020!

Looking forward to a year of manifestations through healthy living and positive efforts filled with gratitude!

#buildbookbuzz

#naysayer

#blogpostplanning

#scbwi

#manuscriptsubmission

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Multi Award-winning Children's Author
Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!

Angel's Forever Home ~ March 2019 ~ Mascot Books ~ 2019 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Six and Older

Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Five and Under and Story Monster Approved

A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014 and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Monday, January 6, 2020

Slaying Your Inner Naysayer - Starting 2020 Off on Positive Note

In my continued journey of slaying my inner naysayer, I'm starting off 2020 on a positive note in several ways...

Continuing a healthy self-care lifestyle through journaling, meditation, massage and Reiki therapy, eating healthy and staying hydrated.

Dusting off several shelved works-in-progress and will be attending several Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators (SCBWI) area events and workshops...

SCBWI Agents Panel at Manhattanville College - hosted by the Westchester NY SCBWI Chapter on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at Thank you to Gina and Kimberly for coordinating!

SCBWI Shoptalk, Q&A & Critique session - hosted by the Eastern Upstate SCBWI Chapter on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 6:30-89:30 pm at the New City Library, New City, NY. Thank you Kerry for coordinating!

I'd enjoyed hearing about how you are setting the tone for a fabulous 2020!

Looking forward to a year of manifestations through healthy living and positive efforts filled with gratitude!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Plagiarism in Non-Fiction by Nancy Stewart

Please welcome guest blogger and Amazon best-selling and award-winning author, Nancy Stewart as she discusses "Plagiarism in Non-Fiction." Nancy's expertise in the non-fiction arena shined through at her intensive Non-Fiction for Children Seminar at the Orlando Florida, SCBWI Florida Mid-Year Conference with Deb Wayshack. Wish I could have attended the conference!

As a university professor, plagiarism was never far away from my sights. I talked about it, warned about it and, alas, had to take action because of it.

What I did find to be the case many times, though, was plagiarism was a sin of omission. What do I mean by this? Simply stated, some students didn’t know enough about plagiarism not to do it.

To that end, I’m sharing what I hope will be of value to those of you in the blogosphere who enjoy writing non-fiction but want to be accurate while doing so. In the interest of non-plagiarism, the illustrations I’ve written below are taken from the University of Indiana’s Writing Center, Bloomington. This is one of the best examples I’ve seen for modeling how not to plagiarize.

Here’s the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.:

The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade.

Here’s an UNACCEPTABLE paraphrase that is plagiarism:

The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as well as production.

Why is the paraphrase above unacceptable?

The writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or changed the order of the original’s sentences.
The writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts.

Below is an unacceptable paraphrase:

Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing and commercial centers (Williams 1).

Why is the paraphrase above acceptable?

The writer accurately relays the information in the original
uses her own words.
The writer lets his/her reader know the source of her information.

I hope this illustration helps with the thorny dilemma of plagiarism. Remember, when writing non-fiction, research is paramount. But when gaining information from that research, be sure to do your due diligence around plagiarism, too. It will keep you legally safe and allow you to write your wonderful non-fiction book without worry!

Website: http://www.nancystewartbooks.com
Blog: http://www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/stewartnancy

Email: nancystewartbooks@yahoo.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancy.rosenthalstewart

Nancy, as always it's been a true pleasure hosting you. Looking forward to your next visit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval Recipient and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Guest Blogger - Sharon Stanley Visits Write What Inspires You

Welcome to writer, Sharon Stanley! I recently had the pleasure of meeting Sharon online during the Guardian Angel Publishing celebration of Children's Book Week. Sharon was a gracious visitor throughout the week and we made a quick connection through cyberspace. I'm delighted to share with you Sharon's guest blogger post entitled, "Labels." I hope you enjoy reading Sharon's article as much as I did.

"Labels"

by Sharon Stanley

I have been writing as long as I can remember. After my youngest child graduated, I decided to submit for publication. I joined the (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and revamped my blog but what would I call myself? Author seemed pompous since I am unpublished. Writer seemed a little better, or was it?

Before deciding on a label I looked up the definition of "writer". Webster says a writer is "one who writes; one who has the occupation of writing." I'm OK with "one who writes" but occupation implies pay. I decided to pull out J.I.Rodales's Synonym Finder (l986) to find a better label.

First, I got sidetracked and looked up "housewife." There were many synonyms… housekeeper, chief cook and bottle washer, mate, consort and my personal fave, better half. I moved on to "mother”… female parent, matron, old lady and the one I love: motherkins.

"Oh motherkins, what's for supper?" Maybe not.

As to writer, there were 71 synonyms. Here are some of my favorites: pen-pusher, ink-slinger, hack, leg-man, scribe, and the one that rang true.....scribbler.

I find it hard to admit I AM A WRITER. I hate the thought of being compared to people who really write, make money at it, and are really good at it.

Then it occurred to me- I have many labels: mother, housekeeper, wife, friend, Christian, sister, and daughter. There’s no monetary compensation for those, why should writer be any different? I've been writing for years for the sheer pleasure of it; why should that change just because I now wish to pursue this pleasure seriously?

So I shall write my stories and blog and grocery list and whatever else I decide, and not think too much about labels. If I am fortunate enough to publish a book, perhaps I will be more comfortable with author. Till then, I’m happy with writer. I’m still pretty certain motherkins won’t work.

So what is your label?

About the writer: Sharon Stanley writes picture books from the farm she shares with her husband and two boys. To date, pre-published, she lives in a crop circle of craziness where subject matter is never lacking. Sharon is a member of the SCBWI and began her writing journey in earnest when her youngest graduated last year. She strives each day to "live creatively....with cows."

Visit Sharon: www.sharonstanleywrites.blogspot.com "life is short. smile while you still have teeth."

Sharon, thank you for guest blogging at Write What Inspires You! I look forward to staying connected!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval Recipient and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Karin Larson - Adventures in Children Writing

Drop by Karin Larson's new blog - Adventures in Children Writing at:

http://karin-larson.blogspot.com/

Her recent postings include her experiences at the SCBWI--Dakotas Spring Conference in Sioux Falls, SD.

You'll be happy you stopped by.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

SCBWI NY Winter Conference ~ 2008

The SCBWI 9th Annual Winter Conference blew into NYC on a not too frigid day, which is great since February in NYC can be downright frosty. I had the distinct pleasure of attending the SCBWI Writers Intensive on Friday, February 8th.

The day begin with the keynote speakers, Judy Enderle & Stephanie Gordon. It is no wonderful these two talented women work as a writing team. They compliment one another and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Their presentation titled, "Begin Again!" was full of helpful tips that fit around the theme, "A Look at Beginnings that Won't Let an Editor say NO!"

The morning continued with the first round of Moderated Critiques...for those who have not had the privilege and opportunity to participate in this unique session...you are placed at a round table with eight other writers and one agent or editor. Each person gets the opportunity to read their 500-word excerpt or synopsis. The agent or editor provides you with their professional critique and suggestions for your piece and then each of your peers provides you with their critique.

I cannot say enough how wonderful a experience and opportunity this is for a writer. Networking is key and the lunch break serves to be the perfect time to head to lunch with several of your new writer friends. Getting to know one another over an informal lunch is the perfect time to exchange contact information and your personal experiences and suggestions in writing for children.

The afternoon picked back up with the afternoon Moderated Critique session. And the day ended with yet another fabulous and informative lecture entitled, "Whew, I Can't Believe I Made It! I Need a Drink/Massage/New Keyboard...and Deeper Thoughts About Last Pages," from Jane Yolen was filled with fabulous insights and tips.

Much like the day before, the ballroom at the Hilton was filled with energized writers on Saturday, February 9th and all were a buzz in anticipation of the days events. Many writers met friends from the SCBWI boards in person for the first time and were able to finally fit the typed words to the faces of so many.

The day began with the welcoming humor of Lin Oliver & Stephen Mooser as they introduced the day events and the morning keynote speaker, Nikki Grimes. Ms. Grimes presented an energizing and enlightening speech entitled, "The Power of Poetry," she has definitely converted one attendee to look at poetry in a different light.

The morning speeches continued with a delightful and humorous presentation from David Wiesner entitled, "Storytelling Without Words." The illustrator talent of David Wiesner takes your breath away.

We were all then treated to the Breakout Workshop Sessions, which each attendee had the opportunity to pre-register for two from a list of ten (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). Presenters included: Anamika Bhatnagar, Scholastic; Alessandra Balzer, Hyperion; Caitlyn M. Dlouhy, Atheneum; David Gale, Simon & Schuster; Jennifer Hunt, Little, Brown; Wendy Loggia, Delacorte; Mark McVeigh, Aladdin Paperbacks; Molly O'Neill, Harper Collins; Reka Simonsen, Henry Holt and Nancy Siscoe, Knopf & Crown. I attended the sessions with Molly O'Neill of Harper Collins and Reka Simonson of Henry Holt. Both were informative and I walked away with an immense amount of information to better help me understand the publishing industry.

The Luncheon Keynote Address was made by Carolyn Mackler entitled, "Laughing, Crying & Being a Major Snoop: My Life as a Teen Novelist." Her presentation was both humorous and heart touching...she definitely pulled at your heartstrings. A

fter the second round of the Breakout Workshop Sessions the day concluded with a presentation entitled, "Five Agents View the Marketplace." The panel consisted of: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary; Miriam Altshuler, Miriam Altshuler Literary; Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary; Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown, Ltd; and Jodi Reamer, Writers House. This interactive panel after their initial presentation was the perfect way to conclude the day.

I unfortunately, was unable to attend the Sunday session due to a family obligation. This being my second SCBWI Winter Conference I can honestly say I did not have a favorite session or event. Each moment was filled with the perfect opportunities to network. And the positive support and encouragement everyone provides makes me walk away feeling energized and encouraged to keep traveling down this path of writing for children.