Happy Blogoversary to Raychelle Writes!

My oh my, how time flies! One year ago today I started my blog, Raychelle Writes, in an effort to network with my fellow authors, illustrators, lit folks, and book lovers. I was just getting started as an indie author and trying to learn and share everything I could about the publishing world. I have self-published 7 books with 3 more on the way this summer. Blogging has kept me writing consistently and has afforded me more opportunities as a freelance writer.

On this journey I have "met" hundreds of smart, talented, and creative people who are all a part of an incredibly supportive community. I am grateful to all of our followers and contributors to Raychelle Writes. Here are some highlights of what we have accomplished together over the last 12 months:

1)  On  July 13, 2011 Raychelle Writes was founded.

2)  We currently have over 70 loyal subscribers.

3)  Raychelle Writes has had over 20,000 page views.

4)  We have reviewed over 20 books in our Raychelle Reviews series.

5)  On January 9, 2011 we launched The Writer's Block and have since conducted over 80 interviews.

6)  We established a Raychelle Writes Facebook page  with 273 "Likes" so far.

7)  We have hosted over 10 guest bloggers.

8)  We have supported several book releases including my daughter's first middle-grade novel, Riley and the Kitchen Katastrophe!

9)  We won our first blog award!

10)We also hosted our first illustrator's contest, Sketch the Story!

So, what's next for us? Starting this fall we will offer an editing, proofreading, and critique service: Raychelle Edits. Raychelle Designs will  offer book cover designs and layouts. Raychelle Blogs for You will provide high-quality, yet affordable, blog content. So stay tuned for details!

For the next 6 weeks, I will be concentrating on finishing my next three books: Smart Girls Like You, Smart Boys Like You, and The Living Well. The launches will no doubt be pretty labor-intensive, so don't panic if I seem to be a little less active in my posts. My hope is that you will keep reading and contributing to Raychelle Writes. Together, we can continue to accomplish great things!

A Raychelle Writes Milestone!

In just a few short weeks, this blog will celebrate its first anniversary! Since the launch on 7/13/2011, Raychelle Writes has picked up 68 followers, logged over 19,000 page views, conducted over 80 interviews on The Writer's Block series, reviewed over 15 books, hosted several guest-bloggers, had our first illustrator's contest, and (hopefully) shared some helpful information about all things writing.

Blogging has proved to be a highly effective way to network and build my platform as an author/illustrator. If you are a writer and you are not blogging, seriously consider it. It has enabled me to help many people showcase their creations, including my 12 year-old daughter/new author, Halima. But, blogging has also given me a media outlet that I control and a reason to write most days of the week. I have learned so much from every person I have "met". My gratitude towards every individual who has allowed me to share their stories is overflowing.

I have some rough plans for how the one year anniversary of Raychelle Writes will be commemorated, but I would love to hear your suggestions. Are you interested in what some of The Writer's Block alums have been up to since their initial interviews? Would you like to see some guest bloggers? How about some agent interviews? Perhaps another contest? Book club? What would you like to see?

Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments below. I look forward to hearing from you! Have a wonderfully productive Friday!

Drumroll, Please. And the Winner Is...

 JO ANN KAIRYS!

Jo Ann's Story


My name is Yuceli
And I sure am in a hurry.
Baby Marco's in the park,
Gotta get him before dark.
Mama wants us home
To celebrate her birthday
So I'm on my way
Quick as I can run!

Jo Ann is the winner of an interview on The Writer's Block which will be accompanied by a 7-photo portfolio spread of her artwork. Her interview will be promoted on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Raychelle Writes, Raychelle's Place, The Hive, Goodreads, Jacketflap, email subscribers, etc. As an added value, Jo Ann may also receive a review of her children's book Sunbelievable which would be posted on this blog, Goodreads, etc.

Congratulations, Jo Ann!


Learn More About Jo Ann
Co-Author and Co-Illustrator of Sunbelievable - A Children's Picture Book

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/storyquestbooks

Twitter: twitter.com/jkairys

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108085758073290300625/posts

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/jo-ann-kairys

YouTube: youtube.com/user/44mykats/videos

Keep your pen to the paper! Remember, inspiration is everywhere...

Sketch the Story! Contest: And the Winner Is... Plus Other Updates!

I am sure that you are dying to know who won my first-ever blog contest! Stay tuned--the winner will be announced on Monday, May 14th!

I successfully completed my first NaPiBoWriWee writing 7 picture books in 7 days. Many thanks to Paula Yoo for hosting this event and helping me to find my "inner Zen". I learned that I can shut out the world and be creative under even the most undesirable circumstances. Need a boost to your creativity and/or discipline? Take a writing challenge!

 

My daughter was just notified that she is a 2012 State Finalist in the Letters About Literature Contest for the third year in a row. She is pretty excited, but has informed me that wants to win next year. I am really proud of her. She loves to read and is turning into a great little writer. Onward and upward, Halima!

Next week, there will be more great interviews, guest bloggers, and book reviews. I hope that you will stop by to see who is visiting The Writer's Block! (There will also be an exciting announcement about a project I've been working on!)

Keep your pen to the paper! Remember, inspiration is everywhere...

Updates from a Whirlwind of a Week!

I hope you all had a happy Friday! After an exhausting day spent in the real world, I promptly collapsed into deep slumber. I did very little posting, but here are some updates for those of you who are interested:

Pending Book Reviews: I will be reviewing several books this weekend that have been submitted over the last month or so. I typically prefer to do them in batches--it just helps me focus on them a bit better. I will email the authors when I have posted to Amazon and Goodreads, as well as provide the dates they will be featured on this blog.

NaPiBoWriWee 2012 Update: This challenge has been one of this week's highlights for me. I am right on schedule and story ideas are a-flowin'! On day 3, I wrote about the joys of a toddler who has the flu, and last night I penned a silly take on the big sister-little sister relationship. Who knows what today will bring? Come back for more updates!

Sketch the Story! Contest: I am grateful to those who took the time to enter my first contest or share the information with someone else. Stay tuned for judging next week!

Author Interviews: Look forward to some great author interviews to run over the next several weeks as part of The Writer's Block series. I am scheduling run dates today and will be notifying authors who have submitted completed interviews. Read some of the more popular posts and take a look back through the archives. You might even recognize a name or two. Maybe you will be featured next?

Thank you so much for your support! I started Raychelle Writes on July 13, 2011. In the time since the inaugural post, my blog has creeped over 13,000 page views and has 67 members! We have conducted over 75 author interviews since January of this year, hosted several guest bloggers, helped promote a few Kickstarter projects, and even reviewed a few children's books. I have many, many ideas for new content, but I would like to hear from you. What do you want to see on Raychelle Writes?


Okay, I have papers to grade (I'm a homeschooler), a guest blog to write, and four articles to crank out (for the "day job") on top of some illustration work and everything listed above. Gotta' run!

Keep your pen to the paper! Remember, inspiration is everywhere...

Why Are Published Authors So Busy?

In her blog post, "Life As A Published Author", literary agent Rachelle Gardner addresses why signing a publishing contract means more work, more responsibility, more challenges, and added pressure. So much for the limelight, glitz, and glamour--life on the other side requires that you roll up your sleeves and really get down to business. But, I bet that the rewards are worth the sacrifice! Read on and then decide for yourself.

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Life As A Published Author

This week I’m answering questions from readers, and today I’m responding to Megan, who was curious about why published authors always talk about being so busy. What’s taking up so much of their time? Megan’s trying to decide if she’s really ready to take on everything publication would entail, since her life is pretty full already.

I think Megan’s smart to consider this. Sometimes the dream of finally being a “published author” is different from the reality. So here are a few hints.

Life is going to get harder, not easier. There will be so much to do that you never really thought about. The minute that publishing deal is done, you might begin receiving requests from the publisher. Do you have a video we can show our sales reps? Can you send us your thoughts on cover design? Do you have any other ideas for your book title? And that’s just the beginning.

You’ll be busier than you can imagine. If you’re contracted for multiple books, consider that 18 months from now, you may be simultaneously trying to promote book #1, edit book #2, and write book #3. All on top of your current job and family responsibilities.

The writing itself can be more challenging. This may be the first time you’ve written under contract and under deadline, especially in book-length works. If you’ve always written on your own schedule, with no one to please but yourself, it could be a rude awakening.

The necessity for marketing can be daunting. You already know you’ll need to be doing everything you can to engage your tribe, using social networking and anything else at your disposal. Around the time of a book release, the time commitment can be overwhelming.

Did you get an advance? Staring at a blank screen is a totally different thing when people have already paid you money for words you haven’t written yet.

Are you ready for the pressure? Are you ready for the demands on your time and energy? What are you doing to prepare yourself for your dream coming true?

What does the “dream”of being a published author look like for you?

Read the original post here: http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/05/life-as-a-published-author/
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Don't forget! National Picture Book Writing Week (NaPiBoWriWee 2012) starts today. The challenge is to write 7 picture books in 7 days! I'm in! Are you?

Sketch the Story! Contest deadline for entry is Friday, May 4, 2012. Details here!

Keep your pen to the paper! Remember, inspiration is everywhere...

Illustrator's Contest: Sketch the Story!

Welcome to my very first contest! As a budding author/illustrator, I am always fascinated by the creative process that turns a manuscript into a picture book. For my "Like You" series (still in-progress), I created these logos and then assigned each character a title in the series:

Smart Girl, Rich Girl, Little Girl, Best Friend, Fit Girl

Rich Boy, Smart Boy, Little Boy, Best Friend, Fit Boy

I followed that up with some character development, wrote the manuscripts, and let the pictures tell the stories. These books are more educational and instructional, so a lot of my visual translations are quite literal. Other stories that I have written/am working on lean toward more imaginative and creative interpretations. While I am having some fun with this, I thought that I would give my fellow illustrators an opportunity to share their talent and possibly showcase their work.


The contest rules are simple. In your head, answer the following questions:

1) Who is this little girl?

2) Where is she running to or who is she running from? What is the story here?

Then, on paper or your computer or your iPad, create your own rendition of this character in an action scene that answers these questions. Feel free to change the facial expression, dress colors, jewelry, shoes, and hair accessories. You may add hats and props, background scenery, and other characters, if you like.

Email your submission as a jpeg file with a 3-line blurb summarizing your creation. Also include a short bio, link to your portfolio, and a head shot. If you are on Facebook, send me a  friend request, so that I can tag you on your entry photo. All entries will be posted on my Facebook page. Voting will begin on Monday, May 7th and end on Friday, May 11, 2012. 


DEADLINE for SUBMISSIONS: 
Friday, May 4, 2012

Prizes: The three entries with the highest numbers of votes ("Likes") will be featured on my blog and Facebook page.

First Place: Full 10-question artist interview, 7-illustration portfolio, bio, contact information including links your to social media sites.

Runner-Up: Abbreviated 7-question artist interview, 5-illustration portfolio, contact information including links your to social media sites.
 
Honorable Mention: Abbreviated 5-question artist interview, 3-illustration portfolio, contact information including links your to social media sites.


I am looking for imaginative and whimsical artwork. Have fun with this challenge! Feel free to pose questions in the comments below.



Keep your pen to the paper! Remember, inspiration is everywhere...