I Ponder Wednesdays: What Would You Say?

Yes, I know... I have been quite the terrible blogger, as of late. I wish I had a better excuse than the few I have (painting our house, catching up on a Summer's worth of laundry, preparing for/going to my first ever Children's Book Festival), but I don't.

Wait a second...

I haven't even discussed the totally awesome festival that I got to be a part of???

Oh my... Well, maybe that will be a good topic for today, seeing as I had a LOT of questions running through my mind when I was there. And the best one? It was actually given to me by an 8 year-old girl.

I was invited to present my book, Waiting for James in a Sea of Pink , at the ScholarShare Children's Book Festival, held at FairyTale Town in Sacramento, CA, and boy... was it ever FUN!

The day started with award-winning author and jazz genius, Matthew Gollub , introducing himself to me (after I almost fell over saying something dumb like, "I know you, I looked you up!!") saying, "I looked you up, too, and I'm really glad to finally meet you."

Um, I'm sorry, time out... WHAT?! This guy is an AWARD WINNER. I'm talkin', the kind of guy who is well known, and does NOT need to know or care who on earth I am!!

I digress. So, when he introduced me on stage, he had all the kids count the syllables in my name. Then they clapped together and shouted Be-tha-ny! Be-tha-ny!



Matthew Gollub! And blown away ME in the background.
 

Not going to lie, friends. There was no time or ability to be nervous. I had all the kiddos come on stage with me and that GIANT thrown (that I'm still mad at myself for not actually sitting in!). I did an activity with two volunteers and read my book... Wow.

It all went by so very, very fast!

If you look hard enough, you can see both my kiddos sitting up there, among the children. My author pals, Amy Dixon and Elizabeth Stevens Omlor's kiddos were up there, too!

 

After it was all done, I got to sign post cards (since my book is an eBook), give away bracelets and other goodies, and talk to kids and parents about what I do.

 

 

It's funny, when you finally become what you've wanted to become your whole life, you almost never remember what it took to get there. I had the fortunate chance to glance back at some of those very memories when a beautiful little girl said something to me that rocked me to my core:

 

"Um, I want to be a writer when I grow up. Do you have any advice for me?"

 

My mind went blank and flooded with so many ideas all at once! Luckily, after I picked my jaw off the grassy knoll I was seated on, I was able to give her probably more advice than she was looking for. And her mother? You could tell that she was one of those amazing moms who teaches their kids all the right stuff. I was so thrilled!!!

 

However, now I want your answers. I think it's important to keep up with what kids want to know, right? So...

 

If an 8 year-old child asked for advice...

Advice that would gear their lives

 to go in the same direction as yours has gone,

what would you say?

 

Answer away, friends! And, happy writing!



 

I Ponder Wednesdays: What if You Can't Say "I'M WONDERFUL"?

It's no secret that I would LOVE to have an agent. I would love to have a companion on my side who can not only celebrate happy occasions with me, but can also tell me when something I've written is just terrible! Call me crazy, but I crave to have a kinship with someone so professional.

Now, I know there are ways to getting agents that I am wholly not comfortable with. Many agents have changed their submission guidelines to "No Unsolicited MS"...

Wait, huh? Of course my manny is unsolicited! That's why I'm querying YOU!

But they mean that they only take queries from writers with whom they've met at a conference, or even if one of their own clients highly recommends you.

Well, THAT'S easy! Many of my friends have agents. I'll have them whisper my name into their agent's ear, and I'll be a shoo in! YeeeHaw!

And you know, that might work for some. If you chose to do that, bravo! But for me, I just don't feel that I can ask a friend of mine to do that. They worked hard to get their agent. I applaud them for their accomplishments and if nothing else, I'm inspired to be just like them.

When I thought about it, I realized that throwing myself out there is difficult all on its own, for me. I have an issue with begging people to read my blog posts! I really want my writing to speak for itself without me having to shout it from the rooftops-

 HEY! I'M A REALLY GREAT WRITER!!!!!!

I'd prefer agents, editors, reviewers, followers, and peers to not have to listen to me gab about myself (which is funny, because here I am preeetty much gabbing away), but instead, be impressed with my ability to bring characters to life on paper.

So, here's my question to you:

In this day and age, when self-promotion seems to be the way to go,

do YOU think writers lose out if they
just don't have the gumption to say,

"Hey, I'M wonderful!"?

 

Okay, so there's that. I look forward to your feedback! Next week, I will announce a fun little contest that I can't wait to host. :) Tell your friends!

Happy writing!