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12 x 12 April 2018 Check-In!

Folks, I was on FIRE in April! I hope I can keep the writing momentum going because I wrote a draft (first one this year!) and revised three manuscripts – one of them several times. I think I’m trying to squeeze as much in as I can before summer arrives and the kids are underfoot day in and day out. I know for those of you who are teachers, it’s the opposite, but I’ve sure been enjoying this productive time.

Now it’s your turn!

Tell us your progress. Did you complete a draft and/or revision in April? Let us know in the Rafflecopter and in the comments. Our prize comes from this month’s Featured Author Tara Luebbe. Tara is giving away a copy of her book SHARK-NATE-O and a copy of I AM FAMOUS, so we will have two winners this month!

Here is what you need to do to check in for a chance to win:

  1. See the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post that says “A copy of SHARK-NATE-O at the top.
  2. Click on the “Comment on Tara’s post” button. Commenting on Tara’s post is mandatory for this giveaway and you can enter the Rafflecopter even if you didn’t write a draft this month. You can comment on the post here.  Click ENTER.
  3. Click on the “Wrote a PB Draft” button. This will ask if you completed a PB draft in April. If you did, click ENTER, if not, move on to the next step.
  4. Click on the last “Revised a PB Draft” button. This will ask if you revised a PB in April. If you did, click ENTER. If not, move on to the next step.
  5. That’s it! Rafflecopter will track your points.

You have until midnight Eastern on May 3rd to enter your results. Rafflecopter will draw a winner and it will be announced on the blog on May 4th.

You do not need to post your manuscript and/or revisions on the forum for them to count. If you wrote or revised a manuscript in April, even if it’s just on your computer where no one can see it, then enter the Rafflecopter below.

(Remember, monthly draft and revision badges are awarded separately from your Rafflecopter entry. Watch this handy tutorial to find out how to get your badges. CLICK HERE.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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38 Responses

  1. Yay, Julie! I spent time this month catching up with 12 x 12 webinars and got inspired to get a draft down, and thoroughly revise another manuscript. My productivity would be just about nil without 12 x 12! Thanks for all you do!!

  2. Love the post!! Tara, you gave me so many ideas while I was reading about Shark Nate-O. I even shared them with my husband.

  3. April was a fabulous month for many of us, I can see!
    I wrote a new draft, revised a few more, attended NESCBWI, and am in the middle of same amazing news I can’t wait to share about! Cheers!

  4. I too am feeling the pre-summer pressure. How, when, how will I write during the summer when kids are free? Webinar topic request!

  5. Nothing new this month…It’s been revision, revision, revision! It’s a good thing I love to revise!

  6. I actually got a new very rough PB draft completed and revised a PB that my critique group had looked at. SO I met both my goals this month. YAY!

  7. April has flown by! And it’s the first month I didn’t write a full-on complete PB draft…booo on me! I did write 3 kidlit magazine articles, though 🙂 And I’m revising the heck out of 2 ms–some times it’s hard to choose which is more important–brand new or perfecting the old. Here’s to both!

  8. April was a bit too snowy here in Wisconsin, so I wrote about baseball, camping, and Irish Flower faeries. I see my manuscripts getting closer with the help of the wisdom of my critique group members. In May, I plan to polish the manuscripts and work diligently to find an agent. Happy May Day to you all.

  9. Julie,
    not only were you busy with writing, but you also played my ABC Game at the end of the month!
    I wrote two new drafts with the help of my husband and a 10 day long vacation. And I revised one story to the point of being able to finally sub it out. 🙂 April put me back in “need to write” mode which I am grateful for.
    Now, bring on spring, finally!

  10. Draft done about a runaway and and an aspen tree. An unlikely combination! And many, many revisions this month. All in all, not so bad!

  11. I’m still on a roll this year – 1 new draft and 1 pretty major revision. Go, go, go! 🙂

  12. I wrote a draft and worked on a couple of revisions this month. April was a good month for me! Looking forward to May and hoping I can keep up the momentum.

  13. I started a new pb that, quite frankly, is kicking my butt. Haven’t found the best POV for it yet! Also re-visiting a longer nonfiction pb after having put it away for a few months.

  14. Congratulations Julie – always so great to break through those dry spells. I had a very productive April, but struggled all month on the first draft. Then today, May 1, I banged out a different new draft (part of a new fun collaborative venture) lickety-split. There’s just no telling how the day, the week, or the month will roll!

  15. Julie,
    I’m so happy for you. This has been a productive month for me too! I took my February draft to a critique group in a very rough stage and with feedback from that group, 12×12 and one virtual CP, I’ve whipped it into shape. Such a great feeling!
    Next up: writing queries!

  16. I had a very productive month. I revised a couple of manuscripts and wrote and re-wrote a new draft several times. I also watched several webinars and read Save The Cat. Lots of progress.

  17. Slow month (just one new draft) but lots churning in my brain for the next month! Thanks!

  18. It was a productive, busy month! I revised several of my PB manuscripts and even started working on two very rough drafts. I attended NESCBWI and am reading through my notes from all of the workshops I attended.

  19. Yay, Julie! Four really substantial revisions for me this month–the benefit of a class with Charlesbridge editor Karen Boss. She’s so motivating! Exciting to see so many others’ comments about their work–that’s motivating, too!

  20. I moved this month. Not just a regular move. A downsizing move. Still working on cleaning all the former treasures of 3 generations of family out of the old house. It was not the best writing month, obviously. But I did steal a few bits of time here and there so I’m not completely out of the game. Trying to regain normalcy in the next month.

  21. Due to my mother’s hospitalization for Congestive Heart Failure, Rehab and now in Hospice at Home program, the only thing I did get to start was a journal of this Journey with her as her daughter and her caregiver. So it will be a work in progress for a while, we pray! I will be working in May on two contests that I will be entering.

  22. I didn’t complete a draft or a revision this month—but I did study a number of picture books as mentor texts. And I wrote at least 4 new poems to contribute to the Poetry Month Community Collections—organized by Renée LaTulippe!

  23. I’ve had better months for writing and revision, but I did manage to get one new draft and one revision.

    Tara, thanks for the marketing tips. Great Advise!

  24. I wrote a draft, AND revised! Getting into a critique group has really held me accountable this year on the revisions side of things!

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Interested in Joining the 12x12 Challenge?

Financial Need Scholarship Guidelines

All applications will be accepted via email only between November 1, 2023 – November 30, 2023 at kelli@juliehedlund.com.

Subject line of the email:

  1. 12 x 12 Financial Need Scholarship
 

Please include the following in the body of the email:

  1. An autobiographical statement and career summary in 250 words or fewer.
  2. A short statement describing the nature of the financial need/circumstances in 250 words or fewer.
  3. A sample query letter for the manuscript you are submitting with your application.
  4. Pitches for two additional completed picture books.
 

 Attached to the email:

  1.  The full text of one picture book manuscript, attached as a Word document named as FIN_YourFirstName_YourLastName_Title_of_Manuscript.doc (or docx).