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12 x 12 February 2022 Check-In!

February was a good month for me! I took myself up to a mountain cabin for a writing retreat. It felt so good to reconnect to my creativity after what seems like months of silence. I wrote a new draft this month, and completed multiple revisions. I sent my agent TWO manuscripts for review, which is a record for me. 😉 Here’s hoping I can keep up the productivity.

Tell us YOUR progress. Did you complete a draft and/or revision in February? Let us know in the Rafflecopter and in the comments. February Featured Author Michal Babay is giving away a signed copy of I’M A GLUTEN-SNIFFING SERVICE DOG! Thanks, Michal!

I'm A Gluten-Sniffing Service Dog by Michal Babay

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

  1. See the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post.
  2. Click on the “Comment on Michal’s post” button. Commenting on Michal’s post is mandatory for this giveaway and you can enter the Rafflecopter even if you didn’t write a draft this month. Click ENTER.
  3. If you haven’t commented on Michal’s post yet, go to the post here to comment. Then come back to this post to enter the Rafflecopter.  (Commenting won’t enter you in the drawing automatically, you must enter the Rafflecopter by following step 2.)
  4. Click on the “Wrote a PB Draft” button. This will ask if you completed a PB draft in February. If you did, click ENTER, if not, click cancel and move on to the next step.
  5. Click on the last “Revised a PB Draft” button. This will ask if you revised a PB in February  If you did, click ENTER. If not, click cancel.
  6. That’s it! There is no overall submit button or email confirmation. Rafflecopter will track your points. (The top of the Rafflecopter will say X/3 with X being the number of entries you currently have in the drawing.)

Here’s a video tutorial on the forum to walk you through these steps as well. Click here for the monthly check-in tutorial.

You have until midnight Eastern on March 6th to enter your results. Rafflecopter will draw a winner and it will be announced on the blog on March 7th.

Remember, badges are not awarded automatically and must be requested in the forum. If you haven’t requested your February 2022 badges yet, you may do so HERE. Not sure how to request a badge? Check out this tutorial.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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64 Responses

  1. I astonished myself and wrote a new draft in February despite the outbreak of war and other projects with deadlines. I am always revising in any given month because I am in a weekly critique group for PB manuscripts and am so grateful for that brilliant bunch. Peer pressure is real. Onward!

  2. That’s wonderful news, Julie! February was a good month for me too. I wrote two new drafts and revised an old manuscript from last fall. Feels pretty good! 🙂

  3. I’ve had a very busy month but have managed to squeeze in writing time wherever/whenever possible. Glad you had a lovely writing retreat!

  4. Great news, Julie. February was a busy month–NFFest, webinars, writing, and contest entries! Marching into March!

  5. I did a lot of revising and two new manuscript drafts. I am getting a better handle on organizing my approach to writing and illustrating. I feel the difference in my process. I am calmer and don’t feel like I don’t know what to do next. I have started illustrating two of my manuscritpts. Whatever happens, I feel happy!

  6. February was nice and productive for me too! I wrote a new draft and revised it plus prepped my PBParty entry and wrote a story for 50 Precious Words! 😀

  7. Newbie here! I finished a first draft of a story that has been in my head for the last two years. It’s a relief to finally get a first, yucky draft done. I also send a nonfiction PB proposal to a longtime publisher in Manila.

  8. I wrote a new draft, worked on several big revisions to get some mss ready to query, worked with lots of critique partners to get ready for PBParty. I’m working on an entry for 50 Precious Words. I enjoyed a couple webinars and read some great PBs. I also launched my new blog connecting Music and PBs, called PBJamz! Episode 2 drops this Thursday on my website, featuring Valerie Bolling and LET’S DANCE.

  9. I wrote a new draft, read at least one new picture book every day and revised two drafts this month. I also was lucky enough to find some partners to form a critique group with.

  10. I completed a draft for the Valentine’s Day contest by Susanna Hill and revised a draft for the PBtwitter challenge.

  11. You are an encouragement to all with the business of your life and yet, look at you, a draft and many revisions. Way to go! I made a draft and worked on revisions, but not getting too much submission time.

  12. A mountain cabin retreat. I’ve dreamed of this. One of my best friends in NJ (brrr( who has a glamping tent (haha, first time I heard of this) on their property. When it warms up, I’m going to invite myself to glamp. Lol. I need focus time. At home I end up cooking, organizing, gadding about,

  13. I love 12 x 12. It is my scaffold, my framework and my ladder. I do so much writing, editing, teaching and presenting as a university ECED professor. 12 X 12 ensures that I make time to be creative, playful and silly. That I have fun and improvise as I craft PB manuscripts. Someday I may be able to take a retreat, but until then, it is daily moments that I grab furtively, feeling almost guilty, if I draw or write for children. But I do so, so happily, grateful for this forum, grateful for 12 x 12.

  14. February was a busy month for me but I managed to revised a do a draft! I m glad because I’m almost sure I would have done it without joining this group, my new critique group and the emails from 12X12 reminding me that I have still work to do!

  15. This is my first year in 12×12. I did not realize how helpful it is to have some “place” to go to every morning when I sit down at my desk–the website. It makes writing feel like a “real” job. Now I check if I have any new comments on manuscripts or any messages, see if there’s a new blog post, read any new announcements, then get to work. I have written for years, but it feels different–and boty my productivity and the quality of my work are reflecting it. I am not young, acquaintances and friends in my age group are retired and either spending most of their time with grandchildren or watching a lot of movies on TV, so being part of a group who take their writing very seriously is amazingly helpful.

  16. thanks for these cheat sheets every month- really keeps me up to date! I’ve completed three drafts and two revisions!

  17. Two starts and one revision and this month with lots of feedback from my writing partners, now need to look for support in the Manuscript Makeover section.

  18. I revised a draft to make it ready for submission and I’m counting that! Starting my 6th year here and yes 12 by 12 makes you feel like writing is a real job!!!

  19. I wrote a new PB, revised another and read many mentor texts. I also typed some mentor texts for reference.I love 12 X 12 and how being a member keeps me writing.

    1. Aaaand I thought I was commenting on Angela Dalton’s featured author post…so that’s how my month is going!

  20. This is great! I wrote one new PB draft and two PB revisions in February.
    Onward!

    Does anyone have a submission spreadsheet to share? That is the new direction I need to go.

  21. I once had a long writing retreat at a monastery in the middle of Kansas farmlands. The cows would moo the day awake and asleep, and the thunderstorms were, well, energizing!
    I submitted a draft and a revision.

  22. Michal Babay, such a lovely idea- Chewy the gluten sniffing dog! Can’t wait to read the book.
    Completed and posted my PB draft for February.
    MalvikaDekhane

  23. I wrote a new draft in February (which needs revision, but I love it none-the-less). And I did two revisions. Yay!

  24. Draft…check
    Revision…check
    Artwork….check
    Mountain cabin retreat….jealous
    Here’s hoping we can all keep up that level of productivity!

  25. I was able to revise a picture book draft in February. I was hoping to do more but life, you know:). March my goal is to write a new book. Thanks for everyone’s encouragement and inspiration. Cheers!

  26. First off, a huge congratulations to everyone. Wow! It’s inspiring reading through these messages. I didn’t get off to the start that I wanted in January, but I was able to complete a new draft for February! I’m trying to figure out which picture book idea is going to my March draft. Happy writing!

  27. A writing retreat sounds heavenly!

    Feb was a great month for me. Black History Month + polished 2 manuscripts, one of which is one submission as of this week! I plan to share the other with my agent at the end of March and I am very optimistic about it.

  28. So much courage! And yes, it is so true that we all have recurring themes that bubble up through our thoughts, dreams, and writing. Even if the theme is the same as someone else’s, we all get there on our own path. I find Frankl’s writing is so powerful and inspiring. We can endure, survive, and go on to live our lives.

  29. This February was a little slower for me – it seemed everyone in my house was getting sick and we were passing it back and forth! I’ve been working hard on illustrating a poetry book for an author who is self-publishing. I will be finishing up this week and then I will get to spend more time on my own manuscripts and projects. I also would like to revise my Jan and Feb manuscripts because they are only rough drafts so far. I’m hoping I’m very productive in March!

  30. Michal,
    Wonderful insight. Great Post – I like the way you presented it. I’m going to do some in depth thinking and rediscover my heartbeat.
    THANK YOU FOR A NEW PERSPECTIVE !

  31. Thank you, Michal, for your meaningful post. I appreciate how you listed important events from your life and shared how these events impacted the themes of your picture books.

    Tests impact our testimony.

    I believe your books will benefit many people.

  32. I’m new to 12 x 12 and I’m thrilled to have found you. Congratulations to everyone for your hard work this month!
    For February’s challenge, I completely overhauled my manuscript “The Day Danny Ate the Sky.” Okay–technically it took from Dec-Feb and was birthed years ago, but this time the protagonist informed me his name is actually Matthew, his mom finally came into focus, and I shed hundreds of words, so woohoo! Obviously the title now needs work. Thanks to Susanna Leonard Hill’s writing course for the major boost and to 12×12 for the challenge. I’m looking forward to growing as part of the community here and contributing in whatever ways I can.

  33. So glad you had a chance to retreat. I’m in Greeley and love the mountains. I submitted to Susanna Hill’s Valentine contest with words of 214 or less. The challenge was a lot of fun! I also sent a complete draft to my critique group.

  34. January was an exasperating, and crazy month for me… what with my computer going into its HAL mode and my losing ALL of my 12 x 12 folders along with my writing group folders as well as my WIP folders. Thankfully my son got all of my writing folders back. I still had 10 other folders that were missing, but I was back in business!!

    I took one of my Storystorm ideas and wrote a rough draft and then revised 3 old nonfiction manuscripts. The computer is still glitchy but at least I now know what to do when a folder disappears on me.

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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).