Wow! Here we are already one month into 2023, and what a month it’s been! Loads of returning members and new members are keeping the Facebook Group and the Forum jumping. I’m so grateful to all of you for a great start to the year. I sincerely hate to report that I neither wrote a new draft nor revised in January because I know it’s not the greatest example. But for reasons obvious and maybe not so obvious (like both of my kids having birthdays this month), January is the busiest month of the year for me. What I DID do is have a consultation about a manuscript that is so, so close to being ready to go out on sub. I plan to work on that over the weekend and make it my February revision.
What about you? Did you complete a draft and/or revision in January? Did you post a review of a 12 x 12 member book on Amazon, GoodReads, or Barnes and Noble? Let us know in the Rafflecopter and in the comments. January Featured Author Carol Gordon Ekster is offering one lucky 12 x 12 member a non-rhyming picture book critique. That’s a great way to start off our year!
Here’s what you need to do to check in for a chance to win:
- See the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post.
- Click on the “Comment on Carol’s post” button. Commenting on Carol’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.
- If you haven’t commented on Carol’s post yet, go to the post here to comment.
- After you’ve commented on Carol’s post, 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.)
- Click on the “Wrote a PB Draft” button. This will ask if you completed a PB draft in January. If you did, click ENTER, if not, click cancel and move on to the next step.
- Click on the “Revised a PB Draft” button. This will ask if you revised a PB in January. If you did, click ENTER. If not, click cancel.
- Click on the last “Reviewed a 12 x 12 member’s book” button. This will ask if you reviewed a 12 x 12 member’s PB on Amazon, GoodReads, or Barnes and Noble in January. If you did, enter a link to your review and click ENTER. If not, click cancel.
- 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/4 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. (This tutorial features the old 12 x 12 website, but the steps are still the same for entering the Rafflecopter.)
You have until midnight Eastern on February 6th to enter your results. Rafflecopter will draw a winner and it will be announced on the blog on February 7th.
Remember, badges are not awarded automatically and must be requested in the forum. If you haven’t requested your January badges yet, you may do so here.
20 Responses
Yay! I joined a critique group via 12×12 and have revised that manuscript! I’ve started a draft for the Feb. critique group entry. So a draft and a revision!! Yay me!
I revised a PB. I’m looking forward to accomplishing more in the upcoming months.
Thank you,
I completed a PB manuscript and shared it with two critique groups. I received their feedback and made revisions and am now ready to send it to a reviewer (fee-based consultant). I look forward to a total rewrite of a PB manuscript I set in rhyme. Facing the challenging task of setting it free!
Question: How do I find a critique partner/group within 12×12? Do we post on Facebook?
January was an unexpectedly busy month. My partner and I got sick for about 2 weeks starting the first week and are still recovering from fatigue, so my brain has been a little scattered. I didn’t get any picture book writing or revision done but some good news on the writing front came along. A micro-fiction competition I entered a couple months ago posted their Round 1 winners and I made #9 out of the top 10, so I got to advance to the next round! It was such a needed win to energize me again. Round 2 opened in January and I submitted my entry (and we only had 24 hours to write it, 250 words, they provide subject/genre/specific word.) It is both fun and terrifying. This past week I entered another writing competition – this time it was 8 days, 2,500 word max. Same company, but they set you up with a genre, character, and subject. I kept getting ghost story or horror for my genres, so it was fun to play around with those. Oh! In December, I was looking into Harvard Extension School’s Creative Writing Program. I took the Critical Reading and Writing exam to see if they would accept me – and I passed! Wahoo! The essay I had to read and analyze was about children, which I laughed when I opened it because it seemed so fitting. Unfortunately, they don’t provide financial aid for the two required classes before you get fully admitted into the program. Time to get creative! I’m looking forward to getting back to PBs. I have two manuscripts I really like and now that I’m a year two 12x12er, I am a little less overwhelmed and a little more curious and courageous to move forward.
It’s great to read about your energy, drive, and persistence. Best of luck with your creative fundraising efforts!
I wrote a draft, and reviewed two drafts.
Thank you for recognizing truckers in your new book. They were truly heroes during the pandemic. Your personal story was inspiring and motivating. I too write about topics children may learn new information from. That seems to be the goal set by any teacher, working or retired!
Congratulations on your new PB!
January finds me waiting unrealistically for a response from my very first submission made in December…
I wrote and shared with my editor a new PB manuscript and I started research on my next PB project. It’s been a most productive month!
I’m amazed I wrote 2 drafts and am revising one now with thumbnails.
It s a revision month with Storystorm taking first place and new ideas waiting to go onto the paper.
I wrote two drafts. One nature inspired, one character-driven.
I finished the StoryStorm challenge, comment on each of the daily posts, co-lead a student workshop about ‘Take a Look in the Nook’ – a self published picture book by a local farmer that I edited last year, wrote a PB draft and shared it with friends and family (another revision to go before I post here), read about a dozen picture books and started getting my bearings on 12X12. I watched the January Webinar, listened to some PB Summit Podcast content and . . . Most importantly, I wrote every day. I’m having such a great time being here — thank you for hosting this supportive, eye opening group!
January kicked off with a ‘reunion’ of sorts with my baseball sisters. One week of Florida fun on the diamonds of Fenway South worth the sweat as I always find inspiration and picture book ideas from the experience. One draft to start the year and a game plan drafted to keep me on track for the rest. Let’s go 2023!
January was a busy, but fun, month for me. Every January I sign up for Tara Lazar’s Storystorm Challenge where you need to come up with 30 book ideas in 31 days. I first signed up when it was known as PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) and for years have been trying to beat my record of 80 ideas… and this month I finally made it with 86 ideas!!
I then take those ideas and expand them into rough drafts and/or revise them for 12 x 12 and later ChaBooCha (Chapter Book Challenge) … so for 12 x 12 I wrote 2 new drafts and revised 2 of last year’s drafts
January was a jumpstart into writing a draft and revising it (many times). I’m grateful for the many comments and suggestions from 12x12ers. Each month on my website, I feature/review a picture book and its author and illustrator. Now, I’m concentrating on 12×12 published authors. We have an incredibly supportive community for individuals who are actually competing for shelf space. Onward, upwards and sideways into February!
I wrote 2 drafts this month! Also… I have to say, I love the new Review badge this year–that’s so smart!
I did write a new draft and revised an existing one and am anxious to do it again in F3bruary!
I wrote a new draft this January, and I revised two other drafts!
I completed and submitted two drafts and will be revising them soon. Thank you 12×12 and everyone who is supporting me in this community.
I edited an existing draft, worked on the picture book section of my in-progress website, and connected with 12 x 12 member Ann Koffsky, writing a review of her book, Under-the-Sea Seder. She offered me an illustration for my website in return. Yay 12 x 12 for the networking opportunities.