Hello, everyone! Welcome to your first check-in of 2025! I’m so happy you’re all here.
It’s already been an exciting month with FIVE 12 x 12 members winning American Library Association Youth Media Awards. Not to mention all of the FANTASTIC energy in the Facebook Group and Forum. Thanks so much to everyone who’s introduced yourself and added to the excitement.
But these check-in posts are primarily about whether or not we wrote and/or revised a picture book this month (or worked on illustration if you’re an illustrator). I am happy to say I revised a picture book this month, but not happy to say I did not write a new draft. I usually try really hard to start the year off with a new draft, but well… January Januaried HARD this year. I have a writing retreat scheduled next month though, so I hope to catch up then.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
- Did you complete a draft of a new picture book story in January?
- Did you complete a revision of a previous picture book manuscript in January?
- Did you post a review of a 12 x 12 member book on Amazon, GoodReads, or Barnes and Noble?
- Did you request that your local library purchase a 12 x 12 member’s book that they don’t currently have in circulation?
Let us know in the Rafflecopter and the comments.
January Featured Author Anita Yasuda is offering a copy of her book — a Caldecott Honor book! — UP, UP, EVER UP! (US / Canada only) or a 30-minute AMA (Ask Me Anything)!
Thanks, Anita! And congrats on your book receiving the Caldecott Honor.
Here’s how to check in for a chance to win:
- See the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post.
- Click on the “Comment on Anita’s post” button. Commenting on Anita’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 Anita’s post yet, go to the post here to comment.
- After you’ve commented on Anita’s post, come back to this post to enter the Rafflecopter. (Commenting alone 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 “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.
- Click on the last “Requested your local library purchase a copy of a 12 x 12 member’s book” button. This will ask if you requested your local library to purchase a 12 x 12 member’s picture book. If you did, enter the name of the library 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/5 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: Click here for the monthly check-in tutorial.
The deadline to enter the Rafflecopter is midnight Eastern on February 7th. Rafflecopter will draw a winner and it will be announced on the blog on February 10th.
Remember, badges are not awarded automatically and must be requested in the forum. Click here to request your January badges.
12 x 12 may earn a commission from books purchased through the links in the post. Proceeds go to fund 12 x 12 diversity programming and scholarships.
9 Responses
January was a very productive month for me. I finished ‘Grant the Wishgiver’ (needs more critiques and iteration), revised ‘Question Mark and the Mysterious Animal Sound’, and started my February manuscript, tentatively titled ‘Everybody Loves Mimes.’ I apologize for the late reply here – I attended the winter conference and am still traveling. Fun news: I got a revise and submit at the conference from what was supposed to just be a critique from an agent!!
Here’s to a new year and all that it can bring. Write, read, write, read…..repeat.
Yay! I was able to complete a first draft in January thanks to Cheryl Johnson – How I Got My Agent article where she shared about writing “crappy first drafts”. It is inspired by the true story of the first butterflies hatched in space. It was a joy to both research and write. So that was a good start because for the last 3 years my writing has taken a big hit with having to switch all my energy into care-giving family and elderly friends who were “on their way out”. I lost way too many family and friends this last 3 years. So even though writing was like pulling teeth as I was slogging through tons of grief, I was able to take chunks of time and energy to research 12 half done stories. I am shifting to the front burner now…and Cheryl’s encouraging words gave me the fuel to complete my first draft. So thank you, thank you, thank you so much Cheryl. I am still very confused and overwhelmed when it comes to navigating through the 12×12 digital landscape. Even though I was first a member of 12×12 back in 2021 I never learned all the ins and outs of how to navigate the digital online 12×12 community because I was in emotional overwhelm and I am technologically challenged. But I am making it a priority to not only finish more drafts and complete some stories but I hope to get past my technology resistance and ignorance and reach out for more help ( because I’m not so good at that) and participate more in this amazing community. I want to wish everyone a great new year with their writing and most of all with their life!
I’ve been focused on Mg fiction and Nonfiction so it was time I got back to my picture books. I started the year with a revision. Maybe next month I’ll have something new!
I have completed my draft to submit for critique. I am new, and I still can’t figure out how to submit this draft. But I will. I feel inspired by this group and this incredible digital community. Happy writing!
Hi Susan, I don’t know if anyone has helped you yet, but to post your draft, you go to the “Category” section and under Manuscript Makeover find the “full Manuscript” . Then you start a new post with the name of your story and whatever else you want us to see.
https://juliehedlund.vanillacommunity.com/categories/full-manuscript
I’m actually new to 12 x 12. I have a lot of “almost there” pb manuscripts and revised one for a professional critique AND I started a new ms about a young boy from an island in SE Asia who was the first in his family to attend school, the first in his family to attend high school in the U.S. and the first in his family to graduate from college. I’m not sure what genre it belongs in because it’s hard to keep the word count down. So, that’s what I’ll be working on with input from this young man who is back in Asia.
I was out of the country when this check in was live. I missed the raffle-copter but I still wanted to “check-in.” I wrote and revised and perhaps even completed my first January story. And I began my February story too. 🙂
I didn’t officially join 12×12 until February, but I did write a PB manuscript in January.