Landing My Dream Job

Remember when you were five and wanted to be an astronaut or a princess or an airplane, and all the adults around you told you that you could absolutely be anything you wanted to be? From the time I can remember, more than anything I wanted to be a writer or an editor. It was a dream my family and teachers and everyone around me nurtured and supported through my grade school years.

But as I got older and had to start thinking for real about what I wanted to do with my future, something changed. I still loved writing and editing, but I began to wonder if these were real jobs. And even if they were, who was I to think I could have a career in publishing? Some of the adults around me began to encourage me to pursue more "practical" careers than writing as well.

So, in the end, I chickened out from wholeheartedly pursuing writing. Oh, I studied Communication, English, and Spanish in college, but I no longer thought a career in publishing was in my future, even if I continued to secretly hope it might be. After college, I took a position in public relations and financial development for the American Red Cross. And though I enjoyed the writing and editing I did in that job, it wasn't quite the same as writing and editing books.

Then my husband decided to go back to school to become a pastor, which meant a move to a new state. To my surprise, our new hometown boasted several publishing houses. It felt like an opportunity had just landed in my backyard, and I hoped just maybe this was my chance to finally establish a career in publishing. I sent my resume to The Creative Company and soon found myself an editor for an award-winning children's publishing house. To say it was a dream come true wouldn't do the moment justice.

Under the guidance of my mentor at Creative, I learned the ins and outs of editing and had the chance to work with some amazing authors on their books. I even authored my first series of published books—and have since gone on to write more than 250 titles.

Until taking the job with Creative, I had never realized it was possible to love working so much! I never wanted to leave. But my husband eventually finished school, and we had to move out of the area. Fortunately, writing and editing can be done anywhere, and for the past 14 years, I've continued to work with publishing companies, individuals, and businesses to meet their writing and editing needs.

My early days as a freelance editor coincided with my early days as a new mom.

Always good to have a helper!

I am fully aware of how blessed I am to wake up every day looking forward to the work ahead of me. I am quite literally living my dream and loving every moment of it. So if you have a dream, keep working for it. I truly believe you can achieve it!

Is your dream to become an author, to create an award-winning website, or to finish your dissertation? Let me know in the comments. And if there's any way I can help you, feel free to visit my editorial website.

School Visit, Pulaski, Wisconsin (Or, When My Heart Melted)

5 days. 2 schools. 1,000+ students. 30 presentations.

I enjoyed an exhausting but wonderful week visiting Glenbrook and Sunnyside Elementary schools in Pulaski, Wisconsin. As always, I loved sharing my experiences as an author and teaching students about the process of researching, writing, and revising a book, but my favorite part of the visit was the inspiration these young creatives gave me. Check out these amazing books and letters they wrote for me.

One even dedicated his book to me. And another wrote, "When I was just 7 years old, I started to read your books. I thinked, hey, I want to be a writer. I'd always wanted to meet you and it finally came true." 

This right here? It's exactly why I do what I do!

School Visit: Arcadia, WI

The 3.5-hour drive to Arcadia, Wisconsin, was worth it for the chance to visit with these enthusiastic students! Check out all those raised hands! That's because these kids know that they're all writers, too.

And these brave volunteers helped us learn about the difference between fiction and nonfiction--it's not the topic, it's whether it's true or made up. Like the spiffy costumes I made? Believe it or not, I am not a professional costume designer. You can tell some of them are thinking, "What am I supposed to be?" But they were good sports about it!

To learn more about setting up a visit for your school, check out my Author Visits page or contact me.

School Visit: Oshkosh, Wisconsin

It appears that between writing and visiting schools, I've neglected to keep this spot updated. So to remedy that, here are some pictures from my latest school visit. I had the opportunity to spend two days at Perry Tipler Middle School and ALPs charter school in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Talk about your fun and engaged middle school students! We had a blast! I was so busy talking with students I forgot to take pictures, but fortunately an extraordinary teacher (thanks Mrs. Cottrell) came to my rescue and sent me these. I never realized how many funny faces I make while I speak!

Online Visit with Georgia School

I recently had the opportunity to do a video visit with second graders from Glyndale Elementary in Georgia. I had a great time (even if I was jealous that it was warm with no snow there)! The kids asked great questions, and we were even able to play a game across the miles. Afterward, the Golden Isles News included an article about the visit. You can read more about it here: http://goldenisles.news/news/local_news/author-speaks-to-glyndale-elementary-students-through-video-chat/article_d096454a-f649-5646-b904-c568721cbdde.html. I was especially touched by teacher Dianne Rawls-Griffin's comment that she hopes the visit will "be something [the students] remember for the rest of their lives." Wow, what a privilege to talk with these young students. And I hope I've inpsired them to: Keep Reading. Keep Writing.

These Kids Write: Zoe D.

Here are two more entries from Zoe D. First, some great facts about dolphins, one of my favorite animals!

Dolphins eat fish. A baby dolphin is called a calf. Dolphins are great swimmers by moving their tails up and down. Dolphins are mammals. Dolphins live in oceans in New York and Florida and California too. And dolphins get along with humans. Dolphins are afraid of killer whales and sharks and humans too. And they love you too.

And here is Zoe's piece about foxes.

Foxes eat mice. A baby fox is called a kit. A fox lives in Africa and South Africa too. Foxes can be pets too. They can be killed by coyotes. There are red fox and orange and arctic fox. And I love foxes forever and forever.

fox-in-hunting-wallpapers-free-picture on free pictures

Thanks for some more great work, Zoe! Don't forget, kids, if you want to publish your own writing on my site (fiction or nonfiction), send it to me here. Be sure to let me know that you want it published. You can tell me a little about yourself, too, if you'd like. Plus, I'll enter you in a drawing to win a signed copy of one of my books.

Author Visits: Ripon and Muskego, Wisconsin

Finished out the school year with two great visits. The first was to Ripon, Wisconsin, where I had a chance to talk to the first grade students of my mom's best friend (who has known me since I was a baby) before she retired. Another great group of kids! And I had a chance to read the nonfiction books they had written about animals. Some had even written books about the same animals I've written about!

We had to adjust the Muskego visit by a day due to a water pump problem that closed the school the day I was supposed to visit. Fortunately, we were visiting family, so it was easy to reschedule (and I spent the day off with my family at the park!). And the visit was worth the wait. The kids in Muskego were great - engaged and attentive, even though it was almost the last day of school!

   

   

I always love when kids stick around afterward to chat and ask more questions! Nothing better than talking books and writing with kids!

These Kids Write

Enjoyed a great week of author visits in Holmen, Wisconsin, and met some more young authors. Here's a story from one of them!

Today started kind of rushed. I woke up at about 5:45 when my sister’s alarm went off. So I woke up, got sweatpants on and then just went back to sleep.I slept for a while, but then I woke up around 6:45, but I thought it was around 8:00, because it was bright as can be outside! So I ran up to the living room and said to myself "Aww man, I missed the bus?" I finally get into the living room and my Nina says, "No, it's just six." "Oh thank goodness!" I sigh in relief. So I wait, play with my birthday toys, and eat breakfast, and then it is finally 7:43 and time for me to go to the bus stop. As I walk to the bus stop, I see a couple of birds so I make a gun with my hand and pretend to shoot them. Right when I cross the street to get to my bus stop, a car comes out of nowhere and almost hit me! So I wait a few minutes and the bus is finally here.

Keep them coming, kids! If you want to publish your own writing on my site (fiction or nonfiction), send it to me here. Plus, I'll enter you in a drawing to win a signed copy of one of my books.

Nurturing Young Writers

Not long ago, I found a piece of paper in my 9-year-old daughter's room. I glanced at it to make sure it wasn't homework and discovered instead some notes about a mermaid. When I asked her about it, she said, "Oh, that's just an idea I had for a story." I was so excited that if it hadn't been for the clothes and shoes covering every inch of the floor I would have done a cartwheel right there! Later, my 7-year-old son asked if I wanted to write a story with him. Um, YES! We wrote about slime monsters and slime balls. Maybe not my first choice of topics, but it was so fun to see him get excited about putting his ideas on paper, with his impish cackle as he wrote that the slime balls landed on Mom's head. I loved every minute of it - and was glad that it was fiction!

Which all got me thinking about the beginnings of my own love of writing. I can't remember the earliest story I wrote (though I do still have some of my kindergarten poetry), but by fourth grade I had written a short "novel" about gymnast enemies who become friends. Getting to edit my book with a local author and then selling it at a school book fair marked my first foray into publishing. I was hooked.

In junior high, when our notoriously tough English teacher asked for a persuasive paragraph, I turned in a four-page essay. Not to suck up, but because I loved researching and writing. Not incidentally, I credit that teacher with nurturing and developing my love of writing - and my grasp of the basic structure of language and grammar (thanks, Mr. Krueger!). Although I continued to receive writing encouragement throughout high school, no one ever approached me with the idea that writing could be a viable career option. Real people got real jobs - they didn't sit around and write all day. Although I tried to ignore the pull of the writing life in college, soon afterward an editorial job led me to make the leap to writing full time. Thank goodness!

Now, as my own kids are getting to the age when they can read and write on their own, I am beginning to wonder what it is that makes some people love to write, while others would rather chew off their own fingers than put pen to paper. Part of it, I suppose, is just who we are - our inborn personality. But another part of it, I think, lies in the messages and encouragement we receive. I am thrilled that at my children's school, students begin participating in writer's workshop in kindergarten. They learn that all people are writers and that they can write about whatever they want. That freedom gives them confidence to tell their stories, whatever they may be. They don't worry about self-editing or making it perfect. The point is just to tell a story. And they love to share their stories; there is no self-conscious wondering if they did it "right." What matters is that they did it. I can only hope that they continue to receive this kind of encouragement throughout their school years. And they will certainly continue to receive it at home. It may not lead them to a career in writing, but I hope it leads to a lifelong love of the art of creating. Speaking of which, maybe I should go see if anyone wants to write another story with me.