March Madness

I'm not talking about basketball. I am talking about the wild schedule the kidlit world has during the month of March (and trickles into April).

Last year was the first year I really got into participating in events and realized how BUSY kidlit writers are in March there are so many fun competitions and deadlines for mentorship applications to prepare. Not to mention my daughter's birthday and the start of school here. In my true "let's do it all" style I also thought, "Why not launch my website this month too?" So, here I am writing my first blog post, school starts tomorrow, my daughter's birthday is this week, and as many know today is PBParty.

This is PB Party's 6th year and it is an amazing opportunity organized by Mindy Alyse Weiss and her team of outstanding judges. You can submit your best query-ready manuscript that Mindy and the judges will review. They choose the best ones to showcase to agents and editors who hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) like your submission and get you offers of representation. Mindy has tons of success stories from this event on her blog you can check out here.

This year Mindy has outdone herself and has a list of over 50 agents and editors who will participate to read the entries that pass the first round. I will be participating again this year and I am praying for everyone taking this step into their publishing journey-you got this!

Later this week, Vivian Kirkfield's #50PreciousWord challenge opens on March 4th and closes on March 6th. This contest challenges us to write a full story in 50 words. No art notes and the title doesn't count toward the final word count. That seems impossible! But I know you can do it. AND she has some amazing prizes for the winners...like a 3-day inclusive stay at Highlights Foundation.

This month is also busy because I am preparing my applications to Write Mentor's Summer Mentorship program which opens for applications April 7-8th and Justin Colon's #PBChat mentorship which typically opens to applications in April.

The best part about participating in these events is connecting with the amazingly supportive kidlit community and stretching your creative muscles. I have never had a more supportive group of colleagues than my fellow writers in the kidlit world.

To know what other events are happening throughout the year, be sure you check out KIDLIT411's site here where they post events to look out for on the first of every month.

If you are participating in #PBParty or #50PreciousWords let me know in the comments so I can cheer you on!

JMJ