Generous “SCBWI” Children’s Book Authors

I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writer and IllustratorsIllinois Chapter. I joined years ago when Princess Shayna Invisible Visible Gift was published. I loved attending SCBWI-IL chapter author events, meetings and critique groups and reading the newsletter and subscribing to the Listserv. I continued my membership even though Princess Shayna was out of print. However, I almost did not rejoin a few years ago. At that time, I called our Regional Director, Esther Hershenhorn for her advice. Esther convinced me not to leave the chapter. I am so delighted that listened to her wise advice!

I have many diverse experiences with a copious amount of organizations, since became a Girl Scout Brownie in 1952. In my opinion, SCBWI-IL should win the award for the most “Blue Brain Sharing and Collaborative” organization on the planet!

My Blue Brain has been popping and I just had to write this post to acknowledge this amazingly generous group of people! It is a long post because so much has been happening and I wanted to mention all of the generous members who have helped me!

Last  Saturday, I went to a SCBWI-IL sponsored Epublishing workshop.  Yesterday, I wrote a “Thank You” on our Listserv to acknowledge the hostess, Jane Hertenstein and the panel of expert authors Megg Jensen, Karly Kirkpatrick and Norm Cowie, and Susan Kaye Quinn who were so generous with their ideas and expertise.

After the program, I thought it would be a great idea to a “Food For Thought” program about alternative publishing options and sent a message to Sallie Wolf, the chairwoman of “Food For Thought”. Sallie generously replied with “thanks for thinking of FFT—I’ve been dry of ideas for a while now and thought topic bared repeating since it is changing quickly and has multiple uses, such as creating a teacher’s guide to a trade published book.” She also asked if I would help and of course I said, “yes”.

This morning, the Listsev digest of  messages arrived with another message about using Amazon’s Create Space. I was delighted, since I am working on a Teacher’s Guide for Princess Shayna’s Invisible Visible Gift and was having problems with the formatting. The message was from Barbara Gregorich announcing her How to Self-Publish with Amazon’s CreateSpace programs. I immediately emailed Barbara Barbara. She promptly responded that she was sure she could help me told me she had already sent out queries to her connects about my formatting questions. Barbara was most generous with her ideas and time, even though she is working an editing job that must be finished by tomorrow.

I also have also been thinking about how to share the Princess Shayna Musical with others. I contacted Sara Schacter to see if she knew a SCBWI-IL member who writes and also produces children’s plays. I had forgotten the members name, but thought her name was Lynn. Sara couldn’t remember either, and suggested I put my question on the Listserv.

This morning, I posted my question received a prompt, helpful and generous response from Kate Gingold who gave me the name of two organizations and contacts in Naperville, Illinois. Then I received a email from Kathy Bostrom telling me she would share what she found, since she was looking for some one to help her with her children’s picture book, and asked if I would share what I found. I thanked Kathy for her generous email and told her I would be happy to share my resources with her.

The next email was from Lynn Sanders, the author whose last name I could not remember. Of course, her email was generously filled with information and an invitation to chat.

WOW, that’s a lot of generosity for one day! I am most grateful to everyone, and I am sure I will have more stories to share about the generous SCBWI-IL members!

If you know any children’s authors or illustrators who are looking for encouragement, education and many generous and helpful people, be sure to direct them to SCBWI-IL!

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10 Comments

  1. Megg Jensen on March 27, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    Thank you so much for mentioning me, Sheila. I only wish I could have been more help. Best of luck to you!!!! 😀

    • sheila on March 28, 2012 at 11:30 am

      Megg, it was my pleasure to mention you. You were a tremendous help. I was able to make note of ideas that I will use for future book projects. My best wishes for your continued success!

  2. Norm Cowie on March 27, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    Thanks for the great comments. To add to Sheila’s comments, I was up there on the panel writing down some of the stuff other panelists said. And at one point, I asked the audience whether they liked the cover of one of my books.

    Most didn’t. Gulp.

    But that was important to me. They were right. it is a bad cover, and the reason I asked is I knew the room would be honest. So a new cover is coming soon.

    Sheila’s absolutely right. Everyone is dedicated to their craft and to helping others work their way through this business we love.

    • sheila on March 28, 2012 at 11:33 am

      You are welcome, Norm. I was most grateful for your help before and after Saturday’s panel presentation. There were many helpful ideas I can use now and in the future.

  3. Sallie Wolf on March 27, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    Thanks for generously sharing your ideas and for acknowledging so many great SCBWI members. It certainly is a wonderfully welcoming and generous organization. All the best–Sallie

    • sheila on March 28, 2012 at 11:37 am

      You are welcome, Sallie. I am most grateful to our chapter and members for all the education and encouragement I have received. I felt it was important to share my gratitude.

  4. Esther Hershenhorn on March 29, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    Thanks for the lovely mention, Sheila.
    And, I’m so glad you listened to me and took my advice. 🙂
    You returned mucho to our Chapter tenfold in – your – generosity.
    SCBWI is all about generosity of Spirit.
    A friend once commented about children’s book writers: “In another Lifetime we all were playmates.”

    • sheila on March 30, 2012 at 10:10 am

      Esther, you are welcome for my mention and thank you for your kind words.Yes, SCBWI is all about a Generous Spirit, that is why I shared about members in my post. I love your friends “playmates” comment. It creates a beautiful and truthful immage! With much gratitude, Sheila

  5. Lynn Sanders on March 31, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    Hi Sheila, Glad we were able to connect. It was wonderful to learn more about you, and I greatly look forward to getting together in the near future. SCBWI is a wonderful group, and it’s great to see the outpouring of helpfulness. I too appreciate your mention of me. Thank you!

    • sheila on April 2, 2012 at 1:27 pm

      Lynn, thank you for all your help and ideas. I am looking forward to meeting you in the near future! It was my pleasure to acknowledge you for your generosity!

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