Everything about spoken and written language fascinates me to no end. I am a self proclaimed word nerd. Before I was enrolled in school I used to watch my older brother write in cursive. This secret language was something I had to decode, even before I could write in print. Practicing on the condensation filled windows on rainy days. The rain splattered on my windowpane canvas, keeping me company as I mimicked the swirly swoops I cherished. 

To my dismay and righteous indignation, my brother would double over in laughter and point at my valiant efforts. 

“You’re just writing ‘e’ over and over again.”

My first poem was penned in kindergarten. I was so proud of the words I had written about a kite that I still remember the experience 34 years later. In the 5th grade, I sat at the feet of a giant, my first Black teacher. She supported my rampant thirst to be a better writer in so many ways. I wrote all throughout high school, and even got a poem published by the Wex in a collection.

All of this information is relevant to my offer.  When I grew up and got married, I didn’t know that so much of my identity as a writer would be put to the side. I had a hard time communicating and would write my feelings to my husband. He essentially told me not to write to him anymore, which solidified my feelings of insecurity, as a writer. I went a solid 10 years without writing. 

When I finally got up the nerve to leave, the pandemic happened. I stayed. The miraculous thing was that I started writing again. Joining online groups, writing articles, poetry, and I started reviewing for the American Library Associations magazine, Booklist.

Through writing consistently with Booklist, I learned their “review haiku” method of succinctly writing a thoughtful review of 150 words or less. My offer is to use my love of the written word, especially poetry, to get to the heart of the writer's storytelling and to go from stuck creatively to understanding their unique voice. 

My ideal customer is Sha’ron. She’s a 36 year old Black woman who has a dream of writing her first novel. She has a story in her head but no idea where to start. She hasn’t always been a writer, (or a reader) for that matter, but this one concept has been on her mind for years. She is married with three kids, and is drowning in an ocean of lost identity.

Five things I know about storytelling 

1. Writing is an act of resistance 

2. Listening to music rooted in story is a good way to spark imagination, I.e. Tupac’s Brenda’s got a baby.

3. Having a good handle on story beats, theme, tropes, and genre is key to understanding how to frame writing

4. YA and middle grade are not the same 

5. “Free journaling” where the writer journals the first thing that come to mind without looking can be used to combat writers block

Five things I know about YA and middle grade books and genre fiction

1. Middle grade generally encompasses the ages 8-12

2. YA generally covers 14-18

3. YA and middle grade are not genres, they are age recommendations 

4. Romance must end in a happy ending for it to be considered romance 

5. Romance is the best selling genre of fiction

Five things I know about kidlit

1. Getting a traditionally published picture book in verse is difficult because it’s hard to translate and keep the rhyme scheme

2. The age suggestions are just that, suggestions

3. People sometimes think young adult means anything written for kids past chapter books and lump middle grade and ya together 

4. In trad publishing illustrators and authors don’t often have direct contact with each other 

5. Publishers marketing budgets are not always aligned with authors previous sales, leaving authors in the lurch.