#MGBOOKTOBER

October 16, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Last week I was scrolling through my Instagram feed when I noticed that it was suddenly inundated with pictures of middle grade book covers accompanied by the hashtag #MGBOOKTOBER. This caught my attention for several reasons. As a former middle school teacher, I LOVE middle grade titles. I love their innocence and the way these titles help readers see the world through the eyes of their target audience, mainly, kids stuck in the hard times of middle school. Many adults have recently been drawn to read books in the YA age bracket, but as of yet, this slightly lower target age range seems to be outside of the average reader’s radar. I am thrilled that #MGBOOKTOBER is attempting to change that.

I was also drawn to this monthly challenge of naming a book for each day of October because I recently started teaching pre-service education students. Namely, I teach future teachers how to teach reading. A common woe of my current student population is that they are unfamiliar with the current book publishing landscape. Unless they were tutoring in an elementary school or it was on the required English reading list, they didn’t/don’t do much reading. (sigh.) Especially “kids books”. If a book was published after they left middle school, it’s likely they haven’t read it. I am hoping I can use #MGBOOKTOBER to highlight a few of my favorites and give them a quick peek into this niche market/audience.

Books & Beer: A Different Kind of Book Club

October 09, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Guest post written by Valerie Biel

It all started in a bar . . .

Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke or a dubious romantic comedy, right?

More than four years ago, a few readers were gathered at a brew pub in Columbus, Wisconsin, discussing how they wanted to start a book club. But—they wanted it to be a different kind of book club. They wanted to talk with the authors of the books they read. But this isn’t how book clubs typically work. So the question was posed:

Did they know any authors?

This is when all heads pivoted to me. I was the only author they knew personally. So on April 28, 2015 I was the inaugural guest author at Books & Beer Columbus where the group read my first book Circle of Nine: Beltany. I became the coordinator of the group because as an author I already knew other writers and frequently meet them at writing conferences and book festivals.

Beta Readers

October 02, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Today’s blog post from Constance Malloy is all about beta-readers. I find this so ironically fitting because last week I put out a call for a last minute guest post because I was too busy to write my own post. Why? Because I am putting the final touches on a manuscript so that I can send it to my own pool of trusted readers before the final draft! Stay tuned for more information about this project soon!

But before we continue, what exactly is a beta-reader?

A beta-reader is kind of like a practice audience for an author. Keep reading to learn more and see how one author uses this process to ensure her work is the best it can be.

Since publishing my memoir Tornado Dreams, I have been asked many questions by people who want to write a book. Many of those questions have focused on the topic of readers. Did you have readers? How many did you have? How did you go about selecting them? What did they need to know to help you? Did having readers help or hinder the process?

These are important questions to ask, since having one’s work read by others prior to submitting is so vital to a writer’s success. That statement implies my answer to the first question, so let’s dive in.

Legacy and the Queen: A Review and Look at the Process of Co-Authoring

September 25, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Earlier this month I found myself with an hour to burn. Somewhere between teaching a class or picking up children I found I had nowhere I absolutely needed to be for one, blessed hour. Driving twenty minutes back to my home, when I’d just need to get in the car to go somewhere else seemed silly, and so, instead, I went to one of my favorite places in the city, Barnes and Nobel. After twenty minutes of browsing I sent the store manager this message and then settled into read.

Fall 2019 Literary Event Line Up

September 18, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

What’s that? You say you are a writer? A writer who would is ready to spend time with other writers? A writer who is craving connection, critique and super fun social interactions? (Hey, we aren’t all introverts!) Well then you are in luck! Today on my blog I am sharing the massive list of writing opportunities that can be found and attended in Wisconsin in the upcoming months. Get out your calendars, save some room in your budget and buckle up… because fortunately for us… the options are plentiful!

The Columbus Art & Author Fair

Saturday, September 28, 2019 from 2 - 6 P.M.

This event will be held along with the OddFellows' “Oddtoberfest” Celebration in Columbus, WI. Local artists and authors will be on hand in lower level of the Fireman's Park Pavilion with a variety of styles and genres of art and literature. More information including a list of attending authors can be seen here.

Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival

October 11-13, 2019

The Festival, established in 2010, believes in the transforming power of the literary and visual arts to bring thousands of children and teens together with world-class authors and illustrators at schools and at our beautiful, welcoming festival venues including the Mead Public Library, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, and Bookworm Gardens. Come to the see presentations by Janet Wong, Matt de la Peña, Liesl Shurtliff, K.G. Campbell, Suzanne Kaufman, Jacqueline West, and Jennifer Swanson. The festival schedule and presenter information can be seen here.

Wisconsin Festival of Books in Madison

Friday, October 18, 6:00 pm

The Madison Public Library is committed to ensuring that all Wisconsin Book Festival events are free and open to the public. Since creating the series in 2013, they have hosted more than 600 events for audience members, including award-winning author events. This year one event during the festival that I am especially interested in attending is Writing Books for Children, a presentation by Wisconsin author Kevin Henkes. In the presentation, Kevin Henkes will discuss his three most recent books — a picture book (A Parade of Elephants), a book for beginning readers (Penny and Her Sled), and a middle-grade novel (Sweeping Up the Heart) — pointing out how they are different and how they are similar. He will talk about inspiration, process, and his philosophy about books and children. He will also share autobiographical information, including childhood photos and glimpses of his studio. The event will take place at the Central Library, in Madison, Community Room 301.

Think that nothing ever happens in our lovely little La Crosse? Think again, the below events will feature both big name (HUGE! EPIC!) authors and local talent.

Wine and Words, Beer and Books

Thursday, October 17, 2019 at 5:30 PM – 8 PM

The fourth annual Wine and Words, Beer and Books will take place at The Pump House and will feature readings by twelve local writers, book and SWAG sales, prizes, and a cash bar. This event is organized and sponsored by my local writing group, the Mississippi Valley Writers Guild, formerly Women Writers Ink. Join us to celebrate local literary talent while enjoying a beverage of your choice.

Kate DiCamillo Visits La Crosse Barnes and Noble

Friday, October 18, 2019 at 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Newbery Award winning (twice!) author Kate DiCamillo will visit our very own Barnes and Noble as a part of her Beverly Right Here Book Tour. Everything that Kate writes, from her picture books, to middle grade novels, to Facebook posts, brings me sheer joy. I am DYING inside (honestly, on the outside too) that I will be out of town for this event. Do me and yourself a favor, and go. Get your books signed, listen to her literary wisdom, drink in her old soul and childlike heart. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. More information on the event can be found here.

Sterling North Book and Film Festival

October 26, 2019

I am thrilled to share that I will be a featured author at this year's Sterling North Book and Film Festival in Egerton, WI the last weekend in October! I will be presenting alongside Jennifer Chiaverini, Barbara Joosse, Pardeep Kaleka, Scott Spoolman, Mark Hertzberg, Louis V. Clark III, Margaret Rozga and Rick Pfeifer. My presentations will feature information on my writing process and also on self-publishing. Join us for a wonderful weekend of words!

So, there you have it! Six different events to keep your writing life full and rich and inspired! If you know of any other Midwest based events coming up this fall, please share them with us in the comments below so that we can add them to our calendar! If you plan to attend one of these events, let me know and maybe I will see you there! Happy writing my word nerds! – Amanda

** If you liked what you read on my blog today (or are in search of weekly word nerd goodness) and would like to have it delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning, you can sign up HERE. As always, feel free to share this post with others you think might be interested via email, Facebook or Pinterest. *

Percolate Your Fall Productivity

September 11, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

As your Facebook feed has likely told you, many of America’s children went back to school this week. If you are the parent of a school-aged child you have also been clued into this fact by your suddenly bursting at the seams schedule and extreme fatigue. As excited as I get for fall… the colors, clothing, productivity… I have to admit, that it can also be exhausting.

When asked how our back to school routine is going, I’ve described this first week back as mental gymnastics. There is so much to organize and so many places to go (at very specific times) and so many responsibilities to juggle. This fall I am feeling all the feels, x4 because not only are my kids and husband back to school, but I am also back in the college classroom with an additional two new classes bumping me back up to teaching five days a week. Oh, and did I mention that my sons’ football started and it is Fall Ball season for college baseball coaching husband?!?!?

In my family say we’d rather be busy than bored, but I think this fall we are taking it to a whole new level. Which brings me to today’s post. when I started musing about a topic for this week’s Writing Wednesday, my mind kept wandering to lesson plans and carpool schedules and what in the heck we were going to eat. As I dug through my folders in search of a prompt for my writing club’s critique group meeting I came across a folder full of writing advice articles. And so, because my brain is mush and I actually find these articles incredibly helpful, this is what I have to offer to the writing universe.

Friday Night Lights: Thoughts on the Success of the Show

September 04, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Last night my husband and I finished watching Friday Night Lights. We’d been working our way through the five-season series on Hulu all summer and it seemed appropriate, on this holiday weekend before the chaos of our Fall started, to stay up and finish the remaining episodes. It was a delightful binge.

Throughout the summer, I’ve shared with people that we are watching/re-watching the show. When I mention Friday Night Lights, I get an array of reactions. Most of them sound something like this.

“Ahhh, I love that show!”

“I failed so many finals because of that show.”

“It’s the best, isn’t it?”

“We should watch that one again.”

These comments come from people of a wide variety of ages, careers, and stages in life. As a writer, it makes me wonder what made this show so great. How was it able to reel in so many different people? I’ll try to digest this in the points below.

Diverse Books: A Few Thoughts and Suggestions

August 28, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

One of my favorite tasks as a classroom teacher was buying books for my students. Whether they were for our classroom library, for lit circle selections, or for my favorite part of each class, our read aloud, I loved picking out books! I tried to choose stories that would not only entertain my students, but books that would also help them grow their reading skills, their empathy for others and their understanding of the world.

More than ever there is a push for diversity in the books we as authors, educators and booksellers offer to children. The ultimate goal is to write, share and sell books that will allow kids of all backgrounds to see themselves on the printed page. This call for diversity goes far beyond the racial and cultural issues that dominate our news. One trusted resource available for teachers, parents and even writers, is We Need Diverse Books. The goal of his organization is to help promote literature for children and young adults that features a diverse cast of characters.

I’ve tried to help these efforts in a few small ways.

What I Learned From Disney World, As a Writer

August 21, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

As a creative I find it hard to experience something magical and not wonder at the process that created the result. As I sit in the Orlando International airport waiting to board my return flight, I find myself doing exactly that – reflecting on just what exactly did Disney do to create the magic we experienced the last seven days? What, as a writer, could I learn from my vacation experience? The answer is oh, so many things!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: A Photo Essay

August 14, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

I’m offering up a little something different on my blog this week, a photo essay. I recently went to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, home of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Instead of spending my time behind a desk, this week I have been putting in full, memory making days with my family. Thus, I haven’t had time to write a proper word (outside of a Facebook post or seven). So rather than a typical Writing Wednesday post, I am giving you this. Also, I figured a few of your word nerds might enjoy the sights and accompanying captions!

A word of warning. If you’d prefer to be surprised when entering this magical world yourself, stop reading right now. Spoilers are contained! I believe, however, that nothing on the internet can truly capture the magic one feels when physically entering a world that previously existed only inside your mind, so even if you do plan to travel to Florida to see this dynamic destination, I’d encourage you to continue forward and join me on my magical journey.

This Time Will Be Different

August 07, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

The writing world can be a frustrating place at times. The normal rules of business communication often do not apply. The speed at which our modern culture moves seems entirely absent amongst the methodical plodding projects in the publishing realm. The people in charge, the feedback, the validation are forever seeming beyond arm’s length, behind closed doors and maddeningly out of reach. I mean, in what other industry do people straight up tell you, “We’ll likely take six months to respond, and then, only if we are interested”???

And yet, here I am. Here we are. Writing, submitting, hoping. Either gluttons for punishment or humans with dreams who refused to be deferred, we stay in the game. We keep showing up, trying, writing.

So Much More Than Writing

July 31, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Today’s post comes from guest author, writing friend and marketing guru Valerie Biel!

When I began writing fiction professionally, I had no idea the number of things I would need to learn on the way to publication and beyond. I will never forget the many people who provided kind mentorship in those early months. Now, ten years later, it’s incredibly fun to do the same for other writers.

But let’s back up for just a minute. It was 2009, and I made a decision to radically change my professional world. My sister had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer—the same cancer that took my oldest sister a few years prior. I was devastated and reevaluated my priorities. Having always wanted to write the stories germinating in my mind, I stepped back from many of my other responsibilities to create my first full-length story—a novel. Daunting!

It took a year to finish the rough draft. That’s when my real education about publishing began.

Blogcation

July 24, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

This week I’m spending time at our family cabin. Actually, it’s not ours, we rent it. But one week a year, since the time I was 12, my family goes north to a lake to swim, golf, play cards, sit by the campfire, eat, sleep, and swat bugs TOGETHER. All 35 (or so) of us. Together for one week. It’s heaven. Honestly, my kids would pick CABIN over CHRISTMAS.

So I’m sorry, but I’m there, and not here, on my blog, as I usually am, each and every single Wednesday. I am on a Blogcation. But never fear. I have not totally abandoned you.

A Shout Out to our Big Shared World

July 17, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

For the last year or so I have been working with a start-up company called Big Shared World to build, edit and share their projects with the world. Big Shared World is a cultural connectivity company hoping to inspire curiosity. Their overall goal is to bring people together in both shared spaces and shared conversations. When founder Colleen Waterston traveled the world (40 countries over the course of a year and a half!) she discovered that even though we are more globally connected than ever, we as humans are not connecting. She wants to fix that and I’m doing my best to help.

For Big Shared World I sometimes act as an editor, sometimes a content creator, sometimes a graphic designer, sometimes an event booth worker and sometimes I just hang out, listen and learn. It’s been a great experience, and now, for the first time, I want to show you some of this work.

Tree by Tree

July 10, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Something you may not know about me is that I’m a bit of an environmentalist. On my recent nine day writing road trip I carried bags of plastic bottles and aluminum cans home with me because Northern Michigan only recycles Michigan made plastic through the depository system, and the cabin I was at in Northern Minnesota didn’t have a recycling pick up in it’s rural community. This might sound absurd, but just like the man in the famous starfish story, I believe every little bit counts and helps keep our planet habitable longer.

I’ve written about the environment in the past. You can check out 4 small changes I made last summer as I endeavored to do my part for the planet in this blog post, and read about the interesting relationship I, as an author, have with trees and paper consumption in this post.

Lately the news about climate change and the rate of our eventual destruction has been alarming to say the least.

Unblocking Creativity

July 03, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Today’s Writing Wednesday post was written by my friend Angela Lam. Once, a few years ago, Angela traveled all the way from California to speak to my middle school students in Tomah about her memoir Red Eggs and Good Luck. She shared with us the ways in which she wrote about her life in her pre-teen years and how real life can be a source of inspiration, even when real life is hard or confusing. It was a great experience for all of us. Today, in celebration of the release of her new book, The Divorce Planner, Angela is here to talk with us about creativity.

Just like any natural resource, creativity needs to be nurtured and replenished. Otherwise, the creative well dries, leaving you stranded in the middle of a project. How do you keep your most precious commodity fully engaged and optimally functioning? Over the past twenty years of writing, painting, and other creative pursuits, I’ve learned a few techniques to keep your creativity flowing.

Author Adventures... Outside the Office

June 26, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Perhaps there was a time twenty-five years ago or maybe as long ago as a century, that people believed writers were reclusive, loaners, separate from the world as they did their work. It’s not hard to believe in the stereotype that authors live their lives away from everyone else wrapped in the world their words have created. This may still be true for some people on some days, but for the most part, a working writer is no longer allowed to live on their own, kept company only by the characters they create. These days in order to make a living, a writer must venture outside their office, outside their den, outside their cave of creativity to interact with readers and teach and travel and experience… and I personally would not have it any other way.

On this Writing Wednesday I will be coming home for the first time in nine days. For the past week and a half, I have divided my attention time and driving miles across three states and three different tasks, all that fall within the new realm that is authorprenuership.

From Prompt to Published

June 19, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

One of my favorite things to do as a writer is respond to a prompt. It takes that intimidating white page and landscapes it with way points. Plainly put, it gives you a place to start. I often try to take a random prompt and apply it to a project I’m working on. Sometimes it feels like a stretch, but other times it forces me to look at my characters or story world from a new angle and I come up with something interesting. Whether I’m adding words to my work in progress or just playing around (which is good too!) I’m actively improving my craft by putting words on the page.

Occasionally, you can even get paid to write for prompts. I’ve gathered a list of them here.

I have so much fun submitting my writing to these types of opportunities that I wanted to give the whole, “hosting a writing contest thing” a try myself. So, today I have gathered for you a variety of interesting prompts and created a writing contest. Choose one, write to it, polish it up and then email it back to me. I will choose one talented writer to give the following…

Viewing Realistic Fiction With a New Lens

June 12, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

I’ve often said that I don’t particularly enjoy the genre of realistic fiction. I choose to read as an act of escape – to get lost in an adventure far from home, be it in the past of a historical fiction or a new world presented in a fantasy or science fiction novel. It’s why I rarely watch TV… it’s so much like real life… and I already spend most of my day there.

But lately the books I have most enjoyed reading take place firmly in our real world. This realization made me think about how much fun I had writing Champion Chocolatier and Reality Bites, both light-hearted chick-lit and also REALISTIC FICTION. I’m at the beginning stages of a new adult book and I’m betting it won’t take you too many guesses to figure out it’s genre. All things considered, I feel like I am turning over a new leaf and looking at this genre through a new lens.

Lessons from the Leap

June 05, 2019 by Amanda Zieba

Exactly one year ago today I made the leap from full time teacher to full-ish* time writer. I’m proud to say that I have not only survived this first year, but thrived. I was able to financially contribute to my family’s budget, increase my connections and events, and manage to balance a schedule of many diverse writing tasks… all while having a great time. I often tell people that I am now living my best life.

As I reflect on this past year, there are a few things that stick out as I transitioned from “hobbyist” to “pro”. If you are thinking of taking a leap into a new career, especially a creative career, read on to vicariously pick up a few lessons I’ve learned on my own journey down this path.