Picture Book Challenges: Get Ready to Run
If you are a picture book writer, there are many places you could hang out to find your picture book tribe. One of them is in Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 group. The challenge is to write one picture book draft per month. This year, you have to pay for membership (there are three levels), but the benefits are nice. There are editors and agents providing feedback, there is a forum, and there is a Facebook book page. If you need or want a group of people to support you, this is a very good group of writers to hang out with.
If you are interested in a group that is ready to submit picture books, then I suggest you join the Sub Six group. It also has a very active Facebook group that is sharing information about picture books submissions. Our challenge is to submit at least six picture books in 2013.
Picture Book Marathon
If you don’t have the time to make a year-long commitment, but you like to write in spurts, then you might consider the Picture Book Marathon coming up in February. I know I’ve mentioned 12×12 and Sub Six before, but new information is just coming out about the 2013 Picture Book Marathon. They have a website, a blog, and a Facebook page. The challenge is to write 26 picture book drafts in 28 days. It’s more like a sprint. You can hardly breathe in the month of February. But you just might produce enough material to revise for quite awhile.
2 Comments
Alayne Kay Christian
Thanks for the Sub Six shout out, Marcie. I have participated in all of these challenges, and I would recommend every one of them. They each offer something different. Without the Picture Book Marathon and 12 x 12, I would not have found a need to start Sub Six. I participated in the picture book Marathon in 2010 and 2011, I participated in 12 x 12 in 2012. The experience was so fantastic that I joined 12 x 12 again this year. I also participated in my first PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) in 2012. If not for all these wonderful challenges and the supportive writing community that comes with them, there would be no Sub Six. After years of participating in all these challenges, I have so many completed manuscripts and new picture book ideas that I am challenging myself to submit at least six picture books this year. I believe any picture book writer who wants motivation and support should look into these groups/challenges.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Absolutely! I think Picture Book Marathon is a great way to utilize some of the PiBoIdMo ideas you came up with. Also, some of my friends don’t write every day, but they write in spurts. The Picture Book Marathon is a great challenge for people who like to knock out a lot of writing in a short amount of time (like NaNoWriMo).