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An Author's Year

With 2022 coming to a close, I thought I'd summarize my work for those curious. 

Writing Projects
2 contracted books completed in 2022:
     Quirky Critter Devotions: 52 Wild Wonders for Kids (2024, Tyndale)
     Chomp! The Truth About Sharks (2023, Reycraft Books) 

2 projects partially researched
     1 project idea played with but not thoroughly researched
     1 proposal and sample manuscript completed

3 of my own comprehensive educator guides created
1 freelance comprehensive educator guide

6 freelance decodable stories

However, much of my work as a writer isn't writing. Read on.

Events
I love to teach all ages! Some events last for days. Others lasted for less than an hour from my computer. Some were local. Others were a plane ride away. I visited Oregon, California, and Vermont. 

The number of events doesn't reflect how many presentations I shared. In-person author visits often have 3-4 presentations in a day. At a writing conference I teach as many sessions as requested. Sometimes it's intense. Other times it's low-key. No matter what, there's always a lot of preparation involved (even if I've taught the same topic before). 

9 author visits (at schools or online)
4 community events (like zoo, library, book festival, story time events)
6 writing conference/workshops (in person and online)
7 educator/librarian/history conference workshop or book signing

(Should I mention here I am an introvert and get my energy by quiet/alone time? But also know that I love people. Maybe we'll meet at one of my 2023 events?) 

Helping Writers
17 writers helped through critiques or consultations

Research
I didn't have any big research trips, but I did spend a lot of time with the redwoods in California. I also met a group of dogfish shark pups (temporarily in captivity) in Delaware. You know I love hands-on writing research.

Blog Posts
15 writing-related blog posts here at AnnetteWhipple.com
6 blog posts for WilderCompanion.com 
7 guest blog posts. Please see the list here. (If you know of one I missed, let me know.)

Published Books
     Ribbit! The Truth About Frogs was pubished in May.
     Meow! The Truth About Cats was published in November
Both books needed promotion, of course. I'm thrilled that Meow! received a starred review from Kirkus! And now Ribbit! has been named a 2022 Top Science and Nature Book for Kids by Betsy Bird on the SLJ blog. WOW!

So, that's some of my work in 2022. I don't know what others expect, but this work keeps me hopping. I'm slow in researching and writing...and of course revisions make it so much better! My family also keeps me busy, including three kids (ages 16, 14, and 11). As much as possible, I write when they are at school. (With a summer deadline, I worked more in June than I preferred, but relaxed more later in the summer.) 

It was a fairly intense year. At times it was too busy, and I learned from that. Unfortunately, many things are planned very far in advance (6 months-1 year+), but I have learned to say no if I suspect the timing won't work for me which is better than being overwhelmed. 

Be well, my friend in 2023! 

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2 comments

  1. Wow, it was interesting to see all those events. I appreciate hearing that you're actually an introvert but can still pull off all these in-person, high-energy events. It gives me hope that I'll be able to someday as well. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you! I can give lots of energy short-term, but I do have to build a bumper day into my schedule where I might answer an email or two, but I can't research or write. They're good baking days!

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