Tips on Joining Writer's Organizations

Kathy Schuit of SWW created the coloring
book for my picture book, A Packrat's
Holiday: Thistletoe's Gift

Two of the most useful and important organizations I belong to are SouthWest Writers and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI. In this post I’d like to sing the praises of Southwest Writers. Next month’s post will delve into some of the many benefits membership in SCBWI offers children’s writers.

SouthWest Writers (SWW) is based in Albuquerque. Membership is open to everyone anywhere. Meetings are offered in person and on Zoom. Examples of workshops are the upcoming “Let’s Make a Scene,” with Charlene Bell Dietz, Saturday, August 12th, 12:30-2:30; SWW members: $20, non-members: $30 and Saturday, September 9th, same time and price, “How to Speak in Public and Live to Tell the Tale,"  offered by Brenda Cole. An additional helpful list of past workshops over the years is offered on subjects helpful to authors. Check the SWW website for additional information. 

The organization is made up of professional writers who are both approachable and helpful. SWW offers classes, such as the upcoming “SHOW Don’t TELL,” by Kathy Louise Schuit, to take place in September; an annual contest; critique groups; the monthly award-winning newletter, SouthWest Sage, and more. Helpful to me is the SWW Pro Services Directory where I discovered the multi-talented Kathy Schuit, a writer/artist/illustrator. Kathy compiled and illustrated the terrific coloring book pictured above to compliment my picture book, A Packrat’s Holiday: Thistletoe’s Gift.

As a member, I was contacted for an interview by KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe), the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kat has a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.  The updated interview below appears in the July 2023 edition of Sage. I was delighted when Kathy contacted me again for an update, since in her email she said she was curious how I was able to publish two picture books, Waddles the Duck: Hey, Wait for Me (2022) and Cradle in the Wild (2023), in a short amount of time.

I highly recommend this terrific organization for all it has to offer to authors of books for any age.

Here is the updated interview with a link to the original interview:

Q: Waddles the Duck was inspired by a family of mallards that came to live in your swimming pool. Did you also have a personal experience that inspired Cradle in the Wild?

A: My picture book, Cradle in the Wild, was inspired by an idea I found in a craft book that I used when my two daughters were in grade school. The idea is to gather natural materials that birds use to build their nests, such as dried leaves, grass, bird feathers, soft parts of weeds and flowers, small pieces of bark — virtually any type of materials birds might find in the wild. In the spring, we would scatter these natural materials on the grass and watch for the birds to discover them and carry them away. The birds didn’t always discover our materials. I remembered how disappointed we were when they didn’t find our contributions to their nests. The two young sisters in the story were disappointed, too, when the birds didn’t come. So, they brainstormed about what they could use to attract the birds. I love to sew and especially love colorful fabric and sewing incidentals. My collection of ribbon, yarn and lace gave me the idea of adding these colorful snippets to the natural nesting materials, and the story was born.

Q: What topics does Waddles the Duck and Cradle in the Wild touch upon that would make them a perfect fit for the classroom?

A: Waddles: The main message I want readers to come away with is to realize that feeding waterfowl foods that are nutritious for them (such as waterfowl pellets available at pet stores, dandelions, wheatgrass, chopped lettuce leaves, and cracked corn) are far better for them than feeding waterfowl bread. The boy in the story must discover a solution to finding a good home for a mallard duck family that has taken up residence in the family pool. He realizes that the ducks wouldn’t survive for long due to the chemicals in the pool and the lack of natural food that ducks ordinarily find in their natural habitat. I’ve purchased little rubber ducks and plan to have them float in a tub filled with water to demonstrate to students what happens in the story.

Cradle: I’ve presented a program for Cradle that has worked well with students and adults a number of times now. I begin by passing around a collection of about ten bird’s nests that I’ve gathered over the years and discussing birds while the students are feeling the nesting materials, especially the soft fuzzy insides that birds use for protection of their eggs and hatchlings. I show the adults a terrific book — Bird Watch Book for Kids: Introduction to Bird Watching, Colorful Guide to 25 Backyard Birds, and Journal Pages, Dylanna Press, 2022 (Amazon) — which suggests taking water, sunscreen, etc. on bird-watching trips with their children. The book encourages children to keep track of the birds they see in the book’s journal pages. I show the parents a bird guide for adults to keep on hand and tell them about bird-sound apps they can save on their phones. I either read or tell the Cradle story, then give them a craft I’ve put together in a Ziplock bag for them to make a bird nest of their own at home.

Q: Tell us about the journey to choose the evocative and poetic title for Cradle in the Wild.

A: Creating the title Cradle in the Wild was just one of those inspirations that came to me one day. Many times I write title ideas in a notebook over many days and weeks. Sometimes nothing works. Then if I’m lucky the aha moment arrives and I’ve got my title.

Q: You released two books in less than one year. How did you accomplish this?

A: I have to chuckle at this question because, though these book ideas marinated for quite some time before they made it to the page, I wrote both books during COVID when we were all stuck at home. While doing that, I thought I needed a special COVID project, too, so I erected a bird feeder close to my kitchen window. So, while writing the books I enjoyed watching many kinds of birds frequenting my feeders.

 Q: In your last interview for SouthWest Writers, you shared what you wish you’d known when you began your writing/publishing career. What did you learn from publishing Waddles the Duck and Cradle in the Wild?

A: I learned something about marketing from writing these two books. As a self-published author, for a few years I tried to make sales by placing ads on my social media, I wrote blog articles, I became the newsletter editor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and more. Though I enjoyed doing all of that, I made very few sales. Once I accumulated the five books that I’ve published (a chapter book and four picture books), I began selling at book fairs. It’s a lot of work, but I started meeting readers and selling books. Since I don’t have a publisher backing me up and helping to distribute my books, I’ve decided my biggest reward is coming from meeting local readers. This is how I plan to spend my time from now on — sharing my stories with parents, grandparents, and their children in venues where they can also purchase my books.

Q: What writing projects are you working on now?

A: Sometime in 2023, I’m hoping to finish the second book in my chapter book trilogy, Secret in the Mist: An Abi Wunder Mystery, which is a ghost/mystery story. I’m also working on creating a new Tall Boots book which will be a side-by-side Spanish/English bilingual book, and after that making my other picture books bilingual. And for a new project, I want to write a book about turtles/tortoises. The working name of my character is Twiddles.

Here is the link to Kathy Wagoner's original interview of moi in SWW Sage: https://www.southwestwriters.com/an-interview-with-author-linda-wilson/

Sources: If you wish to contact Kathy Schuit, please send her an email: designers@openwithdesign.com, and visit her website: openwithdesign.com.

AUTHOR UPDATE: LINDA WILSON

Alamo Canyon in
Alamogordo, NM,
with my writing partners
Sweet Pea (l) & Peanut

Linda Wilson is the author of the Abi Wunder Mystery series and other books for children. Her two newest releases are Waddles the Duck: Hey, Wait for Me! (2022) and Cradle in the Wild: A Book for Nature Lovers Everywhere (2023). You’ll find Linda on her Amazon author page, on her website at LindaWilsonAuthor.com, and on Facebook.

 Click the links for free coloring pages and a puppet show starring Thistletoe Q. Packrat. While you’re there, get all the latest news by signing up for Linda’s newsletter.  Connect with   Linda: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram