Writing Appearances

Book Promoting

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

Last year, I published Jobs of a Preschooler and Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles (affiliate links). I had a lot of fun writing them and publishing them, and I learned a lot about the process of promoting them.

I always feel funny talking about myself or my books in person to other people, but I love having the opportunity to read my books to kids and listening to the stories of why someone is buying one of my books. (I hope to share some of those stories in a future post.)

To promote my books, I created this website, started a Pinterest account, created a Goodreads account, made coloring pages and activity sheets to go along with the books, celebrated National Pickle Day, was interviewed on live TV, led preschool story times, did a library presentation for adults, entered my books for a Goodreads giveaway, sold multiple copies of Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles to a couple of pickle stores, received a Readers’ Favorite 5 Stars Review for each book, and I signed up on HARO (Help A Reporter Out).

Jobs of a Preschooler is now Available!

I know there is more I could do to promote my books, but I haven’t done as much promotion this year for them as I did last year. Instead, I have been learning a lot by attending two SCBWI conferences, a picture book group meeting, and a monthly writer network/critique group meeting. I have also been writing quite a bit.

That doesn’t mean I have been doing no promotion for them, though. I am thankful both stores I sold multiple copies of Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles to last year contacted me again this year to purchase even more copies. I have also been selling copies of both books at a local farmers’ market, and I continue to add information to my Pinterest account.

Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles Available

I have also been responding to a few inquiries from HARO. Reporters, bloggers, and authors can use HARO to inquire about a specific topic. The “sources”, which I am signed up as, receive three e-mails a day five days a week. Each e-mail contains multiple inquiries. When I know I will have some time to respond to potential inquiries, I scan the e-mails to see if there is anything I would be able to respond to. Most of the time there isn’t anything I can answer; however, I have been used as a source on a few different websites, which have included links back to my own website.

Recently, I found an inquiry from AMA Feed on HARO asking for information about ways to promote a book. Thankfully, I had some time, so I responded with 14 potential tips. AMA Feed recently published what I had sent to them on their website. It has been published as 14 Tips to Promote Your Book.

Hopefully, I will continue to learn, write, and publish more books in the future that will need to be promoted.

What is something that turns you off from making a purchase?

 

 

 

 

Easy Science Experiment Simple Science Experiment: Density
Jobs of a Preschooler · Ramblings

Simple Science Experiment: Density

Brigitte Brulz3 Comments

(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you if you click on a link and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I greatly appreciate all the purchases you make using these links. Thank you!)

Introducing the Density Science Experiment

We have officially finished day two of school for the school year.

We are eclectic homeschoolers, which means I pick and choose a variety of curriculum for our subjects. This year, we have decided to use Apologia Exploring Creation with General Science for our science lessons.

I’ve used Apologia in the past, but this is the first year I also purchased the companion notebook for each of my daughters. I am so glad I did! The notebooks definitely add to the reading since they require the students to answer questions, write sentences, and record science labs.


I’ve mentioned in the past that my daughters and I enjoy doing science experiments together at home. Well, today we had the opportunity to complete a simple science experiment for our science lesson concerning atoms and density. It reminded me of the girl in the book Jobs of a Preschooler on the page where she is a scientist.

Jobs of a Preschooler- I'm a scientist...

“I’m a scientist…” from Jobs of a Preschooler

Conducting the Density Science Experiment

If you would like to replicate this simple experiment, gather the following supplies:

  • tall clear jar
  • 2/3 c vegetable oil
  • 2/3 c water
  • 2/3 c corn syrup
  • small rock
  • grape
  • ice cube
  • piece of cork

Once you have your supplies, you can follow these steps:

  1. Pour vegetable oil in a glass.
  2. Pour water in the glass.
  3. Pour corn syrup in the glass.
  4. Drop a rock, grape, ice cube, and cork into the glass.

Simple Density Experiment for Kids

So simple, yet fun to do. After writing the lab report in their notebooks, my daughters stirred the contents of the glass jar with a spoon to see what would happen.

I labeled a picture I took of the experiment for them to add to their notebooks along with their drawings of the different layers.

Simple Science Experiment

Explaining the Density Science Experiment

The science book we use explained the experiment in detail by discussing atoms, density, weight, particles, etc. But if you do not have a copy of Apologia Exploring Creation with General Science, you may want to check out the links below for more of an explanation.

Will you try this science experiment at home?

Exploring More Science Experiments

Even more science fun can be found in the Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles teacher’s guide.

Additional posts for more simple science fun at home include:

Events · Ramblings

Another Upcoming Conference

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) offers multiple conferences throughout the year in various states. This year, I had the pleasure of attending the SCBWI Adventures in Nonfiction conference and the SCBWI Grow Your Picture Book conference. Both of these conferences took place in Iowa.

Another SCBWI Iowa conference will be taking place in just a couple of months on October 6th, 2018 in West Des Moines, Iowa. It is entitled Change the World with Words.

Save the World With Words SCBWI Conference

You can find more information about the conference here on the SCBWI’s website. Just so you know, the early bird pricing ends on August 30th.

Have you enjoyed any conferences?

Ramblings · Writing Appearances

At-Home Learning Activities

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

My daughters and I have enjoyed reading books and completing science experiments together this past summer. We do a lot of learning activities at home since we homeschool, but children who aren’t homeschooled can also have fun learning at home throughout the year.

I recently assembled a list of over 100+ fun learning activities for preschoolers and toddlers to do at home for Hands On As We Grow, which has now been published.

Even though I still do some activities with my daughters during the summer, I use our summer break as a time to sort through all of the curriculum I used with my daughters the previous school year, get rid of school items we no longer need, reorganize our school cupboard, decide what subjects and curriculum to use for the upcoming school year, purchase needed supplies and curriculum, print necessary paperwork, and come up with a schedule for at least the first few weeks of our upcoming school year.

I include my daughters in some of the decisions by creating a list of questions for them to answer at the end of the school year. Some questions include:

  • What did you like best about last year?
  • What didn’t you like about last year?
  • What would you like to learn more about?
  • What would you like to do the same as last year?
  • What would you like to do differently?
  • What is your favorite subject?
  • What is your least favorite subject?

Kids learn in so many different ways and enjoy different topics, so these questions help me understand what is or isn’t working for each of my daughters.

School will be begining again soon for us, and I’m eager to see what at-home activities and lessons we will be able to accomplish this year.

What at-home learning activity have you enjoyed?

 

 

Ramblings

SCBWI Grow Your Picture Book Garden Recap

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you if you click on a link and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I greatly appreciate all purchases you make using these links. Thank you!)

I have been having a lot of fun on what I have been calling “my writing adventure”, and I am always seeking new ways to improve my writing. I have learned a lot, but I am still learning. There will always be room for me to learn and improve more!

I had the opportunity to attend an SCBWI Adventures in Nonfiction Conference earlier this year to learn about nonfiction children’s books. Lately, I have been talking about the SCBWI Grow Your Picture Book Garden Conference, which I had the pleasure of attending this past weekend. This was another great learning opportunity for me.

grow picture book conference

This was a great conference for me to attend since it focused solely on picture books. I came home with 10 pages of handwritten notes in a notebook, worksheets with more handwritten notes, and a lot of information to digest.

Some topics discussed at the conference include:

  • rules of three
  • types of words to use
  • tips to create a great character
  • showing vs telling
  • brainstorming ideas
  • word count
  • tips for humor
  • illustrator notes
  • how to hook readers
  • tips for titles
  • hyperbole
  • allegory
  • thinking pictorially
  • tips for text to flow
  • benefit of having manuscript read aloud
  • benefits of constantly writing
  • revising, revising, and revising more
  • pagination
  • information to include with manuscripts
  • tips to creating great page turns
  • description of literary agent
  • what to look for in an agent/ red flags of an agent
  • scenes of book
  • openings
  • how to show internal thought

I’m only providing you with the topics covered, but not all of the inside conference details. If you are a children’s writer and/or illustrator (or hoping to become one some day), I recommend finding an SCBWI division near you if you are able. SCBWI members are given access to The Book: Essential Guide to Publishing for Children, which is a wonderful resource for children’s book writers and illustrators. SCBWI also offers various conferences throughout the year and information on meetings to attend with other local authors and illustrators.

At the conference, we also had an award ceremony for Sarvinder Naberhaus who won the SCBWI Midwest Division Crystal Kite Award for the beautifully illustrated book she wrote entitled Blue Sky White Stars. (affiliate link)

I enjoyed listening to all of the presentations, learning all of the information, and being able to ask questions. There is definitely a lot to digest now that I am home from the conference!

Is there something you hope to learn more about?