The Most Rewarding Thing I Did in 2024, Professionally Speaking

Also: Writing prompts, a giveaway, and Book Scavenger is turning 10!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a nice end of 2024 and your new year is off to a good start. I enjoyed my son’s school break by indulging in family time, doing things together like playing games and watching movies, going to see the Blossoms of Light at the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Maurice Sendak exhibit at the Denver Art Museum, riding the mountain coaster in Estes Park, and building Legos! And, of course, lots of reading and writing filled the spaces in-between.

Publishing Lemons and Making Lemonade

I was thinking back on 2024 and realized that one of the most rewarding things that happened, career-wise, came about thanks to one of the most disappointing things that happened, career-wise.

Early last year, I received confirmation that the hardback editions of the Book Scavenger series were out of print. I had suspected this, as I’d been hearing booksellers weren’t able to order in hardback copies for their stores anymore, but receiving the definitive answer from my publisher was bittersweet.

Now, there’s still a lot of good happening for the Book Scavenger series—the paperback editions continue to be fairly steady sellers, there are the audio and ebook versions, and translated editions continue to sell too. And I’m grateful for the length of time the hardbacks stayed in print—it’s inevitable that most books will not stay in print forever. Plus, if something were to happen that spiked interest in the series, my publisher could always decide to reissue the book in hardback again. The end isn’t always “The End.”

But it was still “an end” to something that had been meaningful to me, and I felt a bit downhearted about it. It’s not unlike the feeling you get as a parent, when a habit or routine you enjoy with your child shifts gradually (and sometimes abruptly) as they grow up. We know these things won’t last forever, but we still mourn them when they’re over.

My publisher had leftover stock of The Unbreakable Code, and, as is often typical in these situations, I was able to purchase however many copies I wanted at a very low price. I didn’t know what I would do with a lot of extra copies of The Unbreakable Code, but I felt like I should buy as many as I could afford while I had the opportunity. So I did, and a few weeks later, the boxes arrived. I moved them to a corner of my basement where they sat for months.

And then, at some point over the summer, I heard from a reader who’d read and loved Book Scavenger, and they wanted me to write more books like it. They were so excited when I was able to tell them I already had! This experience made me realize that what I would really like for those extra copies of The Unbreakable Code is for them to be in libraries, where more readers might discover them. Ideally in libraries that had Book Scavenger and not the rest of the series, so readers like the one who’d reached out to me would be able to pick up the next book right away.

I tend to either deliberate ideas for an incredibly long time, or impulsively act on them, and this was one of those impulsive moments. I ran with this idea, unsure exactly how many copies I would give away. I figured I’d see what the interest level was first and go from there. But the thing is, when you hear from schools and libraries who have young readers enthusiastic about your first book and who are eager to have a copy of the second to share, it’s really hard to say no when you have more copies than you know what to do with. I ended up giving away a copy to nearly everyone who reached out! (I did, eventually, have to cap it at 65). This impulsive giveaway of mine ended up being a big undertaking, time- and cost-wise, but it was really satisfying to send the books off to libraries where I knew they were wanted, and where I knew there were kids waiting to read them. If I could make a living out of giving away books, I would do that in a heartbeat, because it is super fun and rewarding.

Storystorm

Have you heard of Storystorm, organized and run by Tara Lazar in January? It’s a month-long brainstorming spree geared toward picture book writers, although I don’t limit my own ideas to a specific format or genre. I like the practice of setting aside time to daydream about stories possibilities, as Tara writes about in her opening post. I was delighted to write the guest post for Day 2, where I share a simple game I use as a brainstorming activity. I think it’s a lot of fun to do, and I’m always surprised by the ideas it leads me to. If you’re a teacher, the prompt might be fun to do with a class, too. If you try it out, I’d love to hear how it goes!

#WritingPromptWednesday

Sharing my prompt idea for Storystorm made me realize I want to do more writing “play” this year. So I’m coming up with weekly prompts for myself which I’ll share online, in case you want to try them out for yourself or with your students. I’m calling it Writing Prompt Wednesday and I’ll post them on my website, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack. Here is the first one (I share the story behind this prompt and how it was inspired by Maurice Sendak in the links above). I’ll also be sharing my own response to the prompt on Substack for paid subscribers.

Book Scavenger Anniversary!

Last fall, I sent a survey to everyone who signed up on the Book Scavenger website for updates about the Book Scavenger game or club kits. The survey was a list of ideas I was contemplating for how to celebrate the 10th (!!!) anniversary of Book Scavenger. If you filled out that survey, thank you so much! The feedback was incredibly helpful, and the personal notes people wrote were really encouraging and so nice to read. I know not all of my newsletter subscribers were on that mailing list, so I want to share the survey here as well (I’ve removed a couple ideas that received low interest and that I already know I won’t/can’t do). If you didn’t fill out the survey last fall and are excited by the thought of celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Book Scavenger with me in some way/shape/form, I would love to know which of these ideas spark your interest!

Also, if you filled out the survey last fall and expressed interest in a visit/event, I’m starting to follow up on that now so you may be hearing from me soon. Please also feel free to contact me directly if you’d like to schedule a visit or event.

Monthly Giveaway

This month I’m giving away a copy of Sisterhood of Sleuths! I will also include a class set of bookmarks if the winner is a teacher planning to use the book as a read-aloud (and it makes for an entertaining read-aloud! It would also tie-in nicely with Women’s History Month, which is in March.) Please fill out this form and the randomly selected winner will be notified by January 31, 2025.

I’ll leave you with a few pics of my furry family members (Samy, the fluffy cat; S’mores and Nibbles, the guinea pigs; Coco, the gray striped cat; Gus the dog; Remy wearing a Kirby hat; and Gus again.)

Until next time,

Jenn

"You have been my friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing."

― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web