March Is Women’s History Month And I want to dedicate my celebration of Women’s History to the women who paved the way for those of us other women who are currently working in the field of picture-book creation. Little Miss Muffet – An Illustration by Kate Greenaway During the 19th Century, illustration was primarily a…
Month: February 2022
All About Amazon Author Central – A Published Author’s Next Step
As soon as my debut picture bookThe Donkey’s Song showed up as ready for pre-order at Amazon, I began free-falling into a vat that was filled with tasks that I needed to do next. From my vast history of buying books on Amazon, I knew that some authors had author pages there, and I wanted…
Jacki Kellum Offers Marketing Aids — Especially for Authors
I have mentioned this before, but please allow me to repeat myself. Long before I became a published author, I had studied art, design, graphic art, and information technology for years. I admit that pursuing those other areas of study has slowed down my writing output, but now that my debut book The Donkey’s Song…
Don’t Give Up – Thoughts for Starting All Over Again and Again and Again
A Reminder to All of Us Who Did Not Succeed in PBPitch: Tip Number 8: Try Not to React Personally to Whether Your Pitch on a Twitter Party is Liked or Not Liked I have no idea how many picture books are pitched on Twitter parties, and I also have no idea how many agents…
Jacki Kellum Hits the Trail for Author Visits and Workhops
I am currently creating several resources which I hope teachers, librarians, Sunday School teachers, etc., might use to help children better understand what was going on during the time that Jesus was born in Palestine. While I have finally become a published picture book author, I was a teacher, a children’s librarian, a Sunday School…
The Donkey’s Song Is A Message about Love 365 Days A Year
Don’t get me wrong, I love holidays. I love the actual day of Halloween and the actual day of Thanksgiving and the actual night of Christmas Eve and the actual mornings of Easter and Christmas Day. When I was a child, I loved decorating a shoebox with construction paper, lacy hearts, and whatever else seemed…
Who Is Jacki Kellum, Author of The Donkey’s Song, Random House Children’s Books – 2022
“I am part of all that I have met.” – Tennyson – Many years ago, I read Tennyson’s words: “I am part of all that I have met,” and I can honestly say that all of my life’s experiences have become the core of who I am now. Today, as I continue to celebrate my…
Canva Is A Quick & Easy Way to Make Video Book Announcements for Authors & New Books
Without a doubt, the 21st Century is the heyday of video-enhanced data. I don’t need to quote professional sources to postulate that kids today spend an inordinate amount of time playing video games or similar video-oriented games. I’ll go beyond that and say that many of their parents grew up playing video games, too, and…
I Used Canva to Create An Announcement for My Debut Picture Book The Donkey’s Song
Several days ago, I tweeted the message that images are important to help build a social media base. And in that post, I advised authors to subscribe to Adobe Photoshop, which is expensive, at best. For years, I have subscribed to the entire Adobe Creative Suite, and I use at least one of its programs…
What Do the Words “Nativity Story” Mean? The Donkey’s Song Also Has A Multicultural Message
In the broadest of understandings, dictionary.com defines the word “nativity” as a birth. Secondarily, it describes the term as the birth of Christ. Third, it adds that the term “nativity” might allude to a church festival, commemorating the birth of Christ or Christmas. Fourth, it also adds that the term “nativity” might be a…