Kids Summer Writing Challenge

Hello, wonderful readers! And happy summer! If you're in AZ like me, you are about half way through your summer... even more in some districts who are on a modified year round schedule! Others of you might just be starting on your summer breaks. And if you're in the southern hemisphere, you're not even close to summer! But this challenge is for ALL kids, no matter where you are!!

As a companion to the Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest, I'm hopeful that this writing challenge will get kids excited about creating their own stories.

Here's how it will work:

1. A responsible grownup registers each kid writer.

2. Kids write throughout July, following one of the three options below.

3. A responsible grown up fills out the final form, logging points.

4. OPTIONAL: share your story with Kailei to be posted on her blog.

5. ALL participants receive a virtual author visit with author Kailei Pew and a certificate of completion.

6. Additional drawings for prizes will be held based on points logged.

Pretty simple, right?

And now, for the three options for our kid writers:

1. Summer Story Writing Challenge: Write, revise, edit, and complete one story of your choice.

2. Writing BINGO: complete 5 writing activities from the bingo board below.

3. Writing Calendar: write every day of July, following the calendar provided below.

If you want to complete the Summer Story Writing Challenge, here are some story mapping worksheets that I created that might help! I'll also be sending out tips and ideas throughout the month of July.

Or maybe you're more interested in smaller writing prompts, a few times throughout the summer. Then the Writing BINGO challenge might be best for you!

Or, maybe you're REALLY excited to write in July and you want to write a LOT of different things. Then grab a new notebook and get ready to write your little hearts out with a new a different challenge every day of July! Then the calendar challenge might be right for you!

All of the images above are linked to downloadable, printable versions. You can print just the black and white pages, skipping the cover page. Unless of course you want to display that challenge page somewhere! Whatever works for you.

If you have any questions at all, please type them in the comments below and I will answer them here.

Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this writing challenge! I can't wait to see the amazing stories these kids create.

Register for the Kids Summer Writing Challenge Here

About Kailei Pew

Kailei Pew is a wife, mother, and children's book author represented by the amazing Emily Forney of Bookends Literary. Kailei's upcoming books include THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED, illustrated by Steph Lew, KID-VENTORS, illustrated by Shannon Wright, and I SEE COLOR, co-authored with Valerie Bolling and illustrated by Laylie Frazier. Kailei cannot wait to get her books into your hands!

Free Query Critiques with Preorder

Hello, friends! And happy Thursday!

I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who attended my first webinar in connection with the preorder campaign for THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED. The energy was incredible and I had SUCH a good time! We had 71 people registered, which was amazing! I'm hoping to grow my future events to 100+

And now it's time to register for the NEXT event!

Crafting an Eye Catching Query:

How to Stand out in the Trenches

It's going to be an absolutely PACKED webinar to get YOU ready to enter (and STAND OUT in) the query trenches! If you attended a version of this that I did a couple of years ago, just know... it is an ENTIRELY new program with way more detail and better formulas than ever! And... if you can't attend live, a recoding will be available for 2 weeks after the event. Just like the previous webinar, you can get a FREE ticket for uploading your proof of library request or preorder campaign.

WAIT A MINUTE... DID YOU SEE THAT??

The first 75 people to preorder THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED and upload your receipt to the form linked below will receive a FREE big-picture query critique AFTER the event (so you can take what you learn and APPLY it to your query before getting the feedback).

I figured, if I'm going to teach the querying skills, I want to really help make sure you can apply them after!

REGISTER TO ATTEND THE QUERY TRENCHES WEBINAR HERE

You can also make a (FREE!) library purchase request to attend the webinar, but the additional offer for query critiques is specifically for those who preorder between June 21st and August 14th (or sooner if we sell out of those first 75 spots).

That means you could get:

A new book!

A very valuable webinar with ACTIONABLE tools to craft a better query! AND

A query critique!

All for about $20?! (The price of the book).

YES. Yes, you can! Maybe you choose to look at this as buying a book and getting a free webinar and critique. (Which, for what it's worth, is how I look at it). Or you could see it as paying for the webinar and getting a free book! haha. Whatever works for you.

Now... just to clarify...

If you already submitted a receipt or library request to attend the previous webinar, you are still absolutely invited to attend this webinar and I would love to have you, but you will need to submit a NEW preorder OR library request! You can do the opposite of what you did before, or you can order a second copy or request the book at a different library. And I promise, THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED is going to make a great gift ;) And I'll mention it here again... the query critiques are specifically for preorders.

Preorder THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED from:

Changing Hands Bookstore (my local indie)

Indie Bound

Barnes and Noble

Target

Walmart

Amazon

And Anywhere Else Books are Sold!

Register for the query Webinar HERE

Don't need help with your query, but still want an incentive for ordering

THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED?

No worries! If you already think you're a pro at querying and pitching, then maybe this event isn't for you... but don't worry! I have 3 other events on the horizon. One more for authors, and two for teachers, librarians, and other grown ups who work with kiddos.

Registration for the future events will open a few days after the Query Trenches webinar wraps up.

What if you don't want to preorder or make a library request, but you still want to attend a webinar?

You can purchase a "ticket" to the webinar, and I will then use the money to buy a book for a classroom in need. AND that classroom will get to come to one of my virtual school visits! That's a win-win-win. Purchase webinar tickets (and by so doing, make a donation to a teacher), in my shop. (Cost is $30 to cover the book, tax, and shipping).

And just in case you are convinced to preorder and attend this stacked webinar, let me drop some links again to make it easier on you:

Preorder THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED from:

Changing Hands Bookstore (my local indie)

Indie Bound

Barnes and Noble

Target

Walmart

Amazon

And Anywhere Else Books are Sold!

Alright, friends! Thank you so much for being on this journey with me! From the Kids' Choice Kid Lit Writing Contest, to the #PBRisingStars Mentorship, to the response to THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED, I am truly feeling the love and support of this wonderful community. Truly, truly, thank you!

Register for the Query Webinar HERE

Until next time,

Kailei

About Kailei Pew

Kailei Pew is a wife, mother, and children's book author represented by the amazing Emily Forney of Bookends Literary. Kailei's upcoming books include THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED, illustrated by Steph Lew, KID-VENTORS, illustrated by Shannon Wright, and I SEE COLOR, co-authored with Valerie Bolling and illustrated by Laylie Frazier. Kailei cannot wait to get her books into your hands!

THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED Cover Reveal Plus Free Webinars

Oh, my friends!

I have been waiting for this day for soooo long. Words can't even express how truly happy I am to be sharing the COVER for my debut picture book, THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED, words by me, illustrations by Steph Lew.

And now that we have a cover, we also have some VERY exciting preorder campaigns going on, with even more to be added later. So make sure to read to the very end of this post, because you are not going to want to miss these things!

And now, because I cannot wait even one more second...

The COVER

of

THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED

credit for which goes 100% to Steph Lew

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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Isn't it gorgeous??!

Steph did such an amazing job and I am absolutely gobsmacked every single time I look at it. And do I pull it up multiple times a week just to see it again? Yes, yes I do. I am completely in love with Blossom, my loveable and terrified little main character who Steph brought to life so well. I am crossing all of my fingers and toes that we can get some merch going on because don't you just need a Blossom stuffie?! I know I do!

Please show Steph a ton of love today because she knocked this one out of the park. I feel so grateful because she is seriously making my dreams come true! It's been so fun to collaborate with her on this project.

Now... I am thrilled to announce a preorder campaign for THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED. I have been so blessed along this path and part of what I love to do is give back some of the things I've learned along the way. From the Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest to the PB Rising Stars Mentorship program, I love bringing the kidlit community together. So when thinking about what I wanted to give as a "thank you" for preorders, it just made sense to me to offer some FREE webinars in return for these early orders.

And I'm so excited about the things I've been working on!

There will be THREE webinars created specifically for picture book creators and TWO that are more suited for school visits or for your kiddos at home.

You can choose when to preorder based on which webinar you would like to attend. And I mean... if you want to attend more than one, I'm not stopping you from ordering multiple books... they do make great gifts ;)

(OR, see below for how to pay to attend and I'll donate a book to a classroom in need).

Order any time before June 19th to attend

Playing the Long Game: A Deep Dive Into the Business Side of Publishing and Creating the Career of Your Dreams

June 20th

8:00 PM Eastern Time

(Registration is Open NOW)

In this webinar, I will be discussing how to decide what kind of career you want in publishing, how to find an agent that best fits that vision, how to convince yourself to stay out of the query trenches until you are truly ready, how to know when you are ready, and MORE. We'll talk about everything from craft to queries to the author-agent relationship to submission and beyond. I'll answer your business questions and you'll leave feeling like you can be the author you want to be with the tools to get there.

Order any time between June 20th and August 14th to attend

Crafting an Eye Catching Query: How To Stand Out In The Trenches

August 15th

8:00 PM Eastern Time

(Registration Opens June 21st)

If you attended my webinar last year, you will still want to catch this new, improved, and revamped version. We'll be talking about how to go beyond the formulas to really help your book shine. We'll be talking about catching an agent's attention for all the right reasons, pitches that sell, and what makes a query exciting. I'll be sharing what worked for me as an author and what stood out to me on the mentor side during PB Rising Stars.

Order any time between August 15th and October 9th to attend

Using Dramatic Irony in Picture Books

October 10th

8:00 PM Eastern Time

(Registration Opens August 16th)

Kids love knowing something that the characters don't yet know. I'll be talking about my focus on dramatic irony in THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED, analyzing how it works is books like This is Not My Hat, Life on Mars, The Wall In The Middle of the Book and MORE. We'll talk about how dramatic irony can add humor, tension, or both! I'll walk you through some exercises on writing for kids with dramatic irony and help you develop some of your own ideas for using the device.

Order any time between now and November 8th to attend your choice of an author School Visit**

How Books are Made: From Idea to Final Copy

November 9th

1 PM Eastern Time

(Registration Open Now)

In this school author visit, I'll share with students my experience from first idea through publication on THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED. We'll focus heavily on the importance of persistence in the face of rejection, revision even when you think things are good enough, and how to become a published author. I'll read THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED and take questions from the students.

What If I Am The Monster?!: Overcoming Perceptions and Judgements

November 13th

1 PM Eastern Time

(Registration Open Now)

In this school author visit, I will talk about my purpose behind writing THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED. I'll read the book and discuss the importance of not judging or othering people, seeing past differences, and rejecting prejudices. We'll talk about who the monster was in my story, why judgements might have been made, and how Blossom found the truth.

**NOTE: You can gift the school visits to your child's teacher/classroom! So you don't have to be a teacher yourself if you'd like your child to have one of these opportunities.

Whoooo. I'm already *slightly* tired just looking at this, but in the MOST excited way possible! I truly cannot wait to meet with you and hopefully give back in a meaningful and useful way. I can't thank my kidlit community enough for all of the support I've had.

Now, I know that not everyone is in a place to preorder, so I also want to include and thank all of you who make a library request for THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED. By making a library request, you can choose to attend ANY one of the above webinars!! Woo Hoo! You can do that by filling out THIS FORM HERE to submit proof of your library request.

Can you preorder one book to attend one of the webinars and do a library request to attend another? YES!

What if you don't want to preorder or make a library request, but you still want to attend a webinar?

You can purchase a "ticket" to the webinar, and I will then use the money to buy a book for a classroom in need. AND that classroom will get to come to one of my virtual school visits! That's a win-win-win. Purchase webinar tickets (and by so doing, make a donation to a teacher), in my shop. (Cost is $30 to cover the book, tax, and shipping).

I just want to note that if you already preordered THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED during the B&N preorder sale last week (or any other time), you are already eligible to attend the Playing The Long Game webinar, OR one of the school visits, so don't miss your chance to register!

Alright, that was a lot of information to take it. If you're still with me, THANK YOU!

For getting this far, I do want to offer you a

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY!

One lucky reader will receive a FREE TICKET (no preorder or library request required) to ANY of the above webinars of their choosing (the winner can choose a webinar for themselves, or donate to a classroom).

To Enter:

1. Like and Retweet THIS TWEET -OR- share THIS INSTAGRAM POST (or both!)

2. Follow Me on Twitter OR Instagram (or both!)

That's it!

Bonus Entries for

1. Commenting Below

2. Tagging a friend in THIS TWEET (one bonus per tag)

3. Subscribing to my newsletter HERE (it's okay if you were already subscribed, no need to resubscribe)

Thank you so much, my friends, for being a part of this journey. I honestly cannot wait to share this book with you and for each of you to meet Blossom!

Until Next Time, Be Kind Humans, Kailei

About Kailei Pew

Kailei Pew is a wife, mother, and children's book author represented by the amazing Emily Forney of Bookends Literary. Kailei's upcoming books include THE MONSTER ABOVE THE BED, illustrated by Steph Lew, KID-VENTORS, illustrated by Shannon Wright, and I SEE COLOR, co-authored with Valerie Bolling and illustrated by Laylie Frazier. Kailei cannot wait to get her books into your hands!