I want to thank everyone who visited this blog in 2013 and especially all of you who followed my blog. This past year I blogged everyday and was only a few thousand short of hitting a half a million visitors. My top five countries were USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India, but I had someone from every country in the world visit, except for two. Sorry, if you sent me a comment and it wasn’t posted. If couldn’t read the language, I didn’t posted it. I also know I missed replying to a lot of comments over the year. I appreciated hearing from all of you, but sometimes life gets in the way – forgive me, PLEASE!
Below are the names of the top five people who left me comments in 2013:
CALL FOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Looking for illustrations that would go well with the month or any illustration that would go with a writing or illustrating post. Same as always: At least 500 pixels wide, sent to kathy (dot) temean (at) gmail (dot) com, and include a blurb about you. Thanks!
I am please to announce that Agent Sean McCarthy will be our Guest Critiquer for January. I am doing something a little different with January. I feel bad that over the last months so few of the first pages chosen have been picture books, so this month anyone who submits a picture book will get their names placed in the hat, twice. Make sure you note that in your submission is a picture book. Of course, you don’t have to submit a picture book and whether you do or not, you can increase your chances by posting about Free Fall Friday on your blog, facebook, Linkedin, and or Twitter. You must leave a comment to let me know if you did any of those things, so I can put the right amount of slips for you in the drawing.
ABOVE IS THE PICTURE PROMPT for anyone who would like a little inspiration. It is an illustration done by Laura Jacobsen who was featured on Illustrator Saturday on December 7th 2013. https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/illustrator-saturday-laura-jacobsen/
WRITERS: Sending in a First Page: Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail.
Put “January 2014 First Page Critique” or “January 2014 First Page Picture Prompt Critique” in the subject line. Make sure you have your name on the submission, a title, and indicate the genre.
DEADLINE: January 23, 2014
RESULTS POSTED: January 31, 2014
It’s snowing like crazy in New Jersey. I love the snow as long as I don’t have to drive in it. I think New England is going to get slammed. Temp today – 2 below. Aren’t you people in Florida and California jealous? Ha!
Talk tomorrow,
Kathy
Writing and Illustrating 
I think the problem with picture book posts may be that a first page can be more than half the entire text and people don’t want to “publish” it. Not sure what the solution for that is.
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By: Wendy on January 3, 2014
at 10:38 am
Hoot! I’ll have to try and beat your record, Donna Marie for 2014. 🙂
Kathy, keep up the great posts.
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By: Tracy Campbell on January 3, 2014
at 10:43 am
Kathy….for all you do daily we all thank you and hope you can keep it up another year plus!!! wonderful, interesting, inspirational. My artists love it, share it, and learn from it. I enjoy it daily. HAPPY 2014 from Chris and Christy of CATugeau LLC 😉
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By: catugeau on January 3, 2014
at 11:48 am
I need to follow Tracy Campbell’s lead and visit here more often, Kathy! I think I will give your Free Fall Friday a try…I’ve already tweeted about it, pinned it and posted it on FB.:)
Congrats on the super blog stats…it is not surprising…your blog rocks!!!!
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By: viviankirkfield on January 3, 2014
at 12:39 pm
Vivian,
Thanks! I try hard to provide info that can help get writers and illustrators published. Can’t wait to see you submission.
Kathy
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By: Kathy Temean on January 4, 2014
at 11:23 pm
It’s a wonderful opportunity, Kathy…thank you!_
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By: viviankirkfield on January 5, 2014
at 7:59 pm
Hi Kathy– Free Fall Friday sounds interesting — will give it a go and have tweeted and FB’d the opportunity to others. Thanks, Teresa P.S. Cold here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, as well. Six inches of snow last night but sun today.
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By: teresa m.i. schaefer (@TMISchaefer) on January 3, 2014
at 1:06 pm
Teresa,
It is really cold here too. In fact, I’ve been on Amazon looking for long underwear. It will definitely will warm up if I buy them.
Kathy
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By: Kathy Temean on January 4, 2014
at 11:19 pm
congrats on all those visitors. YOu have a great blog and folks know it!
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By: Carol Federlin Baldwin on January 3, 2014
at 9:50 pm
Carol,
Thanks! I’m looking forward to working on my YA revisions this month. What are you up to?
Kathy
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By: Kathy Temean on January 4, 2014
at 11:18 pm
First, I greatly appreciate the in-depth interviews you do with illustrators showing their process in great detail. I’m not familiar with your first page critique opportunity, but it’s awesome to have Sean McCarthy. I was wondering if it can be the first page of any picture book manuscript or if it has to be related to the illustration? Thanks again for you informative blog.
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By: Sharalyn Edgeberg on January 4, 2014
at 10:46 am
Sharalyn,
Thanks for writing. The first page critiques can be from any children’s book that you are working on. It does not have to be related to illustrations in anyway. I do the first page critiques every month with a new editor or agent. I felt bad that so many middle grade and Young adult first pages had been chosen over the last 6 months, that I said I would give any one who sent in a first page of a picture book they wrote, two slips in the basket to see if that helped their page to get chosen, but Sean does everything.
Kathy
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By: Kathy Temean on January 4, 2014
at 2:35 pm
Kathy, I haven’t been able to keep up with blogs lately (even yours!), so missed this one. I only found it ’cause someone asked a question about the details for Free Fall Friday, so I was searching and hit this one.
I have to laugh seeing as how I’m the top two commenters here! (It depends on how I’m logged into WordPress as to which screenname shows up.) I know I believe hard work (on blogs and elsewhere) should be acknowledged, but I also love interesting conversation, and anyone who knows me knows that, but seeing something like this makes me take note.
As you know, I’m not a competitive-type person, but many years ago I had an argument with someone (that’s the kind word I’m using for her) in the old B&N University Harry Potter forums and in the argument she said I was competing to be the person with the most posts! I didn’t even know there was something that COUNTed them! lol I just get involved, comment and respond. It’s my nature.
Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there because of what I saw in that chart! lol And, as you also know, I’m more than happy to comment on your blog. It’s been a gift, not just to me (in COUNTless ways), but to anyone who follows you. You put a lot of time and effort into everything you do–not just this blog. It shows and is SO appreciated. I know, for a fact, that your heart is behind your efforts. You do things with generous intent, hoping that through your work, others can be helped and find success, and for so many years at the expense of focusing on things for yourself. It is one of the many things to treasure about you, my dear, and I couldn’t be happier to see you finally doing important things for YOU, too. oxox
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By: writersideup on January 17, 2014
at 1:44 pm