Smart Instagram Madness Dummies

If you missed it in the Smart Dummies group: I started an Instagram page for Smart Dummies! The name is @smart_dummies_challenge. If you are already connected through my personal page @dani_duck_art you can get to it there or go to: https://www.instagram.com/Smart_Dummies_Challenge/

I will be taking images from people who are following me on Instagram/have participated in the Smart Dummies Challenge. Use the tag #smartdummieschallenge so I can find you! To get it started I'm looking at all my followers/following to get things started, but hope to switch to the hastag later!  You do not have to be an artist to be featured. You will be tagged so people can find you.  

The main purpose of this is to spread awareness for Smart Dummies. I'm also hoping it can also be used as a way to share tips and techniques. More people are going to look at this than my personal profile because people can submit and get their artwork shared. 

I'm going to try to be very picky for art so everyone gets their best work out there. It has been a bit more than 24 hours and I've gotten 24 followers so far!  Maybe it's not a ton but It happened in a day, so not too bad! I hope we can grow the Smart Dummies event together. 

2018 For All it's Worth!

I know it's early to think about 2018 now, but really it's never to early to plan especially when it has to do with spending! I'm assuming you have a limited budget for what you can do in 2018 so consider these options carefully. Prices are subject to change and are in USD. Normally I wouldn't post prices, but these are to give you a chance to budget for 2018.

Mira Reisberg and the Children's Book Academy http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/ offers lots of different options for courses! It doesn't matter if you are a writer or illustrator there is a course here for you. Courses start at under $100! The bigger courses cost a bit more, but offer tons of extras to help you get published. Have you heard of the Chapter Book Alchemist course? It starts at under $250 and offers everything you need to get started writing chapter books. Also the Middle Grade Mastery (which also includes chapter books) course starts soon, so be sure to check that out! 

Mark G. Mitchell offers Group Guest Critiques! http://howtobeachildrensbookillustrator.com/ Every month you can get your illustration work critiqued by a professional and learn from their experience. Mark has a new person every month and it includes people like Giuseppe Castellano, Nichole Tugeau, and Mira Reisberg (where have I heard this name before? 😊)  These courses are under $30 each, but if you subscribe for the whole year, they are only about $9 a class!

Julie Hedlund offers the 12 x 12 Challenge every year. http://12x12challenge.com/ The challenge is to write 12 picture books in 12 months. This is open to both illustrators and writers. There are webinars and lots of interaction from the community. It's $167 to join. I've been a part of this community for 4 years and couldn't do without it. Want a free pass to get your work past the slush pile and into the hands of real agents and editors? Join the Gold for a bit more and get the opportunity to submit your work to some great professionals! Registration for new members starts in January. Julie also offers some great courses under "Shop" so you can check those out while you wait.

The Picture Book Summit happens every year in October. Miss it this year? Go to the website and sign up for updates: http://picturebooksummit.com/ This conference was founded by Katie Davis, Julie Hedlund,  Laura Backes, Emma Walton Hamilton and Jon Bard. It's like a regular writing conference but with a few differences. 1. You do not have to pay for airfare. 2. You do not have to pay for a hotel. 3. You don't have to get dressed in the morning to attend. Otherwise it's just like a full scale writing conference. Last year they had Tomie Depaola, Carole Boston Weatherford and Adam Rex! This for the same price you would pay for a small writer's conference! Sign up now to receive updates for the course and other goodies!

Write On Con https://writeoncon.org/fundraise/ This started as a free online conference. It's a bit more than free, but still a wonderful event. Will Taylor, Kat Zhang and Clarissa Wong are a few of the kidlit people at this conference. It's a bit like the event above, but I find that it's not quite as cohesive. Sometimes it's just text on Facebook pages and many of the events are scheduled too close together. It's worth the money, but I'd pay a lot more if all the events were in one place. There is still great information here, and for $5 you can attend the live sessions which is not bad. The link is to the fundraiser page where there are a bunch of options for you to view!

These are just some ideas for you to look forward to next year. I wish I could post more, but it's just so many great things out there. I think I'll do a post later for a lot of challenges in 2018. 

Where are you going to invest your money this year? Anything that I haven't mentioned? Which Courses/Events above have you joined?

Mira's Course Winners!

Here are the winner's for Mira's Courses! Thank you all for participating in Smart Dummies this year. 

Mira Reisberg - A free Photoshop course and a separate prize of a Hero's Art Journey course

1. Photoshop: C.L. Murphy

2. Hero's Art Journey: Heidi Yates

More Big Wins!

So sorry it's taken so long to get these up! Been strapped for time lately.  

1. Emmeline Forestal - Portfolio Review

Julia Maisen

2. Mark Mitchell -  1 Year Subscription to Guest Group Critiques

Suzanne Davis

Tune back in tomorrow to see who won Mira's prizes!

Start of the Big Wins!

I did not get to update on her post until recently, so I wanted to make sure people knew that Chiêu Anh Urban's"Quiet as a Mouse and Other Animal Idioms "will be released January 2018

1. Becky Fyfe Story Cubes https://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-318-Rorys-Story-Cubes/dp/B003EIK136 

Julia Maisen

For winners of Smart Dummies:

2. Sophia from Rate Your Story - A Free Speed Pass (1 Time Submission)

Lynette Oxley

3. Yvonne Mes - Picture Book Critique

Danette Byatt

And More Prizes!

1. Bryony Supper - A copy of The Inventing Tubes

Geralyn Underwood
2. Juana Martinez-Neal a copy of "La Princesa and the Pea"written by Susan Middleton Elya.

Paul Weiner

3. Evelyn  B. Christensen Any one of Evelyn's Books from the Teachers Pay Teachers Resource Site

Kristen Wauson

4. Sharon Chriscoe - An Autographed Copy of "Race Car Dreams" and Swag

Louann Brown

Prizes and Prizes!

1. Jennifer Adams - Books "My Little Cities London" and "My Little Cities NY"

Cortney Benvenuto
2. Chieu Ahn Urban - two copies of "Color Wonder Hooray for Spring!"


Copy 1: Laura Rackham

Copy 2: David McMullin

3.Shawna Tenney A copy of Brunhilda's Backwards Day

Suzanne Davis