I’m a huge fan of podcasts and their wealth of free content available at just the tap of the screen. Last November I even wrote a post about the plethora of podcasts that are available to the KidLit community. You can find that here. I had no idea at the time that I would soon be contributing to that list by co-hosting a brand new podcast with my friend and fellow picture book author, Kirsti Call.
Since the first question we ask our guests is, “Where did the inspiration for this book come from?” I thought I’d share the inspiration behind the podcast for today’s post.
As we all know the world stopped in March. For me, it was impossible to get myself into a creative headspace to write anything new or revise anything old. I struggled. I struggled hard. I tried to give myself grace though, knowing these were unprecedented times and surely I wasn’t the only one who was feeling this way.
Then, in May, I attended an all-day online conference called RISE, hosted by one of my favorite people, Rachel Hollis. The theme: Courage. How does one show courage in times of crisis? How can you have courage to rise above all of the unknowns and continue to work toward your goals? How can you find the courage to pivot in the current climate? BOOM. PIVOT. That was everything I didn’t know I needed to hear. I wrote a blog post about that too because I thought it might be true for some of you too.
Before the RISE conference was over, a way to pivot popped into my head. Kirsti Call also attended the conference and we’d been texting back and forth throughout the sessions. Just before 6:00pm this text exchange happened:
And there it was. A way to pivot. If I couldn’t get to a place to write, I could find a way to keep myself involved in the KidLit world that I love so much. I could find a new way to be involved and serve the community.
From there, we hit the ground running and only questioned what we’d gotten ourselves into a handful of times. 🙂 From title and format, to episode length and cheesy intros, it’s been a collaboration of passion for kidlit, a little editing magic, and of course, courage.
Our first three episodes are available for you to subscribe and listen to now via the podcast app of your choice, online at https://picturebooklook.libsyn.com, or you can kindly ask Alexa to “Play Picture Book Look podcast.” One new episode drops every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter for episode updates and behind the scenes pics.
Kirsti and I hope that you’ll tune in to learn from the amazingly talented authors, illustrators, and editors. And who knows…maybe something you hear might help you pivot in your own writing. Happy listening!
Love the story behind how the podcast came to be…love that you had the tweet that showed your conversation!
And so honored to be in the first bunch of interviews!
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Love the podcast. It’s inspiring to all that listen.
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The podcast is great, Kim! You are Kirsti are an inspiration!
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That’s a fun way to jump start a new adventure! The podcasts are great! 🙂 Love hearing from authors and illustrators. Good job!
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I love your podcasts! They are delightful and inspiring. Thank you!
Still writing, Micki Ginsberg
Sent from my iPhone
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Congrats on your Podcast! I loved your last post on learning to Pivot. I recently had to do that again and I took a deep breath and said, “Let’s Pivot!”
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Bravo to you for taking on this project! Looking forward to listening!
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I’m looking forward to listening!
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“Writerly stuff I assume”!! Yes! So glad you’ve started this podcast and thrilled at my good fortune to be interviewed with Hound Won’t Go’s illustrator. You two are experts already! Love the upbeat vibe of this podcast!!
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Congratulations on the new podcast! And—the pivoting concept is so essential, now and always…so glad to read about it here. Just finished a piece on the “emotional tug” we feel when “turning”, making chosen or forced transitions in our writing lives. You rightly celebrate the importance of doing this (whenever!) in our journeys! Thank you!
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