The Kindness Machine Turns 2!

And just like that…two years have passed since The Kindness Machine was first launched into the world! Thank you to everyone who has supported me and this story of kindness. Thank you to all who have purchased copies, gifted copies, put copies into Little Free Libraries, read it to students/children, told other book lovers about it and left reviews. I can not tell you how much I appreciate it.

Two year recap:
*Presented to over 1,000 students
*50 state challenge complete with a book in each state in a Little Free Library
*Interviewed on local news channels both virtually and in the studio (so much sweating)
*Interviewed on 8 podcasts
*3 virtual classroom visits to New York, Maryland, South Carolina
*Several local markets/events where I learned how to set up a book table with activities
*Story time at new, local bookstore
*105 Amazon reviews
*Created a YouTube read aloud
*Connected with more authors in the kidlit community

My absolute favorite part is sharing the book to students in person. I had the opportunity to present to a local elementary school a few weeks ago to kindergarten-second graders and third-fifth graders. With different presentations, I am able to cater the presentation to the age group and continue to tweak the presentation. Nothing beats their response to certain pages, active participation and thoughtful questions. One question I ALWAYS get asked is, “Are you writing another book?” I always say, “yes,” which is immediately followed by, “When?”

The first year, I spent a lot of time promoting and marketing. (My least favorite part of the journey).
The second year, I spent time attending webinars and trainings to learn more about the craft of writing. I was able to acknowledge mistakes I made along the way and figure out ways to make things better.

So, what’s next?
2024 is a year with big writing goals. I have written more in the past 3 months than I did all last year. I am trying to apply things learned in trainings last year and to new trainings/12×12 writing sessions to my writing. I am working through imposter syndrome and just getting the words down. I find myself with more ideas swirling and trying to not “find the time” but to make the time to write.

For now, I will continue to write. I can’t wait until I can answer that question and let you know when the next book will be out.

#authorjourney #writeon #thekindnessmachine #12x12writingcommunity