Youth Advisory Board (YAB)
After I wrote my first book in 2012, I had a few kids read it and tell me what they thought. It was very informal, but I appreciated the input and they enjoyed the experience.
While writing Book I in the Tresia series, I had a lot of help from my writers group and other adult critique partners and editors, but didn't ask for kids' opinions until after the book was published.
Before I started Book II, I heard another author talking about her Youth Advisory Board. I decided that sounded like a great idea. With the format of my "Trinity Tales," or three separate but connected tales in one book, it made perfect sense to ask my YAB to be involved from the beginning. I recruited three girls, and one of them recruited a boy for me, and we established my first official Youth Advisory Board.
The criteria for being a member was to sign a confidentiality form, read Book I in the series, and fill out a questionnaire about A Most Remarkable Hat. When I finished the first tale of A Quite Extraordinary Umbrella, I sent my YAB members the manuscript along with a set of questions. I took those answers into consideration as I wrote the second tale, and the same with tale number three. We repeated the process with the third book in the series, A Perfectly Magnificent Cane. The experiment was a grand success, and I owe these three young ladies (and their moms,) who stuck with me for all three tales, a great big thank you. One of the benefits was that I named a character after YAB members, and they received a copy of each book as soon as it was published. Plus, their photos are published here on my website and sometimes show up on my Facebook Author Page!
Thanks to my YAB, Lilly, Caitlyn, and Emalee. You ROCK! I'm looking forward to collaborations on new projects as all of us have grown older and as always, change happens! But you will always be my YAB Gals.
While writing Book I in the Tresia series, I had a lot of help from my writers group and other adult critique partners and editors, but didn't ask for kids' opinions until after the book was published.
Before I started Book II, I heard another author talking about her Youth Advisory Board. I decided that sounded like a great idea. With the format of my "Trinity Tales," or three separate but connected tales in one book, it made perfect sense to ask my YAB to be involved from the beginning. I recruited three girls, and one of them recruited a boy for me, and we established my first official Youth Advisory Board.
The criteria for being a member was to sign a confidentiality form, read Book I in the series, and fill out a questionnaire about A Most Remarkable Hat. When I finished the first tale of A Quite Extraordinary Umbrella, I sent my YAB members the manuscript along with a set of questions. I took those answers into consideration as I wrote the second tale, and the same with tale number three. We repeated the process with the third book in the series, A Perfectly Magnificent Cane. The experiment was a grand success, and I owe these three young ladies (and their moms,) who stuck with me for all three tales, a great big thank you. One of the benefits was that I named a character after YAB members, and they received a copy of each book as soon as it was published. Plus, their photos are published here on my website and sometimes show up on my Facebook Author Page!
Thanks to my YAB, Lilly, Caitlyn, and Emalee. You ROCK! I'm looking forward to collaborations on new projects as all of us have grown older and as always, change happens! But you will always be my YAB Gals.
Lilly
Lilly is now in cosmetology school. She was a YAB during high school. She also created the lettering for the 2021 Reader Bonuses picture ebooks.
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Emalee & Caitlyn
Caity is a recent college graduate with a theatre degree. She's busy auditioning, acting, and "barista-ing".
Emalee is a recent high school graduate and will attend KCAI in the Fall of 2025. She keeps herself busy with her barista job and creating works of art. She created the illustrations for the 2021 Reader Bonuses picture ebooks. |
