Shawn Hansen is a published author, as well as a graphic artist (she has designed several of my book covers) and someone who now teaches others how to be successful writing and marketing books online. When I realized that I had not yet interviewed her for my podcast series I made it a priority to do so immediately. Shawn is definitely someone you’ll want to know as you build your online business.
Recently we were both presenters at the annual Earn 1K a Day seminar in Las Vegas, hosted by Dennis Becker. This year I became more excited about the possibility of finally writing the children’s
Shawn is a former college professor, and decided to leave that profession in order to write full time. She is currently collaborating with her father on a book she is writing and he will illustrate. She taught English, so we shifted the conversation to the topic of using proper grammar in your writing, as well as the role of an editor in your writing process.
We then delve into the world of writing children’s books, and briefly discuss her course on how to do this. Shawn strongly believes, as do I, that the world has changed to the point where the parents of young children are now more comfortable allowing their kids to read on a variety of devices, in addition to paperback and hard cover books. This opens up new opportunities for those of us publishing on Kindle and makes it possible to give children a great reading experience that is also meaningful.
Shawn lays out the situation with traditional publishing, which in the case of children’s books is typically done with in-house writers and illustrators by large publishing companies. She also talks about the Kindle Kid’s books creator software, which she teaches in her course for proper formatting and alignment of illustrations.
We also discuss the children’s book I am writing currently, and how it came to be. I asked Shawn how the outlining and writing process may differ from what I do for all of my non-fiction books and she explained her perspective on this is a way that you will want to hear. She shares that she has written at least a thousand words a day since 2006, and I have done this for the past five years as well. We end our interview with a frank discussion of controversial topics and how they should be approached by authors as a way to expose children to a variety of stories and situations that will enhance and enrich their lives.
Be sure to check out her training on writing Kindle books for kids if you would like to get started in this field.
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