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February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. As a self-proclaimed science nerd, this is an exciting day for me! This day has only been celebrated since 2015, when the United Nations noted that, although women have a higher rate of getting an undergraduate degree than men, they earn those degrees in STEM areas at half the rate of men. So, today is a day to recognize and celebrate current and past women in science, and more importantly, encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM.

Why women in science?

Honestly, for me the best answer for this is…why not? If there is a passion for science, it should be encouraged. The idea of male jobs (like math and sciences) and female jobs (like health care) is extremely outdated. The focus on this day is women, because they have been underrepresented in these fields, but the UN chief summed it up perfectly, “greater diversity fosters greater innovation”. We are missing out on so many experiences and ideas when girls are not encouraged to pursue careers in science.

Important women in science

I hate to leave you hanging, but I am just way too excited about this and I don’t want to make a kind of long blog post even longer. Check out this post highlighting some Awesome Women in Science!

How can we get more women in science?

We need to start young! Studies have shown that by a young age, many girls have already decided that math is too hard, or science is not a potential career path for them. Usually this is because of outdated stereotypes. So, what can be done?

• If your daughter, granddaughter, neighbor, friend, or whoever, shows in interest in math and science…encourage it! Don’t perpetuate the idea that those classes are for boys, or that they are too hard. Foster that love!
• We need more female role models. There are far fewer examples of women and girls in the sciences in books, tv shows, and the media.
• More STEM programs in schools, especially targeting girls.

Obviously, some of these are easier than others. And there are more things that can be done. But

My plan for “When I Grow Up“

Like I mentioned earlier, I am a science nerd, and proud of it. I was lucky enough to have a great group of nerdy friends and (not so nerdy) parents who supported me in my nerdiness. I know not everyone has that, though. So, a big part of my goal for my When I Grow Up series is to have all the main characters be girls. Each book will explore a different STEM career, each one full of fun facts, a little bit of silliness (who can actually be a dinosaur when they grow up??), and a smart, determined girl. It’s my small way of adding to the representation of girls in science in children’s books. If I can inspire just one girl to not shy away from her love of science as she gets older, that would be a huge win.

Some shows and books I’ve found with girls in science

Here are just a few that I came up with off the top of my head. Comment with others you know, I’d love to check them out!

• Ridley Jones (when we watch this at my house, it is more for my sake than my kids’)
• Emma Ren books by Jenny Lu (shout out to another indie author with female role models in science!)
• Ada Twist, Scientist (the books and the TV series)
• Hidden Figures (a great movie for the whole family!)

Last year was a big year for me, I published my first – and second – children’s book! I learned so much, but I think my biggest takeaway was that everything takes time. Especially if I have to learn something new. I had schedules, and nothing went according to plan. I set up Amazon ads, and lost money the first couple months. But, I just rolled with whatever was sent my way and chalked it all up to experience and a more informed next book.

I had the opportunity to work with many talented women from around the world and am looking forward to working with some of the same women again. These women were my editors, translators, and illustrators. I know there are so many other things I could hire people for, but as I am just starting out, I don’t have the budget for it. So, I have been learning new skills – social media, marketing, Amazon ads, uploading files for print. I love getting the chance to learn these new skills, but, it takes time (see above about not-to-schedule releases).

That was a very brief review of 2022, but all the experience I gained is going to help me reach my goals for 2023 – and there are a lot of them!

First thing, I want to get my second When I Grow Up book off to the editor and illustrator, so I can release the next in the series later this year. While I am waiting for edits and illustrations, I plan to work on activity books to go with When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Dinosaur and the new book. I also want to create a pregnancy journal to go along with Waiting For You / Esperando Por Ti.

I have an almost fully finished manuscript that I may also try to self-publish this year. I am debating between self-publishing more books, or polishing up another couple manuscripts and trying to find an agent to get traditionally published. I keep going back and forth between these two options, so I need to first nail down which direction I want to go.

As time permits, I’d like to try to send one newsletter email a month, with freebies and updates. I also want to try to write some more blog posts. I think I had a grand total of three last year. So, if I can get another three this year, I’ll count that as a win!

And of course, I want to figure out how to sell tons of books without spending all my money on advertising. I’m hoping to set up some author events to help with local sales. But first, I need to work on stepping out of my comfort zone.

So, I have some big plans for 2023. And that’s just for my book business. Two active boys at home and a full time job come with their own goals and challenges.

It’s the last day of 2021, which means it’s time to make my goals for 2022 official! I always have a few (okay fine, more than a few) goals at the start of each year, so I can focus my spare time, my savings, etc. This year I still have a TON of goals, and I’ve grouped them into 3 categories. Although I would love to accomplish all of these goals, and will work hard to do it, I will be beyond happy if I reach even half of them.

Business Goals

Publish 3 children’s books and one short story compilation. I have one children’s book, Waiting For You, thiiiis close to being ready to launch. But I’m taking my time as it’s my first ever venture into publishing. I’m hoping for a late Match early April release date. As for the other two children’s books, I have some favorite drafts picked out for those projects and will be full steam ahead. I also have three short stories that take place around the holidays, so I hope to polish up and release those as one short ebook towards the end of the year.

Read more than 100 children’s books. This goal is two-fold. First, it will encourage me to read more with Sam and the next little one. Second, it will allow me to see what kinds of books are out there, what I like, what I don’t like, and I can use that “research” in my own children’s books.

Learn more about publishing. I have so much to learn about all aspects of this journey. I want to do a lot of reading, webinars, podcasts, and probably some trial and error to learn as much as I can.

Reading Goals

Read 12 adult books. Gone are the years where I have goals of 50 plus books. But that’s what happens when you have little ones. So this year, I have a modest goal of one book a month.

Read at least one book in Spanish. I didn’t read anything in Spanish in 2021, so I want to make sure at least one of the 12 books mentioned above is in Spanish.

Listen to audiobooks. I feel like my commute is wasted time these days, so I want to use that time to work on my gigantic TBR list and get through some audiobooks.

Personal Goals

More family time, less phone time. Mostly this means to stop the mindless social media scrolling. Especially when it comes to book work. I want to focus on working smarter and more efficiently, not longer. I tend to hop on facebook or instagram to check a few notifications (book business or personal) and next thing I know I’ve half played with Sam and half scrolled through my phone for over an hour. I want to only play with Sam for that hour this year.

Eat healthier and be more active. These goals are also two-fold. First, there are the obvious health benefits to myself. But more importantly, I want to set an example for my two boys. Sam goes through periods where he doesn’t eat well (like I’m sure every toddler does) but I want to make sure I am giving him the best example of healthy eating to set him up for future success!

Wish me luck this year! It will definitely be interesting trying to balance a full-time job, two young boys, and getting my book business off the ground.