Creator Chat: Jenna Hammond

Find what you're passionate about

Each month I’m chatting with a creator and gathering tips to help me with my career and yours! This month I’m welcoming picture book author Jenna Hammond.

Read on to read Jenna’s pinch-me moments on her publishing journey and her advice for anyone starting on their own journey.

Welcome to Creator Chat, Jenna! Tell us about your background and how you became an author.

Hi Christine! Thank you for featuring me on your fabulous newsletter. Growing up, I dreamt of becoming an author. Getting published for poetry in adolescence fueled the fire. I felt writing in my bones. I worked for the college newspaper at the University of Michigan and then went straight to graduate school for magazine publishing while interning and writing for publications based in New York City. While penning an article about a girl who walks because of yoga, I was so inspired that I got certified to teach kids. I soon worked weekdays as an editor and weekends as a family yoga instructor. But after having my firstborn, I lacked the time to teach yoga and decided to freelance write and edit from home while learning about children’s book publishing. I noticed a hole in the marketplace for children’s books involving yoga, despite it trending among kids. After much writing, researching, editing, and querying, my debut children’s book and the first picture book to bridge yoga and a storyline was born with Downward Mule.

What would you go back and tell your beginner-writer self if you could?

Enjoy the process, soak in experiences that enrich your writing and creative soul, talk with everyone, collaborate, and observe details, conversations, and atmosphere wherever your journeys and journals take you. 

“Enjoy the process, soak in experiences that enrich your writing and creative soul” - Jenna Hammond

What’s been the most rewarding moment of your creative career so far?

While holding the first published copies of my books and sharing them with my sons signify lifetime highlights, my most rewarding moment occurred at an early school visit. A student approached me to say how Downward Mule is her favorite book for making her feel strong, like she could do anything. I thought: THIS! Instilling confidence in kids has become my mission. How fortuitous that despite all of the rejections on the road to publishing, my debut distills the quintessence of confidence and community for young readers.

Do you have any I-need-to-pinch-myself-to-make-sure-this-is-real moments that you can share? 

I’ve had three standout pinch-me moments during the course of publishing my three children’s books.

1.     When UBS Bank hired me to structure team building and trust exercises for tweens and teens at Take Your Kid to Work Day, Downward Mule grew more fans in the middle school world than I could imagine. I spent the day leading partner pose yoga for around 150 kids in two interactive author visit sessions! Downward Mule was paginated on a massive projector as I read the book with a microphone, and we discussed self-image as well as cooperation for the greater good. For the yoga portion, achieving each pose meant teamwork with an open mind and heart. It was a beautiful and fun day…and probably the only one in which I’ll work in a bank (even in yoga pants).

2.     Being asked to headline the book fair at my childhood Jewish Community Center brought being an author full circle. Even better, following a 75-person preschool reading and yoga hoopla to kick off the fair, my then 5-year-old son led a closing namaste song on my lap on stage.

3.     On the cusp of publishing Hazel and Dream Pancake, I was approached by a fifth-grade teacher who asked for tips on teaching her “stressed out” students relaxation techniques. Fast forward much research and many conversations among school personnel, and I wrote an educational grant and curriculum for fifth graders to benefit from yoga and mindfulness. The School Board gave the program I proposed full funding! I then got to teach the series of classes across fifth grade sections three times a week last fall. To be honest, it’s generally a pinch-me moment at school visits. But writing the grant and curriculum, and teaching what the students and teachers can forever access to destress and recenter, was the crème de la crème. 

What three pieces of advice would you give any creators hoping to get published?

1.     Don’t rush the process. Take time to write, edit, reflect, re-edit (repeatedly), and share with fellow writers before querying agents and publishers. 

2.     Network not simply to get your foot in the door or to further your writing career, but to learn! When I started exploring book publishing, I set up meetings with anyone related to that pursuit, from a national speaker who went from self-publishing to traditional publishing and a friend who wrote a notable cookbook, to editors, authors I connected with from websites and events, and agents on panels. While at points I was concerned with having my material read, I most craved learning as much about the industry as possible…from every perspective out there. From my master’s in journalism degree and media publishing background, I always finished with the question: “Anything you’d like to add?” Sometimes the final question, especially when open ended, yields the greatest results. 

3.     Find your people. Writing critique groups are invaluable for honing your craft as well as expanding your universe when it comes to what’s being written and how. Writing groups offer community and purpose through all the tears, fears, and joy.

“Don’t rush the process. Take time to write, edit, reflect, re-edit (repeatedly), and share with fellow writers before querying agents and publishers.” - Jenna Hammond

Do you have any rituals (eg light a candle, make tea, go for a walk) that help you get a creative session started?

Pour a large mug of coffee or a tall glass of water depending on the time of day, take a deep breath, and position my laptop as close to natural light as possible. I relish seeing the open sky or the water as I write. I let my mind drift, looking at the horizon, during reflections on a new scene or literary development. 

Is there something else creative that you’d like to learn how to do? (e.g. illustrate books, play an instrument, embroidery etc.)

I have always enjoyed making art. I’d like to improve my watercolor skills and be able to draw people better, perhaps with a portrait class. 

Quick fire round

Lake or Ocean?

Ocean, but I love all water.

Donuts or Cupcakes?

While I’m a healthy eater, my favorite after-school treat as a kid was a chocolate buttercream cupcake. Yum!

Bookstore or Library?

Both!

Thank you for joining me today, Jenna.

A children’s yoga and mindfulness teacher, special needs school aide, and former editor-in-chief who taught creative writing in a juvenile detention center and facilitated a children’s art program in a housing project, Jenna Hammond is the author of Downward Mule, Dream Pancake, and Hazel. Getting published for poetry in middle school fueled self-confidence to become a kids’ advocate, author, and teacher. A 389 Literary winner and member of SCBWI, critique, and promotion groups with hands deep in volunteering, Jenna lives and surfs with her family and rescue dog in New Jersey and Montauk, NY. Learn more at Jenna’s website.

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