Ep 61: Why Kindness Matters with author Christina Dankert
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
On this episode of the PublishHer Podcast, I interviewed Christina Dankert, the author of Kindness Machine, a children's book published under Purple Butterfly Press. This episode is very special because this is the last episode for this season. We talked about a critical topic we need to discuss today, kindness. Christina is an elementary teacher, and we connected through the Women and Publishing Summit when she was looking for a way to get her book published. She has a deep love for books and believes that they are a beautiful way to learn and grow. Christina's passion translates to the quality of her book, where she made sure to incorporate her knowledge and experiences as a mother and teacher to make sure that she connects with her audience. I enjoyed witnessing her journey in getting Kindness Machine published, and it was really a pleasure having Christina as a guest for this episode.
The world needs more kindness, that is for certain! Christina's book teaches children how kindness can become a superpower. We discussed in the episode how important it is to lay the foundations of kindness during children's developmental years. More than two years into the pandemic, many of us are exhausted and may have gotten to a point where we are losing hope. And in this podcast, we were reminded how crucial it is to have reminders that other people are going through difficult situations and how we need to always put our kind foot forward.
Christina's best advice to aspiring authors is to read everything in your genre. Do a deep dive into your genre and determine character strengths that you want to feature in your book. Christina has more advice on other topics, and we covered quite a lot with this episode. Here are a few key takeaways:
- Kindness is more noticeable when absent
- The need to include diverse characters and how crucial it is for children to see themselves represented in a book
- How to teach children kindness and examine how they respond to it
- The importance of teaching children self-love and self-care
- Tips on how to approach a children's book if you are not an educator
- How to gracefully accept feedback – acknowledge possible questions and bounce off ideas
- Advice for aspiring children's book authors on how to reach schools and get their books in the hands of children
- How to take advantage of micro-holidays in marketing your book
Head on over to the podcast to learn more and join our discussion. If you liked this episode, don't forget to share it with someone you think would enjoy it as well. Never miss another show by subscribing at https://podcasts.bcast.fm/publishher-podcast.
Learn more about Christina and get updates on what she's up to after her book got published:
Website: https://christinadankert.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina.dankert/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaDankertAuthor/
Get Christina's FREE resources here:
For everyone: https://christinadankert.com/free-download/
For teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Kindness-Machine
Spread kindness and get a copy of her book here:
https://www.amazon.com/Kindness-Machine-Christina-Dankert/dp/1955119090
