Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Delia Ruiz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Delia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
As a little girl, I always loved books (even though we didn’t have many in my home). I also had numerous journals where I would write poetry, discuss my day, and create stories. Many of the stories were influenced by the books my teachers would read and also by my culture. Having great teachers inspired me to become an educator and help my students feel seen. During college, I took a children’s literature course where I first learned about the Pura Belpre award and started keeping a list of Latinx authors. This running list allowed me to suggest titles at my former school so my students could see themselves represented. As a former ESL teacher, I noticed a need for reading intervention as well as a need for more diverse books. This was the first spark of an idea to venture into the author journey and take a chance on a lifelong dream. Working with children gave me lots of insight as to what types of books they enjoyed and as a teacher, what standard could the book meet. I went into the author journey not sure of how to get started but with a vision in mind. Publication is a long process and I was aware it was going to take time to create a picture book. ROQUI’S PANDERO BEAT came to life in 2021 as a book to practice syllables and also touch on the Afro-Puerto Rican musical genre of bomba y plena. There were obstacles as far as learning how to self promote your own work and honestly this is something I’m still learning! Sometimes the obstacle is also imposter syndrome (I know I have felt this) but I truly believe we all have a story to tell. Keep writing and if you’re reading this, I believe in you!
I also started the query process this year and it’s been a real learning experience. Through webinars from the Highlights Foundation, I have learned more about getting my query letter ready and how to strengthen my pitches. It’s definitely helpful to have a group of writing friends who support you and are willing to look over your work. I am grateful I have a supportive critique group and am thankful to have met many writers who can answer my questions. When I’m stuck, I do remind myself to take a break; rest is also essential to the writing process. For anyone in the query trenches, I’m also rooting for you!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
I am a Chicana author with roots from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. I am married to a wonderful and supportive Puerto Rican husband; we hope to incorporate both of our cultures and traditions with our future children one day. Having a partner from a different culture has allowed me to see the differences in how we speak our Spanish as well as the differences in our own lived experiences. As we’ve talked about how to raise a family one day, we hope to teach many things to our future children through experiences and diverse books. One of the things we’d love to incorporate is an appreciation of both cultures. The idea of creating a book that reinforces syllable practice and culture was rooted in one of these discussions. I now look forward to the day I’ll read my books to my future children. As a Latina author, it is important for me to bring awareness to Latinx titles in our communities. I do this usually through social media videos to promote the work of others in the hope that the people watching will save the posts and add the titles to their classroom or home libraries. By sharing the work of others, I’ve made personal connections with many authors who are now dear friends.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
It all started with a virtual book club. I found a group of educators and bookstagrammers who would meet once a month to discuss primarily middle grade or young adult reads. This close group of friends allowed me to branch out and connect with other book lovers. I started my page as a way to share resources and books with other educators and book lovers so they could in return share them with their students and children. Over time I started creating a niche for Latinx book picks. When I saw the statistics on how many books were written by Latinx authors, I was surprised it was so low. I made it a mission to also support other Latinx authors and share their work/titles on my page. When it comes to branching out and connecting with people, my best piece of advice is to form genuine connections. Support their work, share their content, leave a positive book review, and if possible attend their events. I’m a big introvert and it took some internal talking to get myself to host lives on social media and share my opinions online. The best part of social media is meeting life long friends who cheer you on. I am fortunate to have made many friends online and hopefully meet many in person someday!
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody has been super helpful with my current work in progress. Las Musas is a collective group made up of Latinx authors/illustrators which provides support and resources to writers. They also have a great podcast with helpful tips as well as a collection of organized resources on their website. Latinx author, Meg Medina, has really helpful and quick 1-minute writing tips. For self publishing, I learned many things through trial and error and have designed a course to save people time and money with a hand-holding approach to create their own picture books. My self-publishing course is designed as a 1:1 or group setting for 7 months. While clients are not expected to publish a book in that span, they are given a toolbox of direct contacts, resources, handouts, and an opportunity to ask any questions about the book publishing process. So far I have loved hearing about the stories my clients are producing and I’m happy to be there to guide them towards the finish line. As always, reading helps so much! I am always on the look for the latest releases and keep up with upcoming book titles. Lastly, create your own resources and give back! This year I am running two different critique groups with talented writers and always feel like my work improves after their feedback.
Contact Info:
- Website: rebrand.ly/AventurasEnESL
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aventuras.en.esl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AventurasEnESL/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AventurasEnEsl
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1TDgLhFaDbffU0ZT25WoUQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@aventuras.en.esl