The Alumni Spotlight is a periodic feature on the official Mom’s Choice Awards® blog. It is part of our ongoing effort to “shine the spotlight” on you and your award-winning, family-friendly products, services, and media.

Jackie’s dedication to her students goes far beyond the classroom. For twenty-five years, elementary and middle school students — including many labeled “ADHD” (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Deficiency) — benefited from her passion to help them find their voice. While she may have retired from standing in front of the class, she has not stopped teaching. Her first novel, Project June Bug draws on her work with ADHD students to create a crossover book – a novel with self-help guidance built into the story.

Please welcome Jackie Minniti to the Spotlight …

MCA: Can you please tell us about the inspiration for Project June Bug?
Jackie: During my more than 25 years of teaching, I worked extensively with ADHD  students. I enjoyed their energy and creativity, so I did my Masters degree thesis on ways to help these kids succeed in the classroom. I experimented with a number of strategies and found several that worked, and I used these successfully with my students over the years. While I was teaching, I shared these strategies with parents and colleagues. When I retired, I wanted to find a way to get the information out to the public. Since writing has always been a big part of my life, I decided to incorporate the strategies into a book that combined the readability of a novel with elements of a self-help book. Project June Bug is the result of that effort. (Link to book excerpt on Jackie’s Web site.)

MCA: What are your goals for your book in the next year?
Jackie: I have already achieved one big goal, and that was to earn a Mom’s Choice Award®! I hope this recognition will help get Project June Bug into the hands of parents, educators, librarians, and readers who are looking for a book that tells a good story and helps them learn at the same time. In the next twelve months, I’m hoping to see increased traffic to my website and an uptick in book sales. I’d also love to see Project June Bug on more Book Club lists.

MCA: If someone gave you air time for a 15-second commercial, how would you entice people to read Project June Bug (A Novel)?
Jackie: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be on the other side of the classroom desk? Project June Bug is an award-winning novel that gives readers an intimate peek behind the faculty room door and takes them on an unforgettable journey into the world of ADHD. This story of a young teacher committed to making a difference in the life of a troubled student is smart, funny, and poignant. It’s a book that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.

MCA: You started with an idea and now have a successful, award-winning book. Looking back on your journey, what was the easiest part? The hardest? What surprised you the most?
Jackie: The easiest part by far was the actual writing. For me, there is nothing like losing myself in a world I’ve created and breathing life into the people who populate that world. My characters became as real to me as old friends, and when the book was finally finished, I actually missed them!

The hardest part of the process has definitely been the marketing. Writing is a solitary activity and writers don’t, as a whole, make good salespeople. We’re more comfortable in our own heads. But it is an important part of the business – there is no point writing/publishing a book if no one is going to read it. When I started this project, I had no idea how to sell a product. I had to educate myself about the intricacies of the marketplace and how to get my book out to the right audience. This has been a real learning experience for me.

What surprised me was the degree of reader response … not only from inside the United States but from other countries as well. I never expected to be getting fan mail from places like Minsk!

MCA: Since launching Project June Bug, what has been your most rewarding experience in promoting or sharing it with the public? Do you have a favorite memory?
Jackie: The thing I find most rewarding is getting feedback from readers, particularly teachers and parents of ADHD kids. The teachers say they feel validated by finally having their story told and are happy to have some proven strategies to use with their students. Parents tell me how gratifying it is to see a thoughtful, realistic portrait of an ADHD student and how much difference a committed teacher can make. They also like having some specific methods they can use to help their kids. And, of course, I love hearing how much they enjoyed the story!

My favorite memory was getting an e-mail from the mom of one of my former ADHD students. She wanted two signed copies of the book – one for her, and one for her son who was in his senior year at college studying to be a Special Education teacher. She told me that I was his inspiration for going into education. She said she knew he would want to be the same kind of teacher I was, and she thought the book would help him reach his goal. Hearing something like that makes it all worthwhile.

MCA: Wow. That is amazing. Could you please tell us why you chose the Mom’s Choice Awards® program in seeking recognition for your novel?
Jackie: As a mother of three and the grandmother of four (soon to be five), I believe it is extremely important, particularly in today’s market, to identify products that are family friendly. I had read about other books that had been honored with a Mom’s Choice Award®, so I decided to visit the MCA website to see what the program was all about. The Mom’s Choice Awards® seemed to target the same audience I was trying to reach with my book, and this was one of the main reasons I decided to submit Project June Bug for consideration.

I was impressed with the quality of the products that had received Mom’s Choice Awards®. I was also extremely pleased by the caliber of judges who review the submissions. With such a qualified and experienced panel, I could be confident that my book would get an impartial and professional evaluation. I really wanted Project June Bug to become a part of the MCA family, and I am thrilled to have earned this recognition.

MCA: What does it mean to you to be a Mom’s Choice Awards® alumnus?
Jackie: I feel very honored to have joined the ranks of Mom’s Choice honorees. The caliber of products represented by the MCA is testament to the award’s credibility. Although Project June Bug has been the recipient of several literary awards, the Mom’s Choice Award® is the one of which I am the most proud. This is because it certifies that my book has met the rigorous criteria of the MCA judges and has been recognized for promoting healthy family values.

As a former teacher who has spent my career helping children and their parents, this is something that is particularly important to me. I like to think that my book will enable me to continue making a difference in the lives of students and their families even though I am no longer in the classroom. Receiving a Mom’s Choice Award will help me achieve this goal by bringing Project June Bug to the attention of parents, librarians, teachers, and other individuals who work with young people.

MCA: What did you learn about yourself in the process of creating your award-winning book for adults?
Jackie: The most important thing I learned about myself was that I had the courage to put my story out there and submit it to public scrutiny. Although I have experience as a print journalist, writing a novel required an emotional investment that far exceeded anything I had felt when writing my newspaper columns. When I finished Project June Bug, I developed a protectiveness toward it, almost like a mother with a child. Part of me was afraid to expose my “new baby” to possible rejection or criticism. But I realized that I had to let go, or the book would never have a chance to reach its full potential. Now that Project June Bug has proven itself, my confidence as a creative writer has grown and I feel that I have finally earned the title of “author.”

MCA: Would you recommend the Mom’s Choice Awards® to other entrepreneurs? If so, why?
Jackie: I would most definitely recommend the Mom’s Choice Awards® to others, particularly if the “family friendly” classification is something that would help get their product into the right hands. With the overwhelming number of goods and services available to the buying public, it is extremely important for consumers to have a way to sort out those that would have family appeal. The MCA endorsement ensures that a product is appropriate for family use and can be purchased with complete confidence.

MCA: How have you/your company benefited by being a Mom’s Choice Awards® honoree? Do you have any tangible examples?
Jackie: Even though I’ve only been a Mom’s Choice Awards honoree for a short time, I’m beginning to see some tangible results. I’ve added the seal to my book cover and have posted the logo on my website. I’ve gotten some positive press coverage as a result of receiving the Mom’s Choice Award®, and this will certainly help get the word out about the book. I have received a lot of feedback from Facebook since I posted the news on my profile page. My internet sales are also up this month, and I like to think it is because of the Mom’s Choice Award. I hope this is a harbinger of things to come!

Mom’s Choice Awards® Honors

Contact and Connect with Jackie Minniti