Meet Anna Gilderson
Anna’s story
Anna Gilderson is the author of two fantastic books: Jesus for Kids and Movement, Prayer and Scripture.
With over 15 year’s experience teaching dance, Anna has grown a successful Christian dance company, UC Grace, which helps equip children and adults to experience their faith through dance and movement. However, she wanted to be able to spread her message and help people on a wider scale.
Publishing her books has allowed Anna to connect with and serve more people through sharing her knowledge and passion for teaching dance worship and Scripture and providing an accessible way for them to explore movement and faith at their own pace. Anna’s books have enabled her to bring her expertise, built up over years of experience, to those who need it, and now there is no limit to the number of people she can help!
Anyone who has embarked on the adventure of writing and publishing a book, will understand the immense amount of time and effort involved. It is an investment on so many levels. As well as being a successful business owner, Anna is also a mum of two and a military spouse, which makes her achievement of writing not one but two books in less than a year all the more remarkable.
Anna attributes her success to a combination of perseverance and having the right book team behind her:
“It took a long time to get going and know how to start my first book, Jesus for Kids. Ideas seemed all over the place and I couldn't draw anything into any semblance of order. However, with the help of a coach, I sketched out a basic outline. From that point I was able to begin writing. It took time and patience. But through persevering through this first book and publishing it, I realised there was more I wanted to write and put into an easy place for readers. Movement, Prayer and Scripture came together much more quickly working from a framework that I had created previously. Nothing is perfect first-time round. It's okay to get things wrong. Keeping going and writing little and often meant I kept the fire going and I didn't ever get fed up. I'm making myself wait before I start writing again! The people you also bring into your author journey are really important. You want people who will listen and offer a neutral view, encourage you when you might be indecisive and help you see a clear picture of the things that you are unsure about.”
How we helped Anna
Anna’s books were already in great shape when she came to use, but we provided a copyediting and proofreading package to make sure it was polished and reader-ready, as well as offering guidance on structure and copyright permissions. We also aligned her with a formatter and cover designer, who we worked alongside to ensure the finished product was ready to be published. As part of the service, we provided a bespoke style guide, which meant she could maintain a consistent style across both her books, and this is something that Anna can use in the future if she decides to publish any more books.
“Jessica was one of those key people that kept me going and gave me confidence that what I was sharing was worth it!”
Check out Anna’s books
Jesus for Kids is jam-packed with tools and resources to ignite you on your Christian Dance teaching journey. Anna shares how her passion for teaching children in dance ministry shaped her perspective connecting faith, dance and movement together as one. Discover Anna’s amazing teaching strategies which will help you develop your own skills. Whether you have been teaching for a while, or are brand new, Jesus for Kids will help you deepen and strengthen your knowledge of Christian Dance with children.
Many of us strive to implement movement into our daily lives, but the reality of doing that can be all consuming. In Movement, Prayer & Scripture, Anna has designed 40 devotionals based on a repeating framework which enables you to not only integrate movement daily, but God’s word too, bringing purpose, clarity and focus to your day.
Work with Anna
Anna’s company, UC Grace, offers a number of membership and mentoring options to help people cement and grow on their journey of discovering Christian faith, dance and movement. UC Grace helps people deepen their desire to connect with Scripture and release others to capture the creativity and imagination that following Jesus brings. Further details available here.