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Published in KidLit News by the SCBWI-LI on 7-2-2021 You’ve written a book for children, bounced it off your critique group, and revised it umpteen times, but the work isn’t yet where it needs to be. Let's call this manuscript a lemon with potential. Is it time to ripen the fruit by broadening your editing support? Fine options exist, including guidebooks, web applications, and live editors for hire. 1. Hit the Books: Guidebooks are excellent tutors. Since rewrites are vital to the revision process, many how-to books blend craft guidance with editing advice. Others focus closely on the mechanics of language.

Published by The Writing Cooperative, on Medium, 12-26-2020 Writing and illustrating is a quiet job pretty much done at home, far from the buzz of the publishing houses and those who acquire children's books. But to keep in touch with hot topics (and enhance my craft), I follow kidlit blogs and newsletters. Most of these resources are free. A few require membership. All are immensely supportive. Decide which digital publications best suit you: A Fuse #8 Production This blog is by author and librarian Betsy Bird, perched beneath the School Library Journal (SLJ) umbrella, but opinions are her own. Betsy posts book reviews,

Published by The Writing Cooperative on 12-19-2020 Writers and illustrators! We are home but not alone! To hear fascinating people discuss their creative process, obstacles they face, and their hard-won literary achievements, connect to podcasts on your cellphone or computer and float away. These twelve podcasts, geared towards kidlit creators and aficionados, supply book reviews, interviews, and endless motivation to read and write on. The Children’s Book Podcast (Hosted by acclaimed librarian Matthew Winner)Enjoy engaging interviews with authors and illustrators about the origin of their children’s books and the impact on readers. Kidlit These Days (Hosted by Matthew Winner and author Karina Yan Glaser)This new

Published by the Writing Cooperative, a Medium publication, 9-29-20 Writing is a lonely business. Your only companion is a keyboard. But a good writing critique group can counter that isolation with guidance, support, motivation, and resources: Craft guidance, such as shared advice on books, workshops, seminars, retreats, and podcasts,Emotional support, like celebrating your wins and soothing your defeats after writing rejections, books going out of print, editors leaving, and publishers folding,Motivation for growth, meaning affording regularly scheduled meetings, and perhaps writing prompts, contests, and other incentives,Industry resources, including submission contacts, networking opportunities, and websites for navigating the industry. As an author of children’s

Published by The Writing Cooperative, a Medium Publication, October 22, 20202 A children's book conference inspires you. A monthly critique group enhances your craft. But with Internet access and a smartphone, kidlit writers and illustrators of board books, picture books, middle grade, and young adult can learn all year round on their own terms.  A wide web of enrichment awaits! Kidlit Podcasts: Are you listening to podcasts when you exercise? Tune in on the treadmill or when out for a walk. I adore Literaticast on Apple Podcasts, hosted by kidlit agent Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Her guests are agents, editors,

After a long hiatus from kidlit, I skipped back over with bluebirds on my shoulders to write for children again. But soon I remembered what I didn’t miss: dealing with rejection! Since I’d been published multiply in the 2000s, I thought I could woo a new editor. So I researched names to query then waited for my welcome. When the kidlit rejections rolled in, it didn’t go well. Imagine writer roadkill. Source: Roadkill Toys Why was my writing rejected? Lots of reasons: tastes had changed, picture books were abundant, and submitting via agent had become the norm. This expression was truer than ever: Children’s