MENU

Motivation to Create

Published by The Writing Cooperative on 3-31-2021 When pale green stems poke through the dirt, spring is just around the bend. And this season of renewal is the ideal time to refresh a passion for creating.  These five invigorating resources for kidlit creators can rev you up and spring you forward. The Children’s Bookshelf Newsletter The Children’s Bookshelf from Publishers Weekly is a free, digital newsletter reporting semi-weekly on upcoming children’s books; industry, library, and bookstore news; interviews with book creators, agents, and editors; kidlit conferences and book fairs; and children’s book markets around the world. Peruse a few articles from recent issues: “Spring 2021 Children’s

Published by Illumination on Medium, 2/23/2021 For tweet sake! If writing is your thing, have you thought about Twitter? Perhaps you dabbled on the platform but found the reception chilly. Were your tweets unloved? Were followers sparse? That’s what happened to me, till I returned, years later, to decipher the place. And here's what I learned during 40,000 tweets. Twitter boasts 340 million users tweeting day and night about whatever they’re into. Topics include news and politics – science and technology – health and the environment – marriage and dating – kids and education – food and fitness – beauty and fashion

"In January it's so nice while slipping on the sliding ice to sip hot chicken soup with rice!" So wrote masterful author-illustrator Maurice Sendak more than fifty years ag0. But January also brings a tasty list of freshly awarded children's books to feast upon. On January 25th, the American Library Association revealed the 2021 ALA Youth Media Awards, citing exemplary literature in book and digital formats for children and teens. These prestigious awards commend works published in the United States during the prior publishing year (November 1 – October 31). To make the content even easier to digest and access, explore

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

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

Geographically speaking, 2020 is an epic mess, and it’s not over yet. A killer virus has us by the throat. Cataclysmic fires continue to devastate the west coast. And storms and earthquakes are shaking us up. Beyond U.S shores are more quakes, fires and floods, a locust infestation, a fatal volcanic eruption, and COVID-19 on every continent but Antarctica. Sounds like the plagues at a Passover Seder. But that mayhem is our here and now, so I was plagued by questions that were dead serious: - Would my family and friends survive the pandemic? - Would New York City revive? - Would

If COVID-19 could talk it would say a killer virus makes time stand still. Three months inside feels more like a year. But don't get comfy in limbo. Time is promised to no one. As a New Yorker, isolating in the epicenter of a global pandemic, I had an epiphany while washing my bananas (and the rest of my precious groceries). If I had anything to say about what I actually loved doing (writing for children), I shouldn’t let it wait. So, I decided to move forward on KidLit Crossing, a survival blog for children's authors and illustrators. What held me back