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KidLit Crossing

How creative people manage the passage

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

How’s your workspace treating you? Mine was not a welcoming place. Granted, some of the problem was inside me but so was poor ergonomics.  The me issue was a twist in my spine, which as a kid didn’t bother me at all. Later in life, however, the worsening bend compressed lumbar nerves…sending flames down my leg…making it hellish to walk and sit.  So, two years before the pandemic, I decided to flatten my curve — meaning a scoliosis surgeon straightened out my vertebrae with long metal rods and sixteen screws. How am I now? I’m Franken-fine. My back is scary stiff, but I can work

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