Kids Lit
Reading or Reading Aloud?
Libraries buy quality books for all ages in the children’s department and hope to match the book with the…
February 8, 2024-
-
Kids Lit
A Season for Something Else
One a scale of 1-10, parts of the year 2023 were a minus 6. We saw family, we traveled,…
January 6, 2024 -
Kids Lit
Bring Back the BackList!
The press, the marketers, and the bookstores all clamoring for autographs and first-day Amazon rankings! Then “NEW” is over.…
December 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Help Me with My Book!
As more books are published in a variety of ways (traditional, self-pub, hybrid, assisted), a whole crop of people…
November 9, 2023 -
Kids Lit
In 25 Words or Less…
“I was born as a small child…and did stuff.” My bio in nine words, but who’s counting? One piece…
October 9, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Yoo-Hoo Agents!
One gazillion years ago when I started writing on stone tablets, I never needed an agent to get published.…
September 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Inside the Ten-Foot Line: Conception to Publication Part One
As I wrote this article, I got an email from my publisher letting me know that the pre-order sales…
August 9, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Every Single Word
Have you met adults who somehow believe that writing a picture book is EASY because there are so FEW…
July 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Multi Award-Winning Author!
There are some thrilling moments in book publication that make all the back work (sometimes YEARS of edits!) pale…
June 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
AI:Part 2 In which I get a 4-star review for a book not yet written!
People seem to be taking sides on AI and feeling strongly about it. Recently we had an AI adventure…
May 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Exploding Inboxes
My e-mail is suddenly full of opportunities! Live face-to-face conferences are happening all over the country, sponsored by different…
April 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Three Little Pigs by AI
Two Epic Proportion Floods are predicted in the publishing industry. Artificial Intelligence has discovered writing and illustrating. At the…
March 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Somebody Wrote My Story!
That is my fear each time I search for comparative titles (comp titles) for a book proposal or query…
February 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Let Me Introduce…First Lines in Children’s Biographies
Not as well known as “Call me Ishmael,” but equally important are these first lines from adult biographies: “On…
January 8, 2023 -
Kids Lit
Christmas Needs Help!
Ever since the Grinch stole into our holidays in 1957, authors have been spinning the “How xxx Christmas” tales.…
December 8, 2022 -
Kids Lit
An Old Story New Every Year
The birth of Jesus from Luke 2 is one story that never grows old. Generations of writers have explored…
November 8, 2022 -
Kids Lit
How to Launch a Dinosaur
Back in 2021, I relayed the long, long trail to sell a 181-word board book manuscript for publication. And…
October 8, 2022 -
Kids Lit
Opening Lines for Picture Books
First lines make a promise. From “Call me Ishmael” (Moby Dick, Herman Melville, 1851) to “Happy families are all alike; every…
September 8, 2022 -
Kids Lit
More Meantime…
Things are getting more exciting for fall – real conferences in person with live editors taking pitches. But until…
August 16, 2022 -
Kids Lit
In the Meantime…
The clock begins the minute we hit “send.” We just launched a glorious new concept, never done before in…
July 8, 2022 -
Kids Lit
Of Adjectives and Illustrators
“So how do you feel about art notes?” This came up to a panel of editors recently, and it…
June 8, 2022 -
Kids Lit
What is “High Concept”?
After the fifth editor said, “I am especially looking for high concept picture books. I can’t explain that, but…
May 8, 2022 -
Kids Lit
Who’s Listening to Your Story?
We’ve all read picture books that just seemed not quite right – the subject matter was too obscure for…
April 8, 2022 -
Kids Lit
More Ways to Add Humor to Your Picture Books-Part 2
Kids love humor, and publishers know it. Face it—parents love humor too. That’s why knowing how to add a…
March 11, 2022 -
Kids Lit
Beyond Halloween, Christmas, Easter!
Flip through the 2021 calendar and remember especially happy times. Big annual events were special, but your best memories…
March 8, 2022
