Watch all the Kidlit Social Replays
Find out what your favorite authors, editors, agents & writing educators have to say when they appear on the Kidlit Social, a free educational hangout for kidlit writers, presented by Children’s Book Insider, the Children’s Writing Monthly.
Kidlit Social #66: What Every Writer Needs to Know About Podcasts, Virtual Author Tours & Media Kits
If you’re frustrated, intimidated or just plain flummoxed by marketing, this episode of the Kidlit Social is essential viewing.
Author, podcaster, course creator and coach Janine Bolon shares her expertise on how authors can promote themselves via virtual podcast tours and by creating standout media kits. Janine is the host of numerous podcasts including The Thriving Solopreneur Show, 3 Minute Money Tip, and The Writers Hour: Creative Conversations with Janine Bolon.
Kidlit Social #65: Melissa Stewart on Creating Nonfiction for the Classroom
On this episode of The Kidlit Social, meet Melissa Stewart, author of “5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books”, along with dozens of kidlit nonfiction titles currently in use by school districts as part of their curricula.
Melissa discussed creating nonfiction for kids while keeping educators’ needs in mind – a vital skill as schools and libraries are the biggest market for children’s nonfiction.
Kidlit Social #64: Picture Book Author Nadia Salomon on Getting Published & Promoting Your Work
In this episode, meet Nadia Salomon, author of the wonderful, recently released Goodnight Ganesha (Philomel, 2021, ill. by Poonam Mistry).
Nadia joins us to discuss the steps she took to get her debut picture book published, and what she’s done since the release date to assure its success. Expect lots of great tips you can start applying right now to help aid your own publishing journey!
Kidlit Social #63: Writing Books w/ STEM Tie-Ins & Crafting Realistic Animals
Meet illustrator, explorer and children’s book author Katy Tanis. Katy’s work bursts with color, and a true love for every creature on land, in air and under sea. In this episode of The Social, Katy talks about her writing/illustration process, and gives her advice for aspiring illustrators. She also touches on the necessity for authors and illustrators to do their research and accurately reflect the behaviors of animals in children’s book texts (fiction and nonfiction) and illustrations, as well as the environment.
Katy gives some examples of how to do that research, and why this accuracy is important since so many publishers are looking for books with STEM tie-ins (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).
Writing Nonfiction for Children – Where the Opportunities Are Right Now
Kidlit Social #62: Our First Live Editing Session!
It’s our first ever live editing session! We chose seven works in progress from CBI subscribers (both fiction and nonfiction) and we invited award-winning author and editing wizard Bonnie Johnston (instructor for Manuscript Magic and author of The 30 Day Novel Workbook, The 30 Day Romance Novel Workbook, and The Writer’s Guide to Getting Organized) to edit each submission live and in real time!
This is a tremendous opportunity to really understand the “inner game” of editing, and pick up some valuable tips for editing your own work.
Kidlit Social #61 Replay: Tracy Sue Walker on Folklore, Myths & the Stories We Tell
Meet writer and storyteller Tracy Sue Walker. Tracy Sue is the author of the “Kids for Truth about Magical Creatures” chapter book series from Scholastic, and an award-winning storyteller. (Among her proudest achievements – she was Champion Liar at the Georgia Tall Tale Contest!)
On the Social, she shares how ancient, universal characters and stories can inform your writing, and how having skills as a storyteller can help liven up any school visit. (Plus you get a bonus story from an amazing storyteller!)
Kidlit Social #60 Replay: Nathan Bransford on Finding Your Story’s Hook
Nathan Bransford, author of the Jacob Wonderbar middle grade series, the writing guides How to Write a Novel and How to Publish a Book, and a former agent with Curtis Brown Ltd., joins Laura to talk about hooks: What is a hook, and how do you know if your manuscript has one? If it does, how do you present the hook in the query letter? If it doesn’t, should you abandon the idea, or can it still find a market?
Kidlit Social #59 Replay: Beth Anderson on the Changing Face of Picture Book Biographies
Award-winning author Beth Anderson joins us to discuss the wonderful category of picture book biographies. Laura and Beth talk about the “new” picture book biographies and how the genre has changed, and what types of approaches are most appealing to editors today. If bringing history to life for young readers excites you, you need to meet Beth!
