Just for Beginners

Kidlit Social #77: Meet Sarah Baker, SCBWI’s New Executive Director

In this episode, Laura welcomes Sarah Baker, the new Executive Director of the Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).

They talk about her ideas for making the Board of Directors more representative of members, updating SCBWI’s volunteer structures, making the whole organization more inclusive on a local and global scale and redesigning the SCBWI website. We also get Sarah’s best advice for aspiring and published authors and illustrators in the modern publishing industry.

 

Kidlit Social #76: April Cox on Self-Publishing the Right Way

On this episode, we welcome children’s book author and self-publishing coach April Cox.

April is the founder of Self-Publishing Made Simple, and Little Labradoodle Publishing. We dig into topics including how to know if self-publishing is right for you, common self-publishing mistakes, and the best places to spend your self-publishing marketing dollars.

 

A Chat With Renowned Children’s Author Laura Numeroff

New York Times bestselling author Laura Numeroff talks about the creation of her beloved picture book series that began with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, as well as her other children’s book series, and supporting causes she loves with her writing. 

Kidlit Social #75: 2nd Anniversary Edition – Laura Answers Your Writing Questions!

On this episode, we celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of the Kidlit Social with an “Ask Laura Anything” special!  Laura answers a wide range of questions about writing, editing and submitting your work.

 

Michael Sampson, NYT Best-Selling Author & Collaborator with Bill Martin Jr.

New York Times best-selling author Michael Sampson talks about writing for children and his longtime collaboration with the late Bill Martin Jr. 

Kidlit Social #70: Industry Pros Reveal – How to Know When Your Manuscript is Ready to Submit

On this episode we welcome three respected industry pros, who will help you answer the question: Is My Manuscript is Ready to Submit?

You’ll discover the signs to look for when your work is submission ready, and why such knowledge is vital to keeping the doors open to submissions at overwhelmed publishers and literary agencies.

 

How Much Does a Children’s Author Make? How Do They Get Paid?

Ever wondered how to make money as a children’s writer? How much of each book sale goes to the author? In this post, we break down the way publishing pays authors and give the scoop on royalties, advances and more.

 

Writing Nonfiction for Children – Where the Opportunities Are Right Now

In this meaty excerpt from “The Children’s Nonfiction Market: How To Break In & How to Succeed”, Lionel Bender breaks down the major kidlit nonfiction markets and niches, the categories of children’s nonfiction and where writers can find paying work in the nonfiction market. Lionel is the author of over 70 books for children, and the editorial partner of Bender Richardson White, an editorial, design, and production team serving major book and magazine publishers in North America and Europe. He is also a regular speaker on children’s book publishing and self-publishing. He was the co-director of the 21st Century Children’s Nonfiction Conference from 2013-2016.  

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 Distancing Social #46 Replay: Jean Daigneau & Gloria Adams on How to Get Your Manuscript Submission-Ready

In this episode, two veteran kidlit authors share their best self-editing tips to help you get your manuscripts submission-ready.