Kidlit Distancing Social #24 Replay – Brooke McIntyre on Finding, Joining & Getting the Most of a Critique Group
This week, we welcome Brooke McIntyre, the founder of InkedVoices, a platform for writing groups and an online space for writers. In our…
Kidlit Distancing Social #23 Replay – Tracey West on Chapter Books, Movie Novelizations & Books w/Licensed Characters
This week, we welcome Tracey West. Tracey is the author of more than 300 books for children and young adults, including the Pokémon chapter books,…
Kidlit Distancing Social #22 Replay – Candice Ransom, Author of 150+ Children’s Books
This week, we welcome the amazing Candice Ransom. Candice has written more than 150 books, including 18 books for The Boxcar…
Kidlit Distancing Social #21 Replay – An Evening with Legendary Children’s Poet David Harrison
This week, we welcome a children’s book legend – poet David Harrison, who is about to see his 100th book in print. He is Drury…
Kidlit Distancing Social #20 Replay – Tod Olson on Writing Creative, Exciting Nonfiction
This week, we welcome Tod Olson, a writer with a knack for making nonfiction topics come alive with excitement and vibrancy. Tod is…
Tuesday August 25: How to Add Emotion, Compassion & Heart to Create a Truly Magical Picture Book Manuscript
Think about the picture books that have truly touched you and the children in your life. Now think about what they have in common.
It’s “the…
How to Tell if Your Story Idea is Good Enough
Most writers find it very difficult to judge the merits of their own story ideas. In this excerpt from a workshop taught by the prolific and…
Kidlit Distancing Social #19 Replay – Laura Backes on Crafting Great Opening Lines & Scenes
This week, it’s time for a writing craft geek-out session! Join Laura Backes, founder & publisher of Children’s Book Insider, the…
Kidlit Distancing Social #18 Replay – Bad Kitty Author Nick Bruel on Creating Subversive – and Hilarious – Characters
This week, we welcome Nick Bruel, author and illustrator of New York Times bestseller Boing! and the Bad Kitty books.
Nick…
Kidlit Distancing Social #14 – Eileen Robinson on Middle Grade Fiction for Boys
On this week’s Kidlit Distancing Social, we welcome Eileen Robinson, publisher at Move Books, a small press that focuses on middle grade…
Kidlit Distancing Social #13 – Josh Funk on Creating Successful Kidlit Series
On this week’s Kidlit Distancing Social, author Josh Funk – who has created one successful children’s book series after another – shares…
Kidlit Distancing Social #12 – Laura Backes on What Picture Book Writers Need to Know About Illustrations
On this week’s Kidlit Distancing Social, CBI Publisher Laura Backes discusses the interplay between words and illustrations in picture books,…
Understanding Children’s Book Genres
Published children’s books fall into distinct book genres, each with its own format and targeted age range. These formats evolved for several…
How to Deal with Critical Feedback on Your Work
by Suzanna Henshon
Have you ever received criticism? Yikes, it usually feels quite painful, particularly when it pertains to a story or poem…
Mining Your Life for Story Ideas
by Jane Choate
Occasionally, the well for new story ideas runs dry and we must mine for fresh ones. We all know to look in…
How Middle Grade Author Ellie Sipila Turned a School Assignment into a Series
To say that Elizabeth “Ellie” Sipila is just a “writer” would be like labeling Emeril Lagasse as merely a “cook”. Like a master chef,…
Crafting Scenes with Emotional Intensity
by Suzanna Henshon, Ph.D
Have you ever fallen deeply into a story and emerged changed forever? There are probably moments in the…
Kill Your Darlings – Editing Your Manuscript to Remove Overused Words & Phrases
by Jane Choate
We all have them. What are they? Our darlings, those words, phrases, or even chunks of description that we use over and over,…
Building a Fiction Series
Many authors, whether they’re published or not, would be thrilled to find out their latest manuscript is headed for a contract. If the publishing…
Critique Fear: How to Handle Negative Feedback
Have you ever received a critique on your work that pointed out substantial issues?
Yikes, it usually feels quite painful, particularly…
Persistence Pays Off for Middle Grade Author Erin Teagan
by PJ McIlvaine
This is excerpted from an interview that appeared in the June 2018 issue of Children’s Book Insider. Click here to…
Author Brings Neurodiverse Characters to Middle Grade Fiction
This is an excerpt from an interview that appeared in the March 2018 issue of Children’s Book Insider.
by PJ McIlvaine
The…
35 Years a Writer, 35 Lessons Learned
by Jane McBride
(Note: This article is from the new January 2018 edition of Children’s Book Insider, the…
Writing for Children & Teens: Simple Steps to Understand Your Readers
by Jane Choate
In various writers’ groups over the years, I have heard a number of writers who say, usually with a certain degree of…
How to Write Dialogue That Flows
How to write dialogue? That’s something that should come naturally. After all, most of us spend at least a portion of each day in conversation with…
Book Categories for Children from Picture Books to YA
Kidlit is a vast market, including book categories ranging from books for infants, with cardboard pages designed to be chewed on, to gritty YA novels…
Watch Your Tone!
by Jane McBride
Tone and voice are sometimes confused, the terms even interchanged. While voice is who we are, tone is an attitude toward…
Grand Slam Debut for Picture Book Author Nancy Churnin
by PJ McIlvaine
This is an excerpt from an interview that appeared in the March 2017 issue of Children’s Book Insider.
From…
Visiting Book Fairs and Conference Exhibit Halls —Why, Where, and How?
by Lionel Bender
As a regular visitor to many major conference exhibit halls, book fairs, and publisher exhibits over some 28 years, I…
Create a World with Your Five Senses
by Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D
How do you start a story? Does the vision of a character enter your mind, or do you start with a plot? While…
A Fantastic Example of ‘Show, Don’t Tell’
The advice “show, don’t tell” is certainly one of the most overused pieces of writing instruction. But it’s overused for a very good reason: It’s…
Laura Backes on Writing Picture Books- Full Webinar Replay
Here’s the complete webinar from July 7, in which Children’s Book Insider publisher Laura Backes reveals her biggest insights on…
Get Started Writing for Kidlit Magazines
What’s old is new again. The saying is never truer than when it comes to writing for children’s magazines. Did you think that magazines for…
The Adventures of Dan Santat: A Conversation with the Caldecott-winning Author & Illustrator
This interview originally appeared in the March, 2016 issue of Children’s Book Insider, the Children’s Writing Monthly. To learn more about this…
Writing Is Easier When You Stop Trying So Hard
by Noelle Sterne
I usually know when I’m trying too hard in writing. When I review one of my pieces toward revision or…
Author Alice Kuipers on How Writing Picture Books Makes Her a Better Novelist
Alice Kuipers, the award-winning young adult author, sat down with Laura Backes to chat about her transition to picture book writer, and how writing…
Ask Writer Alice: Three Top Picture Book Writing Mistakes
Best-selling author Alice Kuipers reveals the three mistakes you should avoid as an aspiring picture book writer. Sign up for Alice’s monthly writing…
Teens Review What Works, What Doesn’t in New Books
In this article from School Library Journal, five reviewers from the Kitsap (WA) Regional Library, ranging in age from 12 to 15, give their thoughts…
Writing the Modern Fairy Tale: Use a Twist
by Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D.
How do you update an old story? Fairy tales have been popular for hundreds of years, and recently Red…
Dealing with (and Learning From) Rejection
by Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D.
Have you ever received a rejection letter? At some point, every writer has her work rejected. Madeleine…
Why Teachers Make Great Children’s Book Writers
by Laura Backes
You’re a teacher. You spend your day around kids, reading to them, teaching them how to write, helping them find books…
Know Your Genre Before You Write
If you’re new to writing, sorting out all the different fiction genres, and figuring out where your writing fits, can be a…
Why I Write Teen Books with Diverse Characters
by Michael J. Bowler
As a high school teacher for twenty-five years, I primarily taught kids of color. And yet, in the books and stories…
Which Age Group Should I Write For?
Best-selling author Alice Kuipers is back to answer another Ask Writer Alice question: “Which age group should I write for?”
Be sure to…
Find Your Voice by Copying
by Suzanna E. Henshon
Have you ever wished you wrote someone else’s book, particularly if it is a classic or a…
How to Rise from the Slush Pile When Submitting to Publishers
by Jane McBride
We’ve all heard of it. Many of us have visited it on more than one occasion when submitting to publishers, though our…
Picture Book Shows How One Woman Changed the World
Just in time for Earth Day, picture book author Miranda Paul talks about her new picture book, One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling…
How To Figure Out What Editors *Really* Want
by Jane Choate
Editors are famous—or is it infamous— for saying that they want something “new, fresh, different.” In the next…
Ask Writer Alice: Writing Dialogue for Children and Teens
In this quick video tutorial, bestselling author Alice Kuipers give her best tips on writing realistic dialogue in books for children and…
Want to Write Children’s Books But Not Sure How to Start?
by Jane Choate
What is the first step in learning to write children’s books?
The first and, I believe, most…
