Publishing Advice

AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATOR Q&A

NEW FOR 2023!

I DECIDED TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS MYSELF.

Meghan McCarthy Author/illustrator of seventeen books and counting. Published with Penguin, Random House, and S&S. How did I score my first deal? Did I like having an agent? Why don't I have one now? What do I have in the works? Tips for new writers.

THE BELOW INTERVIEWS ARE FROM 2003-2004. THIS IS AN INTERESTING LOOK AT WHAT THESE AUTHORS WERE DOING AND THINKING YEARS AGO. WOW, DOES TIME FLY!

Grace Lin Caldecot Honor Winner for Newbery Honor Winner of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Author of Year of the Dog and others. Author/Illustrator of Dim Sum For Everyone, The Ugly Vegetables, and more. Read the interview before Grace started writing novels and before she won the Newbery Honor!

Cynthia Lord Winner of the Newbery Honor RULES. Read the interview before she won the big award!

Tanya Lee Stone Winner of the Sibert Award for Almost Astronauts. Author of over fifty books for kids. She's a nonfiction fiend

Jarrett J Krosoczka Author/Illustrator of the National Book Award Finalist for his graphic novels Hey, Kiddo, Boston Globe Award for Sunshine, and the Lunch Lady series. He has also written and illustrated many picture books. Read the interview before Jarrett really made it big.

Jennifer Macaire American born novelist living in France and publishing with foreign publishers.

Pat McCarthy Author of dozens of nonfiction books for kids

Susan Heyboer O'Keefe Author of an MG novels and picture books. She's published with Little, Brown, Roaring Brook Press, and others.

Linda Joy Singleton Author novelist of middle grade and young adult novels published by
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Edith Tarbescu Author of ANNUSHKA'S VOYAGE (Houghton Mifflin), BRING BACK MY GERBIL (Scholastic), to name a few

Lea Wait Author of WINTERING WELL (McElderryBooks), and many more

Rick Walton Author of over fifty books for kids--everything from joke books to picture books--published with Harper Collins, Little, Brown, and more.

Max Elliot Anderson Author of NEWSPAPER CAPER, TERROR AT WOLF LAKE, and more

Randy Cecil Illustrator of a half dozen picture books. Also, he's both written and illustrated his first picture book with Henry Holt called ONE DARK DREADFUL NIGHT

Dori Chaconas Author of ON A WINTRY MORNING, (Viking), ONE LITTLE MOUSE, (Viking), MOMMA, WILL YOU? and more

Nancy Coffelt Author/illustrator of WHAT'S COOKIN'? A HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUTING BOOK (Chronicle) THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF (Harcourt), to name a few

Stacy DeKeyser Author of SACAGAWEA and THE WAMPANOAG (coming in March), from Franklin Watts/Scholastic Library Press

Dotti Enderle Author of the FORTUNE TELLERS CLUB SERIES, and many more

Ann Fearrington Author of WHO SEES THE LIGHTHOUSE? (Putnam) and author illustrator of CHRISTMAS LIGHTS (Houghton Mifflin)

Beverly Hall Author of A IS FOR ARCHES (Sleeping Bear Press)

Christine M Irvin Author of a series of craft books for kids

Terrie Jean Author of 365 DAYS OF WALKING THE RED ROAD

Kathryn Lay Writer of 800 articles for children. Her first MG novel will be published in 2004

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GROUPS TO JOIN

Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI): This group is especially good for beginners. There are regional chapters and the national one. They offer conferences and talks throughout the year and also offer awards and grants.

Children's Book Illustrator's Group (CBIG): This group is located in NYC but if you are a book artist and live anywhere in doable travel distance, it is very worth joining. They have monthly meetings where they review several portfolios by lottery and also have a yearly portfolio review where members get to meet with two editor and or agents. Non members are welcome at monthly meetings for a fee.
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Society of Illustrators. They have a gallery worth checking out. Members get perks such as dinners and group meetings at the SOI bar. They also offer nude model drawing sessions.

Story Storm: "What is Storystorm? It’s a month-long story brainstorming event. Tired of watching novelists have all the fun in November with NaNoWriMo, I created Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) as a 30-day challenge for picture book writers. PiBoIdMo began in 2009 and was held annually every November."

12X12: "12 x 12 is a playground for picture book writers! The challenge is designed to motivate writers to write 12 picture book drafts in 12 consecutive months. Members participate in an exclusive forum and a very active Facebook group where they can ask questions, find critique partners and share their journeys to getting their books published. There are two different levels of membership."

Illustration Department: This site offers illustration courses and a chat board for illustrators and people who want to get into the business.

Kids Comics Unite: an online group that's free to chat (online and in person) and for a fee you can take classes and join crib groups

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USEFUL LINKS

‍PUBLICATIONS TO LOOK AT

Publishers Weekly: "Publishers Weekly, familiarly known in the book world as PW and "the bible of the book business," is a weekly news magazine focused on the international book publishing business. It is targeted at publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary agents, authors and the media. It offers feature articles and news on all aspects of the book business, bestsellers lists in a number of categories, and industry statistics, but its best known service is pre-publication book reviews, publishing some 9,000 per year."
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Kirkus Reviews: A major reviewer of books
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Booklist: "Booklist is a book-review magazine that has been published by the American Library Association for more than 100 years, and is widely viewed as offering the most reliable reviews to help libraries decide what to buy and to help library patrons and students decide what to read, view, or listen to. It comprises two print magazines, an extensive website and database, e-newsletters, webinars, and other resources that support librarians in collection development and readers' advisory.

School Library Journal: "School Library Journal is the premiere publication for librarians and information specialists who work with children and teens. A source of quality journalism and reviews for more than 60 years, SLJ produces award-winning features and news coverage on: literacy, best practices, technology, education policy and other issues of interest to the school library and greater educator community. We evaluate a broad range of resources, from books and digital content to databases, in 6000+ reviews published annually."

Publishers Lunch: "Track deals, sales, reviews, agents, editors, news." This is a great place to go to see who is moving where in the publishing industry.

The Directory of Literary Agents: See who is currently looking for children's books of all types.

WRITING & ILLUSTRATING RESOURCES

The Purple Crayon: Writing & Illustrating articles and publishing news. Editors move around a lot and this is updated frequently to keep you up to date with all the news

Kidlit411: There is a ton of info on this site from writing tips to interviews with industry professionals
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gives some tips to may your book signing a success.

Illustration Department: Take illustration classes, listen to the podcast, and join the Forum
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HELP CHOSING CHARACTER NAMES

PEOPLE NAMES
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Meaning-of-Names.com
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BabyNames.com
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BabyCenter.com
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TheBump.com
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Parents.com

DOG NAMES
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Petrix.com
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PuppyLeaks.com
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Cosmopolitan.com

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TWITTER GROUPS TO FOLLOW

@kidlitart / #kidlitart: "weekly chat for children's book illustrators & friends. Thurs @ 9 p

@KidLit GN: "This group is for Kid Lit writers and illustrators to learn and discuss MG and lower Graphic Novels and the format itself as it relates to Kid Lit." KidLit GN hosts pitch sessions that can be quite beneficial!

PUBLISHING ADVICE