Eek! 😬 Five #PB #kidlit agents currently have a full #amquerying submission package from me (four requested just this month😮).
If anyone's curious, this is what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future...biting my nails & hitting refresh. 👇
👀Vague vibes are appreciated✨

Nothing quite like the day when an author receives their contract copies of the next book☺️. Less than two weeks to go! #mermedusa

Might do book Acknowledgement:
I’d like to thank Me for all my undying efforts, for late night hours & missed opportunities, and for seeing this thing through.
I’d also like to thank Myself for believing in me when others might not have.
Lastly, I thank Me for making it happen.

Who else out there is feeling stretched thin re: social media platforms these days? I'm still posting but I find myself craving less chaos, more sustained focustime. Learning to embrace JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out) & prioritizing my mental health. cont'd

Happy #NationalDogDay ! #dog #writingcommunity #kidlit

Word that’s making me smile today: turquoise. Traders brought the greenish-blue gemstone to Europe from the Ottoman Empire. It was called pierre turqueise (Turkish stone) in Old French.

💖💖💖It's super heartwarming how #BooksforMaui raised $170k! Thank you #KidLit for all you did to support this effort—all the ❤️🔁, tons of offerings, and amazing bidding too, including for my item. SO proud to be part of our incredible #WritingCommunity !!! 🫶🫶🫶

Major existential crisis in the wee hours last night. Why do I write? Someone please tell me that 'because I love it' is enough!

#WritingCommunity #writing

A decade ago, I was sitting in a friend’s car when she asked me what would I do if I could do anything. I said write a book but thought it was impossible. Here I am w/this draft. It gives me chills seeing this physical representation of my dream come true. It’s never too late! :)…

Waiting to hear news, ANY news, but especially GOOD news in publishing is like that last week of pregnancy... over and over and over again. 😒😵‍💫
With twins.🤪

(Twin mom 🙋‍♀️)

#WritingCommunity #amwriting #amquerying #amwaiting

Kidlit illustrators, it's important that you're keeping your art portfolio up to date with current work. Add new pieces to show off your continual growth as an artist, and to fill any holes that might be in your #kidlit portfolio. Keep creating!

I could not love this video more!

Just headed to the post office after sampling diff. companies' stickers for author visits.

Me: Can I get the Tomie dePaola stickers?

Postage worker: How many do you need?

Me: Just the one sheet of stickers.

Postal worker: Why do you keep calling them stickers ?

✨ manifesting ✨ one day I’ll get to pen a thinkpiece called “how writing a love interest for my novel helped me find love” because that will mean (1) my book gets published and (2) I actually have a good date for a change

The term “shitty first drafts” is actually a misnomer. Many of us, like me, have shitty second and third drafts, too.

Here’s one mistake I see in almost every novel I edit: too much narrative distance, or space between the reader & the characters/events in the story.

Here are three ways you could be creating narrative distance & weakening your manuscript – without even realizing it (a 🧵):

Word that’s making me smile today: aliferous. It means having wings.

📷: Ronnie Robertson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Writing a believable character takes careful curation and forethought, but if you put in the work instead of rambling on and hoping for the best, you'll see great results. Backstory, trauma, flaws, internal conflict, voice, and research all can help!

~el fin~

If you’re debating if you should spend the money on that craft workshop, that writing program, that craft book, the answer is a resounding YES, yes you should. Always bet on yourself. Always invest in yourself

Guiding young minds on imaginary journeys - #SCBWIDrawThis August prompt - LIBRARIAN #picturebookart #illustration art #kidlit art #childrenbook illustrations #kidlit #childrenbook #book #illustration #childrensbooks #librarian #scbwi