I'm dancing with excitement today! One of our very own Sub It Club members, Valerie Bolling, has just had her debut picture book released. Let's Dance is a rhythmic good read that was released by Boys Mills Press! Plus, Valerie was recently chosen to receive the 2020 We Need Diverse Books mentorship with Kelly Starling... Continue Reading →
The Postcard Post: Kaz Windness
The Postcard Post welcomes author/illustrator Kaz Windness. Hold on tight if you spook easily and get ready to adore these imaginative images! Kaz Windness is an author and illustrator specializing in creepy-cute characters and spooky humor for kids of all ages. She studied children’s book illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design... Continue Reading →
Contest Update!
As you may have noticed, we don't do the monthly Contest Roundup anymore, but that's because we have something better: The Contest Roundup Calendar! I just added a bunch of contests through the end of the year so it seems like a good time for a reminder that this resource is still here for you.... Continue Reading →
What We Talk About When We Talk About An Offer of Representation
In light of the Danielle Smith/Lupine Grove Creative scandal last month, this seems like a good time to talk about questions that authors and illustrators can ask their prospective agent to make sure that the working relationship will be a good one. Every agent works and communicates with their clients in different ways, and it... Continue Reading →
When the call is not THE call but becomes THE CALL that changes everything
If you’ve been around this business for even the shortest amount of time, you have heard people talk about THE call. It’s the call every writer dreams of. The call where an agent, a real-life professional in the publishing industry, calls you, the fabulous but vastly underappreciated writer, to offer representation. In this dream scenario,... Continue Reading →
Be A Word Count Wizard
You've likely heard some of these guidelines: "Picture books should be under 500 words." "Your novel should be 90,000 words -- max." "The sweet spot for middle grade is 35,000 words." Each genre and category has its own guidelines for how long (or short) the book should be. If you follow them, your work is... Continue Reading →