I'm wearing this silly hat for a reason.
#kidlitchat turns 15 this month!! Fifteen!! We survived Twitter/X long enough to find a new home here where the skies are blue. Join us to celebrate and reminisce about the good ol' days, tonight (July 16, 9 pm EDT). See you there!
There was a LOT in tonight's #KidLitChat, & I know I missed a TON of great threads, so I'll definitely be coming back to this later! But my daughter just got home from rehearsal and has things to tell me, and my empty tummy is reminding me that it's time for my very late dinner... *hugs everyone*
Another great #KidLitChat topic tonight! As we work to define these categories of KidLit, let’s all enjoy the cookies I’m making for my next #KidLitConfections post (which feel like a definitive Summer Cookie to me): Raspberry Lemonade sugar cookies!
TOPIC: Define "picture book." Or "middle grade." What makes a book YA? Is it simply age range? Or how it's shelved in the library? Do you have a firm grasp of the categories and where your writing and/or art fits? #kidlitchat
Well, g'night all! Thanks for another amazing #KidLitChat <3 -- Turns out, when I remember to eat before the chat and I don't have a growling tummy at the end, I get awfully sleepy about this time of night. zzzz
#KidLitChat If you like learning while doing other things, like driving to the grocery store, or folding laundry, I highly reccommend the Publishing Rodeo podcast. Fascinating interviews. I've found it really helpful in learning more about portions of publishing I didn't understand.
TOPIC: The publishing industry changes daily, it seems. What are the most reliable sources for information on the currents and eddies that can affect how you navigate your creative career--publications? professional panels? best-seller lists? #kidlitchat
TOPIC: The publishing industry changes daily, it seems. What are the most reliable sources for information on the currents and eddies that can affect how you navigate your creative career--publications? professional panels? best-seller lists? #kidlitchat
In case you're like me and forget to eat real food in the excitement/anticipation of #KidLitChat... I made this a couple of nights ago. It's easy to adapt to a gluten-free diet. & so beloved by my family that they just call it THE Soup! i-am-so-grateful.blogspot.com/2014/12/reci...
At the end of the day, I don't need to be excited about the top of the ticket to be excited about this election. The presidential election is a root canal. Unfun but probably important not to avoid.
DOWN BALLOT IS WHERE IT'S AT!
Let's codify abortion!
Let's kick these bitches off school boards!
Not kid lit but definitely kid adjacent: I’ve just finished a 3-panel mural for NYC’s Metropolitan Hospital! I loved working with this hospital team. What an honor to get to brighten up their in-patient pediatrics unit!
This is why mask bans are suddenly being proposed. If you’re in a place where that’s happening and you think we should prioritize public and personal health and freedom over expanding the powers of the police state then please do let your representatives know why the freedom to mask matters to you
We make jokes about how dystopia is a lot more boring in reality than all the books we had to read in high school made it out to be. I think what we're forgetting is that the part we're in now - where the characters might have stopped it & didn't - is the backstory of these books, not the story.
And of course I put a typo somewhere in the link I posted just now... Ooops! Here's the long link to the registration for that workshop. :) www.eventbrite.com/e/prepare-yo...#KidLitChat
Speaking of workshops... Registration is open for the Preparing Your Perfect Presentation online workshop that I promised a couple of weeks ago. :) Just in case anyone missed the post I sent when I got it set up! tinyurl.com/perfect-pres...
And I also miss the writing community of Twitter in the early 2010s. I made so many amazing online friends--and a lot of them have become in-person close friends over the years! I'm glad that this #KidLitChat community is growing here now. :)
I've been so grateful for the relationships I've formed through my time in SCBWI. It's the first introduction I had to really any other KidLit creators. I didn't know any others when I started out. Sadly, these days, I'm not feeling the community there that I used to ... #KidLitChat
For our #KidLitChat discussion about becoming a part of a group, I brought Double Trouble cookies—half chocolate chip & half double chocolate chip & inspired by the show Julie & the Phantoms, which literally saved me & got me back into writing again (& also gave me the #Fantoms community)
Best advice I ever got was "Keep going. I guarantee, someone will care." From a keynote at a conference--It meant a lot because the last professional critique I got almost made me give up writing. (They'd told me "no one in their right mind would EVER care about a character like this") #KidLitChat
📣GREAT NEWS!
We know it's hard to decide which agent to query, so we're excited to introduce ABLA'S SECOND CHANCE INBOX. Every ABLA agent has access to the Second Chance Inbox, and we'll go through it regularly to discover new material!
New submission guidelines: www.andreabrownlit.com/submissions
For those who missed last night's #kidlitchat: I strongly recommend browsing hashtag for some GREAT advice.
Topic was: What's the best career advice you ever got & what do you wish you could go back and tell your earlier self?
Follow @kidlitchat.bsky.social for schedule & topics!
#kidlit
Best career advice not already mentioned - Take time out to fill your creative well. Whether it’s going to a museum or hiking a new trail or watching a live performance, get outside your own head and experience new things that may inspire you. #kidlitchat
Thanks, all, for another amazing #KidLitChat! Now I need to go find my traditional Tuesday-night way-too-late-night dinner and put some non-virtual nutrients into my body! See y'all next week! <3
Thanks to all for joining in and offering advice tonight. Unstated, of course, is the best advice of all: join #Kidlitchat every Tuesday at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific. But if you're seeing this, you know that. Only a few weeks til we celebrate our 15th anniversary! More proof time flies among friends!
