In this very special episode, we have our first guest! Teacher Terrel, one half of the mother-daughter duo known as Once Upon a Dance, joins us to talk about her self-publishing journey. With 20+ picture books and counting, Terrell has tons of experience and she's not shy about sharing the details -- good and bad, mishaps and success -- of her experience. Terrell has self-published through Amazon and Ingram, has hired editors, illustrators and book designers, and does her own social media marketing. If you're looking to self-publish a picture book or a series, this episode is for you!

Learn more at onceuponadance.com, and give the team a follow on Instagram @once_uponadance.

In today’s episode, I share a writing craft secret that is at the heart of every great story: how to make sure there is a compelling question inside your story. Although I’ll be talking about it through a picture book lens, this secret actually works for all kinds of works of fiction, and some types of non-fiction as well.

One of the main goals in telling any story is to drive the reader to keep turning the page until they finally reach the (very satisfying) end. In order to do that, you need to have an underlying reason for telling the story. If you can get your reader to wonder what happens next at every stage in your story, then you're well on your way!

In this episode I share how to find the question at the heart of your story, give examples of beloved children's books that have simple yet elegant questions embedded in them, and help you locate or craft a compelling question to place at the heart of your own writing to help you weave your own magical spell with every story you write.

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Show notes:

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Books mentioned in this podcast:

One of the most frequent requests I get from aspiring picture book authors is "can you take a look at my story idea and tell me if it's any good?"

In today's podcast, I share a secret with you that shouldn't be a secret at all because I want everyone to know this… if you think it could be a good picture book, then it can. Everyone who asks me that question will get a YES! 

Some ideas need more deep work than others, but if you're inspired and passionate enough to put in the work, your idea deserves the chance to realize its potential.

The difference between a great idea and a great story is in the deep work I mentioned above. And that comes from knowing your WHY: Why you are passionate about it. Why you want to share it. Why you believe there are people out there who are ready to fall in love with it.

In this episode, I share a whole slew of questions you can ask yourself about your story, about your audience and about your motivation to help you find your WHY and create a deeper story that has the potential to change someone's life for the better.

This episode is one in a series of 20 questions to ask yourself as you go through the process of writing a picture book. If you’d like access to the checklist with all the questions, sign up for my newsletter at carajstevens.com for a free PDF.

And if you’re antsy to get the advice all at once, you can find my book Picture Perfect by Cara J. Stevens for free on KindleUnlimited, or for purchase as an e-book or mini-paperback on Amazon.com.

Don't forget to subscribe to get notified as soon as the next episode drops. And if you liked this episode, it would mean so much to me if you could share it with your writer friends and take a moment to drop a rating wherever you listen to podcasts.

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to Picture Perfect, the podcast for picture book writers.

I’m Cara Stevens, children’s author, editor and book coach and the author of Picture Perfect, Picture book writing secrets YOUR editor WANTS you to know.

I absolutely LOVE helping writers make their picture book dreams a reality as they navigate the process from idea to final manuscript. I’ve been working one-on-one with authors for a long time, but I know that hiring a book coach or editor or taking a class isn’t for everyone. That’s why I’ve created this podcast.

Picture Perfect walks you through the key elements of picture book writing, from where to find an idea that makes your heart sing to specific details like how many words a picture book should be and how to find the ideal audience for your book.

Stick with me as each week, we explore a different element of picture book writing in this free mini-master class I’ve created just for you!

And if you’re looking for more info, you can subscribe so you won’t miss a single episode, sign up for my newsletter at carajstevens.com for a free picture book writing checklist, or buy my e-book, Picture Perfect by Cara J. Stevens at Amazon.com, available for free for KindleUnlimited subscribers.

Thanks for listening!