Writing for Children

ASSEMBLING YOUR SUBMISSION PACKAGE

When it comes to becoming a published writer, queries are quintessential. They represent the bridge from your creative endeavors to becoming a professional. Sure, some submissions require cover letters or website forms, but every writer must conquer the query above all. And the query is a key part of a writer's platform. This episode will look at queries, cover letters, and the other elements that make up submission packages.

Get the ICL Submission Prep Package FREE! Get our weekly newsletter with articles on the craft of writing, hot markets looking for your work, and cool resources for your writer toolbox: www.instituteforwriters.com/icl-news

INTERVIEW WITH EMMA WALTON HAMILTON

Emma Walton Hamilton is a best-selling children's book author, editor, and writing coach. With her mother, actress/author Julie Andrews, Emma has co-authored over thirty children's books, nine of which have been on the NY Times Bestseller list, including The Very Fairy Princess series. She is Director of the Children's Lit Fellows program at Stony Brook University. She served as the Editorial Director for the Julie Andrews Collection imprint at Harper Collins for six years. So, she's seen submissions from both sides of the desk.

We talk about: • What are common mistakes new writers make when submitting? • How do you find the right place to submit to? • Do all writers need an agent? • How do you get an agent? • Do any houses accept unsolicited at this point?

Join the Institute of Children's Literature Community! Get our weekly newsletter with articles on the craft of writing, hot markets looking for your work, and cool resources for your writer toolbox: www.instituteforwriters.com/icl-news

BORROWING THE KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED

Whether you write what you know or delve into subjects that intrigue but are new to you, editors want primary sources. For some subject areas, such as history, this means locating, letters, journals, maps, and other contemporary documents. For science and other academic topics, writers can turn to research studies and professional journals.

For almost any topic, expert sources are among the strongest of all. Experts can expand on material located in journals, settle controversies, and give you access to the latest information in their field.

Despite this, many writers avoid contacting experts. Let's get you past that fear today.

Join the Institute of Children's Literature Community! Get our weekly newsletter with articles on the craft of writing, hot markets looking for your work, and cool resources for your writer toolbox: www.instituteforwriters.com/icl-news

EVALUATING YOUR SOURCES

Today's episode comes from the IFW book Searching: A Research Guide for Writers, now available in our bookstore. Whether you're writing fiction or nonfiction, research is an important piece of having an authentic article or manuscript that connects with editors and readers. In this episode, we're talking about how to evaluate the information you find in your research for credibility and reliability.

Questions to Ask

Never accept a web page at face value; always evaluate the information. Here's a checklist of basic things to consider:

• Who is the author? What credentials does this person or organization have?

• What is the purpose of the website or publication? Is it intended to inform, inspire, entertain, or persuade? What is the historical context of the information?

• How comprehensive is the coverage? Is it an overview or does it delve deeply into your topic?

• Is the source impartial or does it emphasize paid links?

For more questions to ask about your source, listen to the full episode.

Grab your copy of Searching: A Research Guide for Writers in the ICL Bookstore!

FINDING MARKETS FOR YOUR WRITING

Businesses and industries consider market research a wise investment. They don't waste time and money trying to sell air conditioners in Alaska, fur coats in the tropics, or prime beef to vegetarians. Successful writers, too, must learn to be market-wise about their creative products.

You wouldn't have to do much market research to see that an article on retirement living would be a poor choice for Humpty Dumpty Magazine or Highlights for Children. But other market choices are not that obvious. Suppose you've written a great sports story for readers in the 8-12 age bracket. Which of those two magazines would be an appropriate market for it? A professional writer would know instantly. In this episode, we talk about how to find the best markets for your work.

Grab the most recent Market Guides for Children's Writers in the ICL Bookstore!

INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN CAMPBELL BARTOLETTI

Susan Campbell Bartoletti is the author of picture books, novels, and nonfiction for children, including the Newbery Honor book Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, the Sibert Medal-winning Black Potatoes, and Dear America: A Coal Miner's Bride. Her work has received dozens of awards and honors, including the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Nonfiction, the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction, and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award.

We discuss:

• Research pitfalls and how to avoid them
• First steps writers just starting out

Let a one-on-one mentor help you hone your revision skills and polish your work so it shines in your submissions to agents and publishers! Get started here!

RESHAPING YOUR STORY PART 2

Last week, we started talking about how to assess your story's structure, specifically its beginning. You can find that episode at writingforchildren.com/167. Today, we're focusing on managing the middle of your story and getting to the tidy, yet satisfying, ending.

Let a one-on-one mentor help you hone your revision skills and polish your work so it shines in your submissions to agents and publishers! Get started here!

RESHAPING YOUR STORY PART 1

You've finished a draft (or several drafts) of a story you're excited about. You set it aside to cool for several days, then reread it. While you're still pleased with the story, you have to admit it needs more work—not just polishing, but re-engineering for better pace, suspense, and focus.

If you're like most writers, you may also find it's run considerably over the word length you were aiming for, an important consideration if you're planning to submit the story to editors.

Today we talk about where to begin reshaping your story.

Be sure to catch Reshaping Your Story Part 2 here!

DON'T REVISE BY YOURSELF

When you're about to begin revising a piece of writing, it can seem so daunting you may be tempted to bury the darn thing at the bottom of your sweater drawer, then go hide somewhere (say, at the beach) for a few weeks.

But, you're listening to this podcast, so you're in luck! Author and IFW Guest Blogger Rita Reali is also a freelance editor and today we bring you her advice on why you should get fresh eyes on your manuscript once you're ready to revise.

Let a one-on-one mentor help you hone your revision skills and polish your work so it shines in your submissions to agents and publishers! Get started here!

INTERVIEW WITH RENEE LATULIPPE

Renée M. LaTulippe has poems published in many anthologies including School People (ed. Lee Bennett Hopkins), and National Geographic's The Poetry of US and Book of Nature Poetry (both ed. J. Patrick Lewis) to name a few. Renée developed and teaches the online course The Lyrical Language Lab: Punching Up Prose with Poetry and blogs on children's poetry at NoWaterRiver.com.

We talk about:

• What are common mistakes new writers make?
• How do you eliminate too much description but still give readers the flavor of your character and setting?
• Should all writers study poetry or just writers writing in rhyme?
• Favorite revision tips?

Let a one-on-one mentor help you hone your revision skills and polish your work so it shines in your submissions to agents and publishers! Get started here!