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Writing Resources

Here is a list of valuable links, resources, services & events. This is an ever-evolving list, so feel free to visit often to see what's new!

A little sumthin-sumthin for everyone!

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Adult Books

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Horror For Tweens

New Links

CONTESTS

Susanna Hill's Holiday Writing Contest

Lyrical Language Lab’s 1st Annual Poetry Writing Contest

TIPS

Nine Ways to Write First Lines

What are hooks? What are layers?

Lydia Lukidis

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing by Harold Underdown

Publishing Terminology You Should Know

Harold Underdown's List of Publishing Terms

The List to End All Lists!

Resources for Children's Writers

SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES

166 Children's Publishers

Bitsy Kemper

100 Publishers Accepting!

Bitsy Kemper

19 Publishers Accepting Manuscripts

Writing Tips Oasis 

QUERYING

Writer's Digest Query Tips

Sub It Club

Query Letters - Query Shark

Manuscript Wish List

http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/find-agentseditors/editors/

 

Query Tracker

AGENT CALLS

Questions to Ask on "The Call"

The Literary Agent Call - Questions to Ask

 

QUERY LETTERS

How to Write a Query Letter

https://queryshark.blogspot.com/?m=1

Agent List ( A good place to start)

Jackie Kellum

NON-FICTION & SUCH 

Back Matter Matters 

Jessica Whipple

NF Comps & How to Find Them

Finding Comps

Susan Uhlig

What Exactly is Informational Fiction?

WRITING TIPS

Tension vs. Conflict

Cutting the Fluff: How to Edit with Pat Zietlow Miller

What if your book doesn't have a plot?

Writing with Inventive Language

Video

Theme vs Main Idea
(with helpful videos)

Writing Books with Heart - Revision Tips

What is a Quiet Picture Book?

Nakisa Nooraee

Great first lines. Collection each month 

Sara Kruger

Crafting Great First Lines

Kidlit 411​

15 Picture Books that Show vs Tell

Kathy MacMillan

Show Don’t Tell 

Words & Pictures.org

 

 Writing Action 

Words & Pictures.org

 

Pacing

Words & Pictures.org

Making Your Story Relatable 

Jane Friedman

 

Quick PB Writing Tips

Vicky Weber

Writing for Your Audience

Interview with Frances Gilbert - Editor/Author

Hooks & Fresh Angles

LynneMarie

Genres Explained 

Eva Langston

Writing Action 

Words & Pictures.org

 

Pacing

Words & Pictures.org

MISCELLANEOUS

Royalty Calculator 

When do I earn out?

 

Lists of Best PB’s

Stephen Briseno

80 Funniest Picture Books

Funniest Picture Books of 2023

Jamie Bills

Best Picture Books 

Subscribe to Susanna Hill’s email list 

This is a great list. Scroll to the bottom & people add books to the excel sheet. 

Cookie Books

 

Fun Idea Generator

 

Book Printers 

Brook Vitale

Best Print on Demand

Keeping Track of Comps

Great first lines. Collection each month 

Sara Kruger

Where to Find Illustrators (link)

Also: FIVERR

UPWORK

Facebook Groups (ie: Kidlit 411)

 

CRITIQUES & PITCHES

Podcast : Fine Tune Your Pitch

PB Summit

Lessons From the Critique Pile

Anna Lazowski

 

Pitch examples

Nakisa Norraee

 

Pitches #2

https://nakisanooraee.com/pitch-examples-pb2/

Writing a Pitch 

RHYME

The Rhyme Doctors

Rhyme Crimes!

At Home Author

Writing Rhyming Non-Fiction Books

Attempting Rhyme? Start Here

Renee LaTulippe

Rhyming Resources

Rhyme Zone -  helps you find rhyming words 

The Meter Maids  

Unfortunately, these two now multi-published authors are no longer updating this but there's tons of great stuff here in previous posts.

 

Here are other resources with definitions:

The Literary Devices

for those with enough time to delve into that rabbit hole of fascinating learning

http://literarydevices.net/meter/ for meter

https://literarydevices.net/scansion/

Their overall site is an excellent resource

 

Specific recommendations to read

a lot of Shel Silverstein & Valerie Worth

And also this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Poem-Making-Ways-Begin-Writing-Poetry/dp/0060240199

BOOKS ON CRAFT

On Writing - Stephen King 

 

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books by Harold D. Underdown

Big Magic

Bird By Bird - Anne LaMott

 

Organizations

SCBWI 

SCBWI Long Island chapter

LICWI - Long Island Children’s Writers & Illustrators 

 

Accounts that Host Events
 

Brian Gehrlein 

Manuscript 411 & MS swap

12x12 Julie Hedlund 

PBChat 

KidlitTV 

Kidlitchat 

Kidlit411

 

Useful Hashtags 

 

kidlit kidlitart picturebooks writingcommunity

 

 

Twitter pitch contests

Use the hastags below to read through prior twitter events. Awesome opportunity to learn which pitches work.

Kidlitpitch 

FlipIt

PBPitch 

DVPit 

LatinxPitch

KidlitGN

 

 

Podcasts

 

Picture Book Summit Podcast

 

https://picturebooksummit.com/podcast-generating-ideas-with-katie-davis/

 

All three episodes: 

Developing, Generating & Assessing Ideas 

 

https://picturebooksummit.com/podcast-developing-ideas-with-emma-walton-hamilton/

 

Kidlit411 Manuscript Swap 

Facebook Group 

 

Kidlit411 website 

A bazillion resources &

Editorial Services 

Even Your Dogs!

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