I've been having a hard time coming to terms with this blog post. I have to admit it, not only to myself, but to everyone that reads this article that I didn't do any research regarding becoming published this past week. I checked out award winning Picture Books from the library with the mindset of figuring out how the books were written and how to improve my own writing. Not to say this kind of research is useless, but I'm falling back into my old habit of avoiding attempting publication.
I do understand that I can be productive still with the books that I checked out from the library, but last week my mindset was wrong and therefore I didn't do any research in regards to publication. This week will be different. I still have the books I checked out. This week my job is to read the books, looking to see if I can find stories that are similar to my own or ones that I connect to in general, and do more research on the Publishing Houses that have published those books.
On a side note, I did do some work at WIFYR the week before last regarding publishing. I got a lot of great information. Here are a few options for research that I didn't know about before that may be helpful for other people as well:
Agent Query Connect: This site has forums set up to help authors query, network, and help one another. This seems like a really great resource for people looking to get published, like myself.
Twitter: It is best to follow agents to see what they're selling, looking for, what really bugs them, and to keep an eye out for pitch parties. I personally don't tweet much, but I would like to do more. Here are a few common twitter handles to follow if you're looking to get published:
#pitmad (Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adult)
#divpit (Diversity pitches)
#pbpitch (PB pitches)
#SOAP18 (General pitching hashtag)
#MSWL (Manuscript Wish List)
#askanagent (Ask an agent questions)
#askkidlit (Ask children's literature questions)
#amwriting (Common thread among authors)
NOTE: Careful, you may become lost on these hashtags and lose writing time. Make sure you're searching with purpose and not just for creative avoidance.
Publisher's Weekly:This link is specifically geared toward children's literature, though they have other sub topics if you're looking at other genres. You can sign up for their free newsletters to see what is currently happening in the marketplace. It's great, up-to-date, information.
I'm not going to be doing much this week when it comes to publishing. I think all of my limited free time will be writing time this week because of the holiday and our family vacation. Though I think I will hit a few of those hashtags and see if I can glean some good information! Good luck to you this week!!
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Monday, June 18, 2018
Week Three on the Submission trail
Okay, okay. So it may seem like my chronology isn't exactly true to the calendar, but it really is week three on the submission trail. Trust me.
Summer is here and Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers happened last week. The week previous to that I was critiquing other people's manuscripts every free moment except for the day I went to the library and did some more research. I checked out award winning books again. Some were classics like Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit and others were more recent like Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny. According to Rick Walton, I should be reading stories that have been published in the past seven years, but with the limited time I had I wasn't able to find books that fit in that time frame.
I have learned some things though, as I have been doing every week and hope to continue to do every week from here on out. First of all, I need to be more prepared. Prior to going to the library I need to do my research. I could stay in the library for hours and just peruse the shelves all by myself. No problem. My kids on the other hand. . . They have fun at the library, don't get me wrong, but at ages 2, 5, 7, 12, and 15 they can only stand being in a quiet place where they're not allowed to touch many things for so long.
Second, of course, I need to look at publication dates and make sure they are recent publications. This will give me a better idea of what is being published now.
Third, a trip to a local bookstore is a good idea. Maybe I'll drag my hunny to a bookstore for date night this week. This will ensure I don't break the bank but I still get my research done.
This is my plan for this week.
Now that I have my plan can I just geek out about Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers?!? It is such a fantastic conference for writers that are serious about becoming published! I was afraid that my novel wasn't worth the money I was spending on the conference, but that is not the case at all. Every penny I spent on that conference was worth it and will continue to pay for itself well into the future. I can already tell. Over the next few blog posts I'll get deeper into the things that I've learned and what I'm applying to my writing. I'm so excited to get to that application phase. I need to catch up on my computer critiques and get those sent out to the people in my class, but soon enough I will be able to begin implementing these new concepts/modes of research. I feel so blessed to have been a member of The Wolves--Trent Reedy's Workshop. Haaa-woooooooo!
I can't wait to get going on this! Good luck this week!! If you're on the road with me leave me a note. I'd love to know I'm doing this with someone else.
Summer is here and Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers happened last week. The week previous to that I was critiquing other people's manuscripts every free moment except for the day I went to the library and did some more research. I checked out award winning books again. Some were classics like Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit and others were more recent like Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny. According to Rick Walton, I should be reading stories that have been published in the past seven years, but with the limited time I had I wasn't able to find books that fit in that time frame.
I have learned some things though, as I have been doing every week and hope to continue to do every week from here on out. First of all, I need to be more prepared. Prior to going to the library I need to do my research. I could stay in the library for hours and just peruse the shelves all by myself. No problem. My kids on the other hand. . . They have fun at the library, don't get me wrong, but at ages 2, 5, 7, 12, and 15 they can only stand being in a quiet place where they're not allowed to touch many things for so long.
Second, of course, I need to look at publication dates and make sure they are recent publications. This will give me a better idea of what is being published now.
Third, a trip to a local bookstore is a good idea. Maybe I'll drag my hunny to a bookstore for date night this week. This will ensure I don't break the bank but I still get my research done.
This is my plan for this week.
Now that I have my plan can I just geek out about Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers?!? It is such a fantastic conference for writers that are serious about becoming published! I was afraid that my novel wasn't worth the money I was spending on the conference, but that is not the case at all. Every penny I spent on that conference was worth it and will continue to pay for itself well into the future. I can already tell. Over the next few blog posts I'll get deeper into the things that I've learned and what I'm applying to my writing. I'm so excited to get to that application phase. I need to catch up on my computer critiques and get those sent out to the people in my class, but soon enough I will be able to begin implementing these new concepts/modes of research. I feel so blessed to have been a member of The Wolves--Trent Reedy's Workshop. Haaa-woooooooo!
I can't wait to get going on this! Good luck this week!! If you're on the road with me leave me a note. I'd love to know I'm doing this with someone else.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)