Children's
Kitty O'Meara: Finding Joy and Community in a Pandemic
Debut picture book author Kitty O'Meara shares her experience of writing a viral poem that's been turned into a printed picture book in only a few months about finding joy and community in a pandemic.
7 Tips for Developing a Compelling Middle-Grade Fiction Premise
A strong premise often leads to a strong story. In this post, MG author Fleur Bradley shares her seven tips for developing a compelling middle-grade novel, including advice related to writing for the age group, the gatekeepers, and the kids in all of us.
Fleur Bradley: Finding Joy in the Writing Process
In this post, middle-grade author Fleur Bradley shares why she enjoys mysteries, how illustrations impacted her most recent novel, her top tip for writers, and more!
Rachel Renée Russell: The WD Interview
In this January 2015 WD interview, Rachel Renée Russell talks about changing careers from lawyer to author and the chart-topping success of her Dork Diaries series.
Deconstructing Five Spooky Children's Picture Books (Spoiler Alert)
For this post, we're deconstructing five spooky children's picture books to see how they're put together to find success. Warning: Spoilers are included in these deconstructions.
Building Picture-Book Characters: 5 Elements You Need to Know
In this excerpt from Ann Whitford Paul's new book Writing Picture Books, Revised and Expanded Edition, learn the five fundamental elements you should know inside and out about your picture-book characters.
Writing Scary Stories & Horror for Kids: 4 Lessons from Goosebumps Author R.L. Stine
For more than 25 years, Stine has been writing horror for kids around the world with his Goosebumps series, which has sold over 350 million copies in 32 languages. Here are four lessons from the master himself.
Using Kids and Parents as Beta Readers for Children's Fiction
After writing two very different manuscripts, Marie Unanue sent them out to kids and their parents, who acted as beta readers, along with a survey. The process resulted in her final early reader chapter book.
Zetta Elliott on Starting Her Own Imprint & Character Development in Children's Fiction
Zetta Elliott discusses addressing complex topics in children's fiction, starting her own imprint, Rosetta Press, and what she'll address in her upcoming keynote at indieLAB.
5 Tips on Writing & Illustrating Children’s Books From Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Here are 5 great takeaways on writing and illustrating children’s books from our Writer's Market Podcast with Debbie Ridpath Ohi. (Plus a link to listen to all the other great tips she has to offer writers and illustrators.)
6 Golden Rules of Writing Middle Grade
How can you—a grown-up (gasp!)—effectively write the middle-grade voice? Here's how.
3 Ways to Avoid Dumbing Down When Writing Middle Grade
Here are three ways to avoid dumbing down our stories, our messages, our language when writing for middle grade audiences.
How to Sell Your Picture Book
Break into this competitive and growing market with the help of writing tips and inside observations from a leading literary agent.
7 Tips on How to Write Middle Grade Horror
Novelist Ty Drago, author of The Undertakers series of MG horror, shares his seven tips on how to write middle grade horror that will excite and enthrall young readers from the first scare to the last.
28 Simple Steps to Write, Raise Funds and Publish a Children’s Book
If you’re reading this, you’re probably asking yourself "how do I published my children’s book idea?" Well, I have good news for you. It’s simple! Just follow these 28 steps, and your book will soon be available to customers all over the world!