Category Archives: Tips and Tools

#KT250 4th Quarter 2018: 5 Tips To Get Your Work Contest-Ready

26 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by in #KT250, Tips and Tools

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#KT250 is a Kite Tales quarterly community contest, but unfortunately this quarter we did not have enough entries to complete the contest. So instead, we’re offering you some tips as you prepare your work for any kind of contest submission and re-posting all our winning entries from this year! We’re so grateful for all who participated and made our first contest year so special. We can’t wait to see what you do next year!

And if you have any news to share about your entries, we’d love to hear it in the comments or via our “Great News” feature!

To find out how YOU can enter, check out contest info here. Entries are now being accepted for next quarter! (Please re-submit if you submitted for 4thquarter 2018 and would like to be considered for the coming quarter.)

5 TIPS TO GET YOUR WORK CONTEST-READY: Continue reading →

Working Writer’s Retreat 2018: Revisions, Connections, and Karaoke

24 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools, Writers' Retreat

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By JESSICA CHRYSLER and KATYA DOVE

WWR_EditingSeshThis year’s Working Writer’s Retreat brought together writers of all skill levels and backgrounds to the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, Sept. 28-30. From actors to teachers, newbie writers to seasoned veterans, participants had something to gain from the faculty and each other. In workshops, writers were grouped by category and genre and had ample opportunity to mix and mingle throughout the weekend, including a karaoke party.

Faculty included agent Nephele Tempest, agent Victoria Wells Arms, Delacorte Press associate editor Kelsey Horton, Harper Collins assistant editor Stephanie Guerdan, and author E. Katherine Kottaras.

In this post, writer and illustrator Jessica Chrysler and writer Katya Dove share a conversation about their experiences at the retreat.

Jessica Chrysler: It was so great to see you again at the retreat this year, Katya. As much as I love getting to know new people, it’s always nice to find friendly faces. Every year the organizers try to change up the panels and workshops, so I’d like to know, what was the highlight of your weekend?

Katya Dove: I thought the critique sessions were amazing. Listening to other writers read their work, sharing my own, and bonding over words was by far one of the most powerful experiences. There’s so much talent among the attendees. I was blown away by how focused and committed everyone was. Though I must say, the karaoke party brought out a whole new side to fellow writers and faculty—a wild and vivacious side!

WWR_KaraokePartyJC: I have to agree on the karaoke! It’s always my favorite part of the retreat since it gets everyone out of their quiet, writerly shell. I also really enjoyed the presentation by Katherine Kottaras on “The Joy of Revising.” It’s important to love revision as part of the writing craft and it felt like everyone had similar challenges when facing editing demons. It was great to share and learn different strategies to tackle those obstacles. Continue reading →

SCBWI-L.A. Twitter Banner Contest Winner: Illustrator Gail Buschman

22 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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In SCBWI-L.A.’s first Twitter Banner Contest (a bi-annual event), illustrators were asked to submit their most creative response to our prompt: GROW. The winning contestant’s artwork is featured on the Los Angeles Region SCBWI Twitter Profile until the next contest with a feature article published here on Kite Tales. Illustrator Gail Buschman won! Read on to learn more about Gail, her tips and tools, her own illustration prompt for anyone looking for some inspiration, and to see her winning image!

Continue reading →

Paying it Forward: Going from Mentee to Mentor is Easier than You Think

08 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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By Sherry Shahan

Elizabeth Van Steenwyk signs her new picture book Blacksmith’s Song. (Peachtree Pub.)

I was clueless about children’s books when I signed up for a writer’s workshop years ago with the prolific Elizabeth Van Steenwyk. Her credits: Seventy-five fiction and nonfiction titles. Impressive. But what struck me most was her generosity.

After reading my WIP, Elizabeth offered to send it to her editor at a school book-fair publisher. Willowisp Press became home for my first six middle-grade novels.

When our SCBWI region began discussing a mentorship program, I knew I wanted to be involved. Continue reading →

Helping Special Needs Kids and Breaking the “How to Get Published” Rules

06 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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by Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh

Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh’s daughter

You may have heard these rules about getting published: Don’t pitch as a team with an illustrator. Don’t pitch directly to the publisher. And do not write in rhyme. I followed those rules until I didn’t. Here’s why breaking the rules was so good for me.

I started as a rule-follower. I joined SCBWI and formed a writers group. I read most of THE BOOK, SCBWI’s definitive guide to kid lit, agents, and publishers. I thoroughly researched agents and I penned cover letters.

Then I waited for responses. Continue reading →

Meet Your Audience and Help Kids Tell Their Own Stories

01 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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By Susan J. Berger Continue reading →

Dealing with Grief and Loss Through Writing

18 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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By Michael Thal

My hearing loss wasn’t gradual. I went to sleep one night with good hearing and awoke deafened. Six years later the virus returned making my “good” ear clinically deaf and leaving me with a severely dysfunctional left ear. Grief for my lost hearing hit hard.

According to David Kessler and Elizabeth Kubler Ross in their book, On Grief and Grieving, there are five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Channie Amato, LMFT, puts it in perspective, “The stages don’t occur in an orderly progression. Grief affects each individual differently.”

Normally a highly-motivated individual, I sank into depression. I was a teacher who couldn’t understand a word his sixth-grade students said, and as a father of two young daughters, I needed to set a positive example. Prior to my hearing loss I never raised my voice to my girls. Now I was screaming at them daily. Things needed to change, and fast. Continue reading →

Community Corner with Author Ann Whitford Paul: Socializing with a Purpose

28 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by in Community Corner, Tips and Tools

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By Ann Whitford Paul

*Editor’s Note: After a successful SCBWI Los Angeles Writers Day, whether you attended or not, we thought you might be looking for more ways to “level up” your writing, no matter the stage of your career, so we asked author Ann Whitford Paul, who belongs to a lot of groups, to share some community-building, group-oriented ways you can do just that for this quarter’s “Community Corner.” Read on for her fabulous insights!

You’re a writer. You prefer to be alone in the peace and quiet of your home, creating ideas, developing and revising them. Still you know you should (and you want to) make time to be with others, just not so much that it interferes with your writing. What about joining or creating groups that may take you away from your computer, but also enhance your career? Continue reading →

Giving It Away for Free: Keys to Promoting Your Book at Events

07 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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by Stan Yan, Author and Illustrator

This is the second part in a two-part series where I discuss keys to promoting my bedtime picture book, There’s a Zombie in the Basement, inspired by my 3-year-old son who wouldn’t come down to my basement studio, fearfully pointing at my zombie artwork on the walls. I’ve been promoting my other work at comic and fan conventions since 2001, but I’ve learned a lot about them and applied it specifically to promoting my book. You don’t have to feel overwhelmed by conventions and events! Read on for my keys to standing out and selling your work.

Continue reading →

Failing Before You Start: The Key Steps I Ignored to Crowdfund My Picture Book

02 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

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by Stan Yan, Author and Illustrator

This is the first part in a two-part series where I will discuss my “missteps” in crowdfunding my picture book, There’s a Zombie in the Basement, because sometimes you have to risk going against conventional wisdom to bring your book into the world.

In 2013, my primary job was drawing zombie caricatures at conventions. One day, my 3-year-old son wouldn’t come down to my basement studio, fearfully pointing at my zombie artwork on the walls. This inspired my foray into kidlit, which taught me some lessons.

Ignored Step #1: Don’t Self-Publish. Continue reading →